Power, performance in screening, washing

Screening and washing plants can rinse and size up to three stone products while simultaneously washing, dewatering and classifying back into a single sand product. Specific stone product graduations can typically be met with the use of blending gates and nominated screen decks and chutes while sand product graduations are adjusted with fine material washers, along with adjustable water flow rates through the plant.

A brand that offers maximum productivity in the screening and washing process is US manufacturer Astec Inc (comprising Kohlberg Pioneer Inc and Johnson Crushing Industries). Known as KPI-JCI, the equipment is distributed throughout the region by Astec Australia, based in Brisbane.

Astec Australia/KPI-JCI?s portable 1800 series sand washing plants can efficiently process aggregate and sand material. The 1800 series plants offer a fine material washer with an array of configurations, all on a single chassis ? eg plants can be chassis mounted, modular skid mounted, feature inclined or horizontal screens or single, double- or triple-shaft screens and even add a blade-mill.

Likewise, Astec/KPI-JCI portable classifying tanks mounted above a fine material washer offer exceptional performance and portability.

Both styles are available on standard and custom built skid mounted or stationary plants and are available with numerous configurations and performance enhancing options to meet one?s processing needs, eg a hydraulic and electrical control to a feed box, lights, tyres, landing gear or walkways.

The features and benefits of choosing Astec/KPI-JCI plant for the processing, screening and washing of sand and aggregates include:

• A single source responsibility. Astec/KPI-JCI builds the complete range of screening and washing equipment to suit all facets of fine material processing, as well as a full line of support equipment to meet one?s classifying and washing needs.
• Structural integrity engineering to ISO 9000 which ensures maximum transfer of vibration into the foundation.
• Innovation. Patented ?PHB? models provide unrivalled capacity as well as cleaner, higher quality products.
• Greater ?uptime?. These self-contained, self-erecting plants reduce set-up and tear down time, increasing work time.
• Unique optional features for more productivity, efficiency and longevity, eg swing away screens, blending gates, reversing cross-conveyors, urethane chute and hopper liners.
• Efficiency. Hydraulic run-on jacks and flare mounting in the king pin area are among features that increase the overall efficiency of this plant and equipment.

Astec Industries supplied a complete system to Heidelberg Cement in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, achieving some impressive results on the project. Below is an outline of the washing equipment used on the project.

This fine material washer is engineered with high efficiency, off the shelf drives. The resulting low horsepower requirement reduces operating costs while increasing throughput. An external bearing with watertight bellows-type rubber seal and a chrome-plated stainless steel wear sleeve prevents water leakage for years of trouble-free operation. Standard urethane outer and inner wear shoes protect spirals from wear to extend longevity.

The Spec-Select Windows-based controller allows simple system monitoring and product control right from the controller. The patented design also eliminates internal tank support members, creating less turbulence and more accurate settling of the feed material. The self-aligning urethane dart valves and ?snap-in? urethane valve seats ensure uniform flow at the maximum rate, positive sealing and long service life.

Pre-wired to a NEMA 4 enclosure, including plug and receptacle type connections to the controller, this design ensures trouble-free operation and ease of installation. Stainless steel hydraulic tubing with O-ring face seal fittings, a three-year guarantee for a virtually leak-free operation and real time monitoring/troubleshooting capabilities provide enhanced operation and reliable control.

The reverse involution design has paddles arranged in a spiral pattern along the shaft, producing a more effective scrubbing action to remove tough, plastic-soluble clays and unwanted coatings. This motion ensures some portion of material is constantly moving, levelling power demand while reducing power consumption. This piece of equipment can increase productivity by up to 15 per cent, reduce energy cost by up to 15 per cent and provide up to a 40 per cent cleaner product. 

Engineered with a high efficiency V-belt drive assembly, including a custom engineered single input dual output gearbox, the Series 8000 reduces horsepower, maintenance requirements and operating costs and extends motor life. The large clean out ports also ensure ease of maintenance and clean out.

Series 9000 products, which include classifying cyclones, dewatering cyclones, pumps, attrition cells, density classifiers and sieve bend screens, are engineered to provide precise and efficient gradation control by:

• Reducing the amount of water required to classify fine aggregates.
• Recovering the majority of water used during the process.
• Providing a more precise split at finer separations.

These screens employ an oval motion stroke pattern that generates a more aggressive screening action to reduce plugging and blinding while providing extended bearing life. 

The feature huck-bolt construction and a triple-shaft design ensure the most durable, efficient screens available. Their constant material travel speed does not accelerate material, providing higher screening efficiency of near size materials. These screens can also be equipped with standard wire or non-metallic screening media.

The Heidelberg Cement project utilised a wide range of washing and screening products as an essential part of the project. On this complex job it was important to source all these equipment requirements from one place. ?