VIBRA-DRUM® Grinding Mill | Industrial Mineral Case Study

Challenge

In May of 2001, an Industrial Minerals plant in TN was expanding plant capacity. They needed to purchase new equipment for fine grinding/comminution. They were open to the idea of moving away from their conventional rotary ball mills, provided they could eliminate some of the inherent shortcomings. Critical areas of focus included product quality, energy consumption, uptime, and maintenance costs.

Approach

In search of a solution to support plant operational and strategic goals, the facility manager approached General Kinematics to inquire about VIBRA-DRUM® Grinding Mills. The product requirements seemed a good fit, and the sub-resonant style of attrition grinding addressed many of the other plant needs. GK then collaborated with the customer to arrange qualifying test work. 

Solution

The tests proved the drum was a success and would have promising results. A 6’-0 diameter x 18’-0 long VIBRA-DRUM® Grinding Mill with ceramic liners was purchased, designed, and delivered as part of a closed-loop system. The drum design utilized a sub-resonant, Two-Mass drive system that transmits the grinding and mixing forces through vibrations. Test work validated the feasibility of the vibratory drum and was used to determine the scale of design and ancillary equipment.

Results

The plant installed the VIBRA-DRUM® Grinding Mill in November of 2002. It is still in operation today with a reported 97%+ up time and 24 x 7 operation. It outperforms the rotary mills in all required metrics and has been so successful that the customer now owns 8 of the vibratory mills.

Mill Comparison