EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE & REPAIR
THE
fundamentals OF ROTARY DRUM MAINTENANCE By Craig Peppin and Carrie Carlson
F
rom lengthy permitting processes to declining ore grades, the mining industry is fraught with challenges, but unnecessary downtime, excessive maintenance costs, and premature failure of rotary equipment shouldn’t be among them. The mining industry employs rotary drums in a myriad of applications. These diverse machines are customized to suit their roles as scrubbers, kilns, dryers, coolers, and agglomeration drums. Catastrophic failures of these units can put plants out of commission for months waiting on a new unit. And even small repairs can mean weeks of downtime depending on service provider availability, issue severity, and site accessi-
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bility, so keeping rotary drums in proper working order at any mine is critical to avoiding excessive downtime and its associated costs. While each type of rotary drum has varying maintenance needs, some maintenance practices are universal to all drums, no matter their type. These practices are outlined here.
Inspections
By far the most effective (and most overlooked) tool in any maintenance program is an inspection. Whether conducted by an operator, or an external service provider, inspections allow plant managers to catch problems before they have a chance to escalate, while also tracking small changes in equipment over time. Operators or maintenance personnel
should conduct a daily visual inspection of the unit if possible, checking for any signs of wear, damage, or abnormalities such as unusual auditory cues. Critical points of contact, such as between tires and trunnions, as well as between thrust rollers and tires (riding rings), should also be inspected daily. Operators should have a list of items to examine on a weekly basis as well, such as gear or chain lubrication, condition of bearings, graphite block lubrication, and more. Operators or maintenance personnel should also conduct a more thorough monthly inspection of the unit, assessing components such as v-belts, reducers, couplings, thrust roller assemblies, and more. These items, and the frequency at which they should be checked, should
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