In a previous episode of This is Engineering we introduced ABB’s Gearless Mill Drives. These enormous machines power the mills that break down ore into smaller particles, a vital step in producing useful materials from mining. At up to 20m in diameter, the ring motors for these drives are some of the largest in the world.
Once commissioned at our customers’ mine locations around the world, the GMDs run near-continuously – with even an hour of downtime significantly impacting production output. Yet as with any machinery, maintenance is essential to ensure long-term, efficient performance.
One of the most crucial areas for maintenance is the seals that stop raw material escaping from the mill during operation. Given the machine is crushing rocks, the forces on these seals are intense, and they require regular replacement. As part of our feedback and engineering engagement with customers, this was identified as a particularly time-consuming task requiring complete removal of the sealing system.
The challenge to our engineers – how could this system be improved to transform the task of seal maintenance, while maintaining rock-solid performance?
Watch this episode to discover the engineering ingenuity and innovation that’s answered this challenge.