Previous Problem
Our independent quarry customer was established in 1988 and has since built up a strong profile in south-west Victoria as a producer of crushed basalt hard rock materials. The basalt rock extracted from the quarry site has less than 20% quartz and has no silica content but as an aphanitic igneous rock it has fine grain potential.
Whilst the basalt is not the most abrasive rock, it still achieves a rating of 23 on the Los Angeles abrasion scale. So there is significant scuffing and wear to maintain on a regular basis.
Previously our customer had used a high grade rubber skirting to contain the crushed rock at the transfer points. But with the high level of abrasion being experienced, the rubber skirting had to be changed out every 2 weeks, creating 2 hours of scheduled downtime each fortnight to install the skirting, in awkward places with very limited space for movement. This was an unproductive uses of labour resources as well as an inefficient use of valuable production time.
Resolution
After consultation with our customer, the best option was to install K-Superskirt® Engineered Polyurethane at the transfer points.
“I’m so pleased that I made the decision to upgrade to K-Superskirt®. Firstly, the extra expenditure was limited to just the K-Superskirt® skirting product so that was excellent. Installation was very simple. None of the existing frames needed any adjustments so no extra modification costs were incurred.
Secondly, it has far outperformed the old rubber skirting – instead of lasting just 2 weeks, I think the K-Superskirt® has lasted more than 4-5 months. So the initial investment has definitely saved me money overall.
I’m delighted that we don’t waste so much time on the maintenance of the conveyor and its parts. The K-Superskirt® reliably does its job and we can focus on production.”