When a belt rips, the costs can quickly escalate. To solve this issue, Flexco has designed a steel cord belt fastening system that gets systems up and running faster.
When handling heavy-duty materials, such as metals or aggregate, sites often trust in the strength and reliability of steel cord conveyor belts.
But in all operations, especially overland conveyor belt systems, damage to the conveyor belt can strike when the operator least expects it.
It’s the conundrum many bulk handling companies have faced, and few have managed to solve. Until Flexco spent years of research and development to create the ideal solution.
Flexco’s FXC steel cord belt fastening system is designed to be installed in hours, ensuring bulk handling companies can get their systems running again.
The wait for a vulcanised splice, especially on an overland conveyor belt system, could be days. In an industry where time is money, many operations are being severely impacted by this downtime.
Mining operations from around the world visited the US-based equipment manufacturer, wondering how they could decrease the downtime on conveyor belt repairs.
“All over the world, when a belt gets damaged, it needs to be respliced immediately before the product can even be run off the belt,” Flexco principal research and development engineer Brett DeVries told ABHR.
“No one controls where the belt breaks … so getting a vulcanising crew out to a remote area could take a week. But this is a steel cord belt, it is a critical belt.
“The FXC steel cord belt fastening system is there for an emergency because when it happens, people need it desperately.”
The FXC steel cord fastener enables operators to quickly install a temporary splice measure, which allows them to run the belt until a vulcanised join can be scheduled.
This reduces the stress, costs, and labour associated with planning and scheduling a vulcanised splice in a remote area.
Flexco exceeded the original request to design a splice merely to reach the splicing station.
“Our testing showed the FXC can typically run several weeks at full tonnage without risk of failure,” DeVries said.
The company’s testing also showed that the four workers were able to splice a 1800mm wide steel cord belt in four to six hours.
The FXC Steel Cord has also yielded promising results as a tool to help operators string a conveyor in a timely manner and in highly abrasive applications.
Flexco’s testing showed that the FXC steel cord could be used for quick and efficient belt pulling. The company’s data shows a 1800mm wide belt that can be pulled onto a conveyor in three hours.
“There weren’t a lot of products out there to help mines perform a belt pull safely. Things like dummy splice take up cord and time to set it up. There is also some guesswork in the strength of a dummy splice if it is done hastily,” DeVries said.
“We also found steel cord belts were being put in applications where the belt just doesn’t last that long. If you’re running underneath a feeder where the top cover runs out in a year or two, (they) don’t need a vulcanised join; the vulcanised join is way overdesigned for that particular belt.
“By the time you’ve set up scaffolding, it might take you a week to go from taking off the old belt to having the new belt ready to run because of all the safety steps you need to go through for setting and removing the vulcanising press.
“So that was the other opportunity … those belts that are only lasting a year or two and have a low number of cycles and revolutions of the belt around the structure.”
Flexco will work with companies to determine the best fastening solution for their applications. Using the information provided by the companies, Flexco can create a customised FXC fastener kit for belts of all shapes, sizes, and applications.
Flexco has manufactured the FXC fastening system using high-quality products to ensure its durability in harsh conditions, including Australia’s Pilbara region.
The product was subjected to rigorous internal and independent testing. This has led to several companies experiencing positive outcomes with the FXC steel cord around the world.
DeVries told ABHR about an Australian iron ore mine in the Pilbara that installed the FXC on one of its 2400 mm-wide feeder belts, significantly reducing downtime in its vulcanisation process.
“With this particular feeder, the site must disassemble a portion of the chute and several other bulky components to provide access for the vulcaniser. Taking this into account, the site typically requires 7-8 days to remove these components and reassemble them once the vulcanisation process is complete,”.
“The FXC had this belt back up and running within two days,” DeVries said.
“It was a great test of our installation process in Australian harshest bulk handling conditions.”
Flexco has been a trusted partner of many bulk-handling companies for years. The company has 115 years of experience in mechanical fasteners which have been used worldwide.
Flexco Australia serves the entire Australasian region, from Australia to Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. It has a manufacturing facility in Sydney and offices in Perth and Newcastle, which ensures its Australasian customers receive full support and servicing, even in remote areas.
DeVries said the FXC steel cord gave companies control over downtime.
“There are places where the vulcanised splice has been the only option for joining a steel cord belt,” DeVries said.
“In places where a vulcanised splice isn’t an optimal solution, we can step in and help.”