Are you using the right parts?

In preparation for ConExpo-Con/Agg 2008, Columbia Steel Casting Co. recently audited its jaw and cone patterns for wear parts, all manufactured at its U.S. foundry, and the numbers may come as a surprise in an industry in which outsourcing is increasing.

Columbia Steel offers over 1900 replacement jaw designs engineered to fit over 380 jaw crusher models. Among these, the Pioneer® 30x40 represents the model for which Columbia manufactures the greatest number of jaw wear parts, accounting for 52 jaw designs and 136 matched pairs for customers' specific crushing needs.

"In calculating these latest numbers, alloy choices and duplicates that can be used on different crushers were not included, leaving only unique designs to be counted," explains Alan George, communications manager, adding, "As part of the criteria for the cone crushers counted, only those with bowl liners were considered."

Those cone designs added up to over 1100 available for over 120 cone crusher models. One popular example is the Nordberg® 121 cm short head cone crusher, for which Columbia offers 51 replacement cone designs. For this model alone, 74 matched cone pairs have been made available to Columbia customers.

According to product engineering manager Chuck Hendrickson, the record number of designs is a direct result of developing wear parts in response to customer requests to resolve specific crushing situations. "When applied properly, some designs - like concave and convex profiles - significantly affect jaw crusher performance. Even minor differences in physical appearance can improve operating performance: for example, shortening the discharge point on a movable jaw to allow a better stationary and movable match-point on closer than normal run discharge settings. For the customer this can mean improved wear life of up to 25% - sometimes more."

"We get more positive results with the proper or improved geometry being used in the wear part than from alloy selection. The material specification is secondary in 7 out of 10 situations. This is true assuming the material is as good as it can be and is properly applied, in terms of wearability and fatigue resistance," Mr. Hendrickson adds.

Source: Columbia Steel