Considerations for selecting high-vibration wire screen media over polyurethane
By Serge Raymond, Director of Sales at Major
With projects on the rise, aggregate materials are in demand more than ever. Maximizing efficiency to capitalize on this opportunity requires the right equipment — screen media included. While often overlooked, screen media selection is critical to an operation’s performance.
There are many things to consider when selecting screen media for your application.
Screening performance
Synthetic modular media, such as polyurethane, is often known for its long wear life and ability to reduce noise levels, but it isn’t without its challenges. This type of media typically has less open area than wire screens, leading to decreased throughput. This reduces the capacity of bottom decks because the material takes longer to make its way down. Also, operations using synthetics must keep a close eye on the panel openings. Openings tend to wear by rounding out, making it necessary to regularly ensure the panels are still the correct size and not letting out-of-spec material through.
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Both synthetic screen media and traditional woven wire are very rigid and rely on the vibrating screen to do most of the heavy lifting. The static movement of the screens limits vibration to 800 or 900 cycles per minute. In most cases, this does not hinder the screen media from achieving adequate production and throughput, but it is not fully using screening equipment, either. Often it results in common issues, such as blinding and pegging.
High-vibration screen media offers a wear-life compromise between synthetic and woven wire options and often provides superior performance benefits. The advanced screen media features high-strength wire bonded by polyurethane or rubber strips to hold individual wires. The wires vibrate independently of one another — within opening size specifications — to amplify the screening process and increase throughput by as much as 40 per cent. Plus, the vibrations virtually eliminate common screening issues, such as pegging, blinding and clogging, improving product quality and reducing potential downtime.
Wire quality
However, not all high-vibration screen media is the same. Most manufacturers don’t customize the media specifically to each application to ensure optimum performance and wear resistance. When properly fitted to an application, high-vibration screen media can amplify the work of the vibrating screen with vibrations of 6,000 to 10,000 cycles per minute. This is up to 13 times greater than traditional, rigid media options. Often, the screen media can be modified with thicker or double wires and additional polyurethane to further boost durability.
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There are inexpensive options for every style of screen media, but operations should hesitate before choosing them. The lower price often comes with reduced performance and wear life. This is a result of poor quality with the material, weaving, trimming and hooking process for wire screens or, similarly, poor manufacturing and material selection with other styles of screen media. The up-front cost will be lower but lost production and frequent screen replacements will quickly add up.
Consult a manufacturer
Selecting the best screen media involves looking at the big picture. While not required, an operation can expedite the decision process with experience-backed recommendations from a screen media OEM or dealer.
By thoughtfully considering your screen media selection, operations can have maximum throughput and no carryover, while producing a high-quality product. It’s that simple.
