Designed with foresight and experience, Sandvik Rock Processing’s range of vibrating equipment, including screens and feeders, can give customers more agility when targets change. Engineering manager Gideon de Villiers explains how the company’s depth of local expertise makes this possible.
De Villiers says the company has built its success on decades of field experience – and the nurturing of its mechanical and metallurgical engineering skills base. Its 21 000 m² facilities, in Johannesburg South Africa, house modern workshop and testing facilities that are ISO 9001:2015 accredited and produce world class solutions for global markets.
“A key aspect of our design philosophy is to ensure that our customers can be more agile when their operational demands change,” says De Villiers. “This allows cost effective modifications to be made relatively quickly, without unduly disrupting production.”
He emphasises that this is possible due to the depth of vibrating equipment related expertise that the company has developed, where in-house mechanical and metallurgical experts can come together to find screening and feeding solutions. It is also thanks to the far-sighted initial design of Sandvik Rock Processing’s screens, which carefully consider the opportunities for future modification.
“There are various technical complexities to consider when creating a design that allows future flexibility,” he explains. “Achieving modified results with an existing machine – rather than replacing it – means a more sustainable solution with less waste. At the same time, the new design must accurately match the new requirements, which we can test and validate using technology like Finite Element Analysis (FEA).”
He notes that efficient design and engineering also make use of cutting-edge software and tools such as advanced CAD and CAE solutions allows for sophisticated modelling, analysis and prototyping.
“We attract, retain and nurture some of the best skills in the sector, and encourage continuous improvement through training, academic programmes and specialised professional conferences,” says De Villiers. “We also collaborate with universities, research institutions and laboratories to promote cutting edge research and innovation projects.”
A recent success for an iron ore mining customer in the Northern Cape saw Sandvik Rock Processing extend the life of the mine’s scalping screen deck from six weeks to six months – by stiffening the frame and improving the panels’ rubber compound.
