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Operational Improvements
December 11, 2024
Although the large gear market remains volatile, analysts expect significant revenue increases from 2022 – 2025. Key vendors are being asked to expand their market capabilities and provide the latest/greatest equipment to manufacture gears in less time. The environmental impact— in areas like mining, cement, metal fabrication and chemicals/petrochemicals—is also a priority as these industries continue to push for the creation of waste-to-energy plants. Here’s some news and notes from the large gear sector:
F.L. Smidth Reports on Mining Outlook
The mining industry has remained largely resilient during the course of 2021 aided by high commodity prices and solid industry fundamentals. The global mining market is expected to grow over the coming years and the long-term outlook remains positive driven by global economic development and increased demand for minerals required the green transition.
In North America and Europe, they see increased market activity despite the fact that direct customer visits are still difficult in certain areas due to the pandemic. The surge in demand and subsequent bottlenecks in global supply chains also continue to cause challenges across markets and they are still seeing delays in some regions. Demand for minerals is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. It is essential that governments and industries ensure that minerals supply is reliable and sustainable, as the urgency to deal with climate change accelerates.
During F.L. Smidth’s Annual Report 2021, the company discussed its MissionZero Mine objectives. MissionZero is the company’s sustainability program to enable zero emissions in mining and cement by 2020. Some highlights of this program include:
Low Impact Dry Grinding
Dry grinding reduces overall plant water demand and can deliver power savings of 20-30% vs traditional SAG mill circuits. High-Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGRs) or Vertical Roller Mills (VRM) technology (pictured above) can minimize environmental impact by replacing the traditional SAG and ball mills and deliver a 100% water-free comminution circuit.
In-Pit Crushing and Conveying
Loading and hauling with diesel-fueled mobile plants and propane tank services can be the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions from the mine. These solutions allow crushing ore in the pit and substituting truck fleets with continuous material transportation on belt conveyors powered with electric drives.
Digital Optimization
Digital technology is key to meeting the industry’s goals of reducing environmental impact and improving productivity. For instance, FLSmidth’s SiteConnect app allows customers to monitor and provide real-time insights about the operation and performance of the plant assets from their mobile phones.
“We remain positive on the mining industry, where commodity prices are at high levels and mine sites are running at high production levels. Global economic development and the green transition will require the mining industry to scale up on investments to meet the long-term demand for minerals,” said Mikko Keto, Group CEO at F.L. Smidth.
David Brown Santasalo Strengthens In-House Girth Gear Capabilities
David Brown Santasalo South Africa has completed the development of a brand-new fabrication workshop at its Benoni Manufacturing & Service facility. The works, which commenced in early 2021 will enhance the company’s in-house welding process to improve lead times for customers.
The fabrication shop, integrated into the existing facilities, is 1,000 square meters and fully equipped with industrial MIG welding machines, semi-automated mechanization, stress-relieving equipment and a shot blasting facility. The shop will also be further supported by in-house IIW certified welding engineers, with quality assurance NDT procedures.
David Brown Santasalo completes fabrication workshop in South Africa.
Girth gear fabrication involves dissimilar metal welding of highly alloyed steel under heavy constraints, which required the development of specialized welding services, as well as a shot-blast booth large enough for girth gear segments. All of which have been catered for in the new development.
“The benefits of the new fabrication shop will create an even more enhanced experience for our customers by offering high quality products at reduced lead times. I am excited to see the fabrication shop complete and ready to service our customers,” said Francois Van Tonder, managing director at DBS South Africa.
Johan Potgieter, engineering manager added, “Strengthening our in-house girth gear fabrication capabilities was the main reason for developing our new fabrication shop. Our girth gears are mostly built for mining and power generation, however we can (and already have) also met our customer’s requirements of more general fabrications such as housings, baseplates and wheel centers.”
