Quarry Cone Crusher Bearing?
What on Earth is a Quarry Cone Crusher anyway?
Despite being all around us and playing a significant role in binding our infrastructure together, we seldom give it much thought. Manufactured from a variety of naturally occurring materials, it even lends its name to inspire strength and bonding. Of course, we’re talking about Cement and our urban landscape would certainly be a different place without it.
One of the essential materials utilised in manufacturing is Limestone. Once mined, a machine crushes it to a fraction of its original size. Given the considerable size of raw material rocks, it requires a hefty crusher to do the job and crucial to its operation, a rather large bearing.
A Beast of a Bearing
The Quarry Cone Crusher Bearing is a white metal lined bearing, standing 6 feet tall and weighing in at over 5 Tonnes. It is absolutely critical to the crusher’s smooth operation. Because the crusher processes over 11,000 tonnes of rocks per day, the bearing must be precisely manufactured and meticulously maintained.
Late in 2020, a client contacting KC Engineering Bearings was experiencing regular Cone Crusher Bearing failures. Their machines were literally “grinding to a halt” after some 3 months of operation. This resulted in reduced capacity and production, outsourcing of raw material and a high risk of losing the crusher completely.
after regular bearing failures, there was a high risk of losing the crusher completely.
Analysis of the failure mode by KCEB engineers found multiple manufacturing issues. There were Contaminants discovered in the white metal layer, significant white metal adhesion deficiency, along with distinct anomalies in the geometry. After a full report and in collaboration with the client’s reliability engineer, KCEB set about developing a zero-contamination continuous cast process.
A Bespoke Tailor Made Solution
Because of the volume of white metal required, there was a need for specialist lifting equipment. Also required were tailor-made mandrels, casting frames and further specialist casting equipment. Pouring over 2.5 tonnes of white metal onto the bearing body, KCEB paid rigorous attention to the bonding process. Complete elimination of air pockets was also crucial.
During the initial KCEB inspection, engineers discovered a discrepancy in the original bearing sizes compared to the original drawing.
The bearing runs inside a housing and inside the bearing is another sleeve. Both of those parts need to be just a little bigger / smaller than the bearing, but in the course of their life, they had been machined and were not the original size. So if we had machined the bearing to the size we had from the original drawing, the gap between all those parts would have been too big and the whole thing would not have worked too well
To ensure an exacting fit of all mating parts, KCEB completed finish machining to their own critical measurements. This would ensure an optimal load bearing capacity during the life of the bearing.
KCEB completed a thorough inspection, ensuring material quality and establishing an actual bond / adhesion map. The completed Quarry Cone Crusher Bearing was then released OTIF to the client along with relevant QCP.
Back to Full Cone Crushing Capacity
There can be considerable satisfaction gained, not only by the client who now has their Cone Crusher operating at full capacity once again, but also by the team at KC Engineering Bearings. Understanding and diagnosing a bearings weakness and possessing the experience and expertise to engineer a solution is what KCEB continue to build their 40+ year reputation on.
For bearing solutions, whether sales, service or repairs, contact the KCEB team on +44 1207 583100 or via email at sales@kceng.com