Crusher Manufacturers Drive Heightened Innovation

Crushing plant manufacturers and vendors are offering bountiful of key advancements to deliver higher productivity gains to plant operators. P.P. Basistha reports.

The growing demand of bituminous aggregates, led by the present upswing in road construction projects require a combined three-stage fixed and track plants, capable of delivering higher crushed aggregates throughput in conjunction with very high levels of productivity and reliability. The plants are in demand that should also continuously be able to deliver the required throughput with high level of quality. Flexibility, faster set up times, vitally low cost of productivity per ton are another new major demand trend which is also being increasingly characterized by demand for bigger-sized skid and mobile plants to crush granular sub base materials.

Design Advancements & New Solutions

Taking cognizance of the emerging demand trend, precisely in jaw crushers for higher production rates and longer service life, Puzzolana Machinery Fabricators, has introduced extended grizzly bar section for removal of (-)75mm from the feed to ensure increased volumes. It has also incorporated anti clogging arrangement and profile design of jaw plates and increasing the grade of manganese steel castings. For bigger size jaw crusher plants, Puzzolana has introduced rock breaker with extended boom design for breaking the oversize boulders in feed to clear the blockage due to oversize boulders in feed.

Mr. Abhijeet Pai, Director, Puzzolana says, "Based on the requirements of crushed aggregates with high cubicity, dovetailed with high productivity and low cost per ton, we have improvised the rock on rock design in our Vertical Shaft Impactors (VSI). Heavy duty bearing cartridge design has been made in the impactors, resulting towards increment in tip speed. We have also improved the bearing design for enabling the impactors working on higher powered and dual motors configuration. We have also introduced open type rotors for increase in feed size in the VSI. Our standard design is based on dual flow arrangement, so as to enable higher intake of feed by keeping the rotor feed constant."

"For reduced power consumption in our mobile and skid design plants, we have improvised the automation in operation and monitoring of vital parameters in the main equipment like jaw, cone & VSI and screens. The initiative has also gone towards plant optimization and improvement in productivity. Our diesel electric track crushers are highly fuel-efficient compared to competition offerings. We have optimized the design and configuration of plants as the need for more fine aggregates (-)20mm and manufactured sand is rising. This will ensure best power utilization and the cost/ton of production," says Mr. Pai.

Enabling faster set-up and dismantling, Puzzolana has been carrying out improvisation on standardization of structures, chute and conveyors. Mr. Pai mentions, "Standardization of skid design will enable faster erection with minimum civil works and easy dismantling." Sharing further details for quick set-up and plant availability he says, "The other advancements comprise optional containerized electric panels so that just plug in/out from the power source. We have also simplified concrete foundation blocks for bolting standard structures thereby minimizing time for erection."

Puzzolana manufactures standard stationary/skid plants (-)40mm aggregates with capacities up to 1000TPH. The company has introduced 250 tph, a three-stage track plants in the recent past and now looking to increase the capacity of the offerings to 300tph.

Puzzolana's plants are backed by its pan India dealer network. Mr. Pai says, "We have added new foundry and doubled the output tonnage per month of vital castings and single piece casting of up to 20 tons. We have increased our machining facilities as well at foundries besides carrying out advancements in our welding, fabrication and material handling facilities. The concerted initiatives will reduce lead times of spare parts and altogether ensure higher plant availability."

Expanding its footprint in the potential North East Indian market, the Hyderabad-based company has appointed dealer in Guwahati, Assam, backed by parts stock points. It is also looking to leverage its presence in the international markets comprising Malaysia, Middle East, Africa, and its neighboring countries backed by prospective dealers having adequate market network.

Looking to make its product price competitive, Wirtgen India has begun complete manufacturing of its MS 703, Kleeman track mounted screen at its Pune plant. According to Mr. Ramesh Palagiri, MD, Wirtgen India, "the track screen features high levels of flexibility and quick set up time."

He explains, "Quick change of screen mats can be done on the plant. This is enabled by physical and visual access from all sides and wedge-type clamping. The screen surface is utilized efficiently through extra-wide feeding conveyor. A robust impact plate distributes the material evenly on the screen surface and protects the screen surface against wear. The shift able feeding conveyor ensures ideal feeding via the impact plate with different screen box angles and material compositions. Space-saving transport dimensions, wider ground clearance and compact design, guarantee simple transport. The new screen plant is facilitated with ease of access to service components. Wider walkways have been fitted around the screen box to ensure easy accessibility." MS 703 is powered by Scania power packs.


According to Mr. Palagiri, "We are looking towards growing demand to crush granular sub materials for road construction projects in India. We might consider meeting the demand through our jaw, cone, and impactors."

Wirtgen has recently delivered 110 Z EVO 250 tph jaw crusher, powered by Deutz engines with 1500 rpm for a major road project in India. 110 Z EVO is said to operate with greater reduction ratios between 0-75 mm negating the need of secondary crushing as well as screening when used as a single stage machine, leading to higher cost savings.


TIL Limited, has been carrying out value added improvisations in its 300 tph track mounted and 200 & 300 tph portable plants for making them adaptable to Indian operating conditions. The plants are manufactured under technical collaboration of Astec of US at its new plant in Kharagpur near Kolkata.

Mr. Pinaki Niyogy, VP –Manufacturing & Engineering, TIL, says, "For making the plants attuned to Indian operating conditions along with making them deliver commensurate improvements in performance, we have incorporated dust suppression features in the track plants. In US, the plants usually come with an option of water sprinklers which dually prevents environmental pollution and choking of the engines. However, in many sites in India, there is paucity of water, taking cognizance to protect the engine filter from being choked, we have provided an option of bag house filter adjacent to the engine chambers which while filtering the dust away, intakes air insulating suspended particulate materials. This enables the engine delivering higher performance to the track units. We have also added hoods over crusher output conveyors for suppression of dust. For higher availability of the machines, we have added metal detector in the cone feeder to detect the tramp iron materials."

He further adds, "Higher production rates and longer service life in our jaw FT 2650 crushers are facilitated with bigger 26x50 inch opening, to accommodate larger boulder sizes with minimal blockages. While our FT 300 DF cone crushers delivers quality output with higher cubical content by crushing hard & abrasive rocks. Our Programme Logic Control (PLC) features enable higher plant integration and optimization."

Mr. Niyogy mentions, "One of the unique features of our three stage track plants is its fuel efficiency, supported by CAT C13 electronic engine. The small engine also delivers higher power to weight ratio and required power and torque as compared to competitors offering of a bigger 15 liters engines for same 300 tph plants."

"Our portable plants feature ease of assembly and transportation. This is based on the modular design of the conveyors which can be transported at ease on standard trailers. Modular design of the conveyors also enables quick set up for higher stockpiles," informs Mr. Niyogy.

The crushing plants are supported by TIL's parts depot in Kolkata and Sahibabad near Delhi. TIL has been undertaking manufacturing of the track and portable plants, following the collaboration agreements with Astec. The track jaw crusher FT2650 are made under the collaboration of KPI, track cone crusher FT 300 DF is from Johnson Crusher while the three deck, FT3620 track screens are from AMS. All the three brands are owned by TIL's principal Astec.

Sandvik India has been carrying out varied design improvisations in its whole offering related to conveyors and related structures. According to Mr. Ashoktaru Chattopadhyay, Vice President – Crushing & Screening, Sandvik Asia, "The augmentations are being done mainly to deliver fast erection and commissioning, handle higher volumes of stock piles and to provide longer service life. In accordance with this, we are providing powder coated offerings, oilion scrappers, nylon bar metal detection protection, impact pads, FRP tail pully guards, auto tensioning nylon scrappers, oilion rollers etc. These innovations are made keeping in eye for higher safety, ease of handling and better productivity."

Sandvik has recently introduced its localised Prisec range of horizontal shaft impactor. Mr. Chattopadhya informs, "This is found to be extremely useful for coal crushing to produce 100 mm product at Mine mouth for power plant usage. This is a high capacity product with optimum cost economics. We have already sold few in Coal India."

He adds, "We have steadily started supplying our CH550 range of cone crusher for sand manufacturing. The results of the products have been extremely encouraging. We have supplied few units to the customers in Delhi and Mumbai and the results of which are quite encouraging. The units are capable of crushing 300 mm of boulders and also score high on levels of power efficiency and productivity." Sandvik India has very recently introduced its wheeled version as well.

Mr. Chattopadhya says, "We continue to be a focused company on after sales which we truly believe is the key to all success. We will continue to leverage our dealer network all across to provide 24x7 support to our customers. In our new service product offering, few are like - security plus, service plus etc. The domain of the offerings include periodical health check up, extended warrantee."

To improve plant efficiency, Proman Infrastructure Services has been carrying out design improvisation in its plant parts. Mr. R S Raghavan Managing Director PROMAN says, "Our primary crushers are based on the input size of the boulder. PROMAN has a wide range of primary plants to take up to 1 meter boulder or capacities of up to 500 TPH. Our cone crushers feature short head and medium or standard combination which makes if possible to be incorporated in two stage or three stage to maximize the quality or a balance between quality and quantity. Our VSI with its Sandmax and Rockmax configuration are able to produce finer, medium or coarser products based on the project demand."

Mentioning further he says, "PROMAN jaw crushers are heavy duty tall design with deep chambers, the crushers based on advanced features are capable of crushing bigger boulders. The tall pitman, extra large bearing and shaft, the bigger fly wheel adds great strength to crush very big boulders. The new series VSI from PROMAN are all oil lubricated making it capable to run at higher speed where required, further our VSIs can take higher feed size making it possible to maximise the product required by using chamber liner options, speed options. The rotor and chamber liner design of our VSI makes our plant most power efficient. Further, bolt design and gearbox makes the conveyors highly efficient enabling total plant optimization."

According to Mr. Raghavan, PROMAN's plants can be set up quickly and also ease in transport. He explains, "All our fixed or mobile plants are modular in configuration which takes minimum set up time making it most flexible plant in terms of getting the right production or layout configuration."

PROMAN manufactures plants between 100 to 500 tph fixed plants and 100 tph to 350 tph in mobile configuration. The plants are available in 2 stage or 3 stage configurations. The company provides PLC as an option for its plants.

Mr. Sivasubramanian Natarajan, Managing Director, Thyssenkrupp Industries India, informs, "Under our new Thyssenkrupp-Nawa design range, we are offering solutions upto 300 tph capacity in both semi mobile and skid mounted option. Depending on individual customer needs, machines can be supplied to suit final product size and capacity. We have various sizes of all crusher models suitable for total plant capacities varying from 100 tph to 300 tph in semi mobile segment and upto 500 tph in skid mounted plant."

He continues, "Our Jaw, Cone, Vertical Shaft Impactor (VSI) and Screens are proven machines with references all over the world. We have recently introduced adjustable bushing with four eccentricities in cone crusher which will enable crusher to change multiple stroke easily without much downtime and to suit their varied capacity requirements. Also we have added facilities that improve the lifecycle of machines like automated lubrication system."

Mr. Natarajan mentions, "To ensure lesser blockages, guaranteeing higher production rates and longer service life, all our models of jaw crusher are sturdy with larger opening. Bigger and heavier flywheels with high moments of inertia generating a high crushing energy and lesser blockage during sudden power off will now be more compact in size. Our unique offering of higher manganese content in Jaw plate composition and cheek plates provides guaranteed longer wear parts life. We are also in process of redesigning our complete jaw crusher range to bring in few additional features."

The German based entity has also carried out recent advancements in its vertical shaft impactors to deliver higher productivity and low cost per ton. Explaning the improvisation undertaken he says, "We have successfully developed optimum chamber design to achieve higher throughputs and higher percent of cubical particles at lower power consumption. Rotor parts are redesigned with high composite wear resistance material ensuring longer wear life and lower production costs. Unique feature of automatic oil/grease lubrication system for rotor bearings improves working hours."

He adds, "Our flywheel for Jaw crusher is larger, which offers higher crushing efficiency and reduces load on drive motor. Also our geared motors for all belt conveyors unlike 'V' belt arrangement by others provides an advantage of reduced power for conveyors. As such overall power consumption for the plant is optimized, thus saving costs for customers."

Mentioning about the attributes enabling easier assembly and disassembly of the semi mobile and stationery plants Mr. Natarajan says, "Structures designed for fixed plants are bolted type and best suited for easy dismantling and re-assembly. Also wheel mounted plants have one complete chassis for one station which can be moved at much faster rate by simply attaching prime mover to the chassis. Our offered belt conveyors in plants are longer and wider for higher capacity of stockpile according to plant and customer requirements."

He says, "For optimisation of plant operations, Thyssenkrupp offers automated plant under the brand 'Kubriamatic' which is Programmable Logical Controller (PLC) based. Through 'Kubriamatic', customers can get all production related information, efficiency of the plant, need for preventive maintenance to reduce the downtime and many other useful information for optimised running of the plant. Despite comparatively lesser demand observed in Indian market as of now, for automated plants, Thyssenkrupp shall continue to promote the same."

Product support to Thyssenkrupp's crushers and screens, according to Mr. Natarajan, are offered by its dedicated service department with more than 200 employees, including service engineers who can cater to customer needs across India on short notice. Availability of spares are met through warehouses in the regions where customer clusters are prominent. The company's origin in India dates back to 1957.

As informed by Mr. J.P. Singh, Sales Manager, Marsman, "Our modified jaw crushers are now fitted with ring feeder for ease of repair at sites. This enables easier withdrawal of the flywheel and replacement of bearings, labrnth, shaft, which previously required pulleys for taking out the parts resulting to higher plant downtime. The newer features also include, auto greasing for smooth operation, hydraulic systems for setting the jaw plate as compared to manual setting earlier to get the desired output material."

Going ahead, he says, "We use rock on rock on metal version for manufactured sand -4.34mm. This can easily be converted by offering anvil rings and rocks. Chamber combination results in higher production yield. This simplified retrofit can easily and quickly be installed on existing rock on rock model without changing the complete machine resulting in differing products needs out of the VSI."

"Our machines come with detailed foundation drawings which are very easy to understand and help the installation team to set up them in quickest time. During the entire period of erection and commissioning, our service team is present on the site to help through the process. Our engineers make sure the plant is running smoothly and the output capacity is met as assured. Our entire range of crushers, vibrating screens and allied equipment are amongst the few in the rock crushing industry with least power consumption," says Mr. Singh.

Marsman's product range comprises primary and secondary jaw crushers, cone crushers, horizontal shaft impactors, vibrating screens, feeders, feeding hoppers, surge bins, and conveyors. Product also includes vertical shaft impactors, mobile jaw crushers, and mobile impactors. The company has carried out recent design upgradation in its mobile vibrating track mounted screen with box type chute for dust suppression. The crushing capacity range of the plants offered from 50 tph to 750 tph for application in limestone and very abrasive rocks. Marsman has supplied 750 tph plants to commercial quarry owners in Bengaluru, India and Saudi Arabia,Quatar & other part of Gulf.

He makes a mention, "To support the plants, we have stocks of spare parts in various regions of India to cut down on lead times. Maintenance support to the plants backed by adequate and timely parts availability is met by our dedicated after sales and service team comprising highly skilled engineers in different as well as strategic locations of the country, so even if our customer suffers from breakdown due to unforeseen circumstances, our engineers are just a call away."

Gujarat Apollo has made design changes in its jaw crusher Model: B1050 which previously was based on welded structure design, has now been modified to bolted design. Mr. Brijesh Bhavsar, General Manager Marketing, Gujarat Apollo explains. "The change has been incorporated on the side wall, rear & front wall for making the unit structurally more rigid with homogeneous casting front and rear walls. Earlier due to the welded design there were more chances of heavy fracture in front wall. This led for replacement of the entire housing unit resulting towards higher operational expenses, now with the bolted design in place only the part of the unit which had been fractured can be replaced by unlocking the bolts."

Gujarat Apollo has also carried out newer developments in its horizontal shaft impact crushers HS14 (200TPH) and HS16 (250TPH). Mr. Bhavsar says, "The HSI now comes with new rectangular blow bar design for giving additional strength to the unit. Other improvisation includes, wedge lock design to minimize loose ends and newly designed apron liners for hazard free crushing experience and more utilization of wear parts."

Mr. Bhavsar says "Our AC 51, 200TPH cone is based on multi cylinder. With the multi cylinder, the uncrushed material will be released from crushing chamber very easily. The crusher also is equipped with manual operation mode. With cut in electricity supply, the crusher can be opened manually for extracting the materials by getting activated the release cylinder."

Gujarat Apollo manufactures its stationery plants at Mehsana near Ahmedabad. The company has set up new dealer network to service the plants. It has a team of dedicated thirty service engineers to support its skid and mobile plants.

Power Pack, High throughput & Automation

Volvo Penta is to leverage its presence in the growing Indian tracked and fixed plants market requiring higher productivity and reliability. Mr. Jonas Nilsson, VP, Volvo Penta India says, "Crushing and screening market is very important for us as our engines are right fit for heavy duty applications alike. We are in discussions with both Indian and foreign track plant manufacturer present here. Volvo Penta is already supporting imported track crushers working in the country and looking to expand its business presence in the crushing and screening applications by developing 143-320 hp engines at its Pithampur facility this year."

He adds, "We offer engines from 5L to 16L within power range of 143-768hp to crusher and screen manufacturers across the globe. This includes OEMs like Sandvik, McCloskey, Keestrack, Pilot Crushtec, Gasparin, Rockstar, Gipo, and Knott. Our engines are emission certified for Tier 2/3/4f and offer customer with option to select appropriate engine model suitable to his market requirements."

Volvo Penta is looking forward to supply its engines for track plants, besides looking for prospective business opportunities for its diesel generating sets for stationery plants. "Both mobile and stationary plants are the focus segments for Volvo Penta India. Due to inadequate grid power availability in commercial quarry clusters, stationary plants have to rely on diesel genset power in India. Volvo Penta powered continuous duty diesel generating sets in range of 250kVA to 650kVA have proven track record in terms of reliability, high fuel efficiency, and uptime in this segment."

Based on varied requirements of the Indian and foreign tracked crushing plant manufacturer, Volvo Penta engines are featured, designed, and finally co engineered with OEMs to have complete equipment integration, especially with the auxiliary systems such as radiators, air intake, and exhaust.

He said elaborating, "We offer complete application engineering support to crushing and screening plant manufacturers for ease of integration and installation. Our application engineering processes involve a review of OEM design requirements, discussions on suitable optional equipment, packaging studies, prototype installation, testing and validation. Our engines have a range of optional power take off options to drive hydraulic pumps for track and conveyor belts. Manufacturers can select any of these drives as per their machine requirements. Optional equipment, we offer for installation flexibility can be exampled by different inlets and outlets for air/fuel/exhaust, alternative oil pumps, oil filling, oil dipsticks, filter positions and so forth. We also offer HD coolers and air filtration systems specifically developed for stone crusher applications."

Mr. Nilsson says "Based on compactness in tracked crushing units, installation flexibility ensured in the crushing plants. Our base engines benefit from technology advancements enabled by automotive volumes. They are not of standard design but specifically developed for demanding off-road applications such as crushers and screeners. In crusher's power pack compartment engine, hydraulic motors, cooling packages, filters are assembled in relatively very small space. It needs to be designed to ensure smooth and easy accessibility for service points in field. Our engine being compact in size and offering options like remote oil and fuel filter enables manufacturer with liberty to place filters at accessibility locations. This can help reduce maintenance time and improve on uptime."

He informs, "Volvo Penta engines governor for crusher and screener applications is calibrated to enable the engine to accept sudden load changes caused for example by large boulders being fed into the crushing unit. They are also capable of delivering higher level of fuel efficiency and low maintenance costs, enabling the customer to throughput more tonnes per fuel unit. This features put together help increase machine productivity. Our technical expertise has always enabled us in delivering products with high performance, longer service life, and good durability."

He concludes, "We have a wides pread after-market network and are further strengthening infrastructure in the service touch points. Today, we are present at 61 locations with 85+ touch points throughout India. Our regional warehouse in Bangalore has continuously delivered on-time parts support. In addition, we also have 24 X 7 Volvo Action Service support in India. For larger stationary crushing plants our representatives are willing to engage in discussions and solutions as to how we can provide best local service to operator requirements."

Plant automation is a new focused area for OEMs for improving productivity and plant availability. Sandvik India has also recently introduced, 'Sanremo' automated software in its plants. Puzzolana Machinery Fabricators have improvised the automation in operation and monitoring of vital parameters in the main equipment like Jaw, cone and VSI and screens, to optimize and improve the productivity. Mr. Pai says, "Automation will contribute towards monitoring wear and tear of super fine cone crushers and sanders. This will ensure total lifecycle of the equipments."

Conclusion

Promoting sales by carrying out macro and micro level of product is indeed commendable initiative of the crusher manufacturers. However, retention of business will totally depend upon making services support more dynamic. This will be through sustained and tailor-made product support packages. Most importantly, services support will require to be indexed to optimally make functional the newer levels of improvisation being carried out in the plants.