While scalping screens have long been a prominent fixture in aggregate processing plants, they have always been located early in the flowsheet for ‘scalping’ oversized material for further processing, explains Francois Marais, sales and marketing director at Pilot Crushtec.
However, due to their continued evolution in recent years, scalping screens are gaining prominence in both heavy duty scalping and fine screening applications. Their adaptability speaks in particular directly to contractors who are increasingly on the lookout for versatile solutions that can be deployed across various processes and applications.
Contractors know that every jobsite is different. However, they are also aware that they don’t have the luxury of purchasing specific pieces of equipment to match the needs of every project. With a growing requirement to do more with less, they can take advantage of the Lokotrack ST2.3 scalping screen’s versatility, which allows it to be adapted and to deliver the desired results on a broad range of applications.
“Traditionally, aggregate producers and mines have always used finishing screens to size their final product. In the past five years, we have seen the trend shifting to using scalping screens to perform this function,” says Marais. “The major difference between a traditional screen and a scalping screen is that the later can take a much bigger feed size than the conventional screen. Where a traditional screen accepts a 100 mm feed size, for example, a scalping screen can take up to 400 mm size material.”
A key benefit of scalping screens, adds Marais, is their versatility. They can be used as initial sizers to remove oversize pieces of material from the feed, or they can do fine screening. The Lokotrack ST2.3 scalping screen is a multi-use scalping screen perfectly suited to heavy duty scalping, fine screening and recycling. The machine is designed to process a range of materials, from topsoil and recycled concrete waste, to road base material and fine aggregates. It can also be deployed in commodities such as diamonds.
“The machine is versatile in terms of who can use it, where they can use it and in what applications they can use it. For that reason, we believe that it’s going to be a popular product in the market, especially for entry level and mid-range contractors, as well as junior miners doing exploration work, for example,” says Marais.
It can be used as a standalone unit or as part of a multi-stage crushing and screening process. Its versatility is enhanced by the various screen media options, including grizzly, punch plate, finger grizzly, piano wire and wire mesh.
“Pilot Crushtec supports all these various media types. We also have some innovative ones such as heavy-duty fingers or forged tynes,” adds Marais.
Key specs
Weighing in at 17 tonnes (t), the machine comes with a 3 m long x 1,5 m wide screen box. Despite its compact build, the Lokotrack ST2.3 punches above its weight with a 4,6 m² screening area, said to be the widest in this size class. This is complemented by an aggressive stroke up to 13 mm with 5G acceleration, resulting in a high screening performance.
“There is also a variable inclination on the screen box, so depending on application, operators can change the angle of screening from 13 to 25 degrees,” says Marais.
The Lokotrack ST2.3 is equipped with a 1,2 m-wide belt feeder and a hopper capacity of 5 m³, which is considered to be ground-breaking for a machine of its size. The machine also comes with a 1,2 m wide oversize conveyor, which is pretty common in large sized scalpers, making the Lokotrack ST2.3 more attractive, especially in applications with large-sized material.
“Another key feature of this machine is the impact bed located at the discharge point of the screen, which is not common for most screens. This results in a longer lifespan for the conveyor. The fines and mid-size belts are both 650 mm wide, with adjustable heights and speeds to suit different applications,” says Marais.
Amid record high fuel prices, fleet owners will also benefit from the machine’s fuel efficiency. Powered by a CAT C3.6 diesel engine producing 55 kW of power, the machine consumes as few as eight litres of fuel per hour, translating into lower total cost of operation.
Ease of transportation
Contract crushing is a nomadic venture by its nature, which often calls for moving of machines from one site to the other. With that in mind, Metso Outotec paid particular attention to ease of transportation during the development of the Lokotrack ST2.3 scalping screen.
“With its compact dimensions (11 m long x 2,8 m high x 2,2 m wide) and optimised weight (17 000 kg), the machine can be moved from one site to another using a standard trailer, with no need for abnormal load permits, thus helping contractors cut back on transportation costs,” concludes Marais.