Nylacast at the forefront of component maintenance

When looking at equipment, products, tools and components within the quarrying and mining sector, repair and maintenance is one of the most important aspects to consider. For more than 40 years Nylacast have been at the forefront of a great number of engineering polymer solutions used in a wide range of applications, and with the latest in CAD/CAM technology and in-house design, coupled with state-of-the-art production equipment, highly skilled engineers and a dedicated research, development and testing facility, the company is able to provide a full engineering solution to a number of key companies within the quarrying and mining industries.

Furthermore, when considering the repair and maintenance of components used in industry applications, the materials technology behind Nylacast components can be highly advantageous and beneficial. This is down to a number of key factors. First, Nylacast materials and components have an exceptional resistance to wear and abrasion, as well as being highly resistant to corrosion and chemicals. Figure 1 shows how two components vary significantly after being used in the same application for the same period of time.

Nylacast materials and components secondly, have a high impact strength as well as a low co-efficient of friction, while still retaining the quality of being lightweight. Typically, Nylacast materials and components are one seventh of the weight of a steel equivalent, which often helps in the enhancement of the application performance.

Routine repair and maintenance can be costly as well as very time-consuming. One of the core benefits and elements of Nylacast materials and components is the fact that they are self-lubricating, which greatly reduces the need for oils and greases, and in many circumstances eliminates the need for them completely, thus helping to reduce the frequency and length of the required routine maintenance.

Another factor to consider when looking at repair and maintenance in the quarrying and mining sector is health and safety. Nylacast components and materials are available in a number of high-visibility colours, making them ‘stand out’ easily to engineers and operators looking for them.

As well as the production of bespoke components, some typical industry products which Nylacast provide include: gears, sprockets, crusher bearings, socket liners, support rings, pulleys and sheaves, wear pads and wear strips, chute liners, conveyor rollers, mill bushes, wiper seals and guide plates, among many others (fig. 3).

Case study: Grab bucket sheave wheel – cement manufacturer

The versatility and strength of Nylacast components has seen their increasing use in applications such as sheave wheels. In this particular case, a Nylacast Black Oilon component was used to replace the original cast iron sheave wheel in a 15-tonne grab bucke, which is used to load clay, sand and hot clinker into and out of cement kilns. The key factor was the self-lubricating property of the Nylacast component, which has reduced the need for maintenance and increased the performance of the application.

The use of advanced polymers, in particular those based around cast nylon, has allowed for a number of significant advantages in this sheave wheel application. These include: an increase in the rope life: reduced component weight: protection against corrosion: and reduced maintenance as the Oilon component requires no lubrication. In addition, the Nylacast sheave wheel was also cheaper to buy than the traditional cast iron component it replaced.