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February 2017
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MechChem Africa
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21
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Materials handling
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F
LSmidth has significantly upgraded
its local steel wedge wire screen
manufacturing capabilities follow-
ing the recent commissioning of
state-of-the art technology at its facility in
Edenvale, Gauteng.
Buks Roodt, director responsible for
Meshcape
®
Screen Media at FLSmidth in
South Africa, says the company’s newwedge
wire machine was made available from
FLSmidth’s Australian operation.
The SouthAfrican operation is one of four
global facilities that specialises in the manu-
facture of this quality screening material for
international markets. Known for its ability
to significantly reduce blinding and plugging,
this specialisedwiremesh is used extensively
in screening applications for mining, general
industry and food processing.
“A teamof international FLSmidth experts
assisted in commissioning the machine, to-
gether with its advanced control system and
wide range of tooling. They also provided
training for the operators deployed on the
wedge wire manufacturing line,” says Roodt.
The machine was developed in-house
by FLSmidth engineers, and incorporates
second-generation technology based on the
company’s extensive experience in manu-
facturing wedge wire screening products.
The technology provides FLSmidth with
the flexibility required to use a range of
support rods of varying sizes as well as to
manufacturewith different wire profiles and
aperture sizes.
FLSmidth carries stock of a wide range of
profiles and support rods in different materi-
als ranging from ferritic stainless steels to
exotic duplex stainless steels, to cater for the
different segments of industry using wedge
wire in their applications.
Themachine incorporates a sophisticated
resistance welding head capable of precision
welding. This ensures optimum strength
between support rods and the wire intersec-
tions, enhancing the quality and integrity of
the final product.
Roodt explains that the advancedwelding
head canweldwireswithheadwidths ranging
from one millimetre (mm) to five millimetres
and with high accuracy slot sizes ranging
from 0.2 mm to 20 mm. In addition, the ma-
chine can produce cylinders with diameters
ranging from 650 mm to 1 250 mm and up
FLSmidth, the supplier of specialist equipment to the mining, minerals processing and cement industries, has recently upgraded
its South African wedge wire screen manufacturing facility in Edenvale, Gauteng. Using second generation technology in both
its control system and its tooling abilities, the new machine produces specialised wire mesh for mining, industrial and food
processing applications.
The new wedge wire machine recently commissioned by FLSmidth in its Edenvale facility.
The wedge wire machine long wire feed assembly.
Wedge wire being manufactured at FLSmidth.
Local wedgewire manufacturer
receives a boost
to 6 000 mm in length. These can be split and
rolled to produce flat panels.
Completing this investment is the new
automated rod straightener and cutter on
the factory floor. This extra sizing and cutting
capacityisalsobeingusedbyotheroperations
at the factory.
This investment has brought the South
Africanwedgewiremanufacturingoperations
in linewithFLSmidth’s other international op-
erations. Inaddition toAustralia, the company
also manufactures wedge wire in India and
the United States. The latter is home to the
‘Big Bertha’ machine that has the capacity to
producewedgewire cylinderswithdiameters
in excess of 2.0 m.
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