Grindex

Grindex is introducing a drainage pump with the capability to deliver water up to more than 260 feet in a single step. It comprises all the features known from the other Grindex dewatering pumps, giving tripled wear resistance compared to earlier pump generations.

Grindex says the pump’s 15 horsepower, compact design makes the pump easy to handle, and a two-stage impeller design provides high pumping pressures to overcome high head applications.

MSHA approved for underground coal mines, the unit’s air valve helps keep motor cool when pump runs dry, extending its operational life.

Smart motor surveillance protects the pump motor against damage due to single-phasing, over temperature and prevents it from running in the wrong direction; this is not available on MSHA models. Also not available on MSHA models is a build-in contactor that eliminates the need of bulky separate starter control box.

Grindex has a national network of sales and service distributors with Grindex trained sales personnel, engineers and service technicians. Along with stock of pumps and spare parts, the Grindex distributors also provide local technical support.

“This makes it easy for Grindex customers to minimize down time, lowering the costs of dewatering,” the company says.

Strata Worldwide

For the first time Strata Worldwide will be unveiling its new corporate branding and identity.

This is a change the company made in 2011 because it felt the new look better portrayed its commitment to innovation and to designing and developing improved products and solutions for underground mine safety and communications.

At SME in Seattle, Strata will be showcasing not only its distinguished product lines such as emergency refuge chambers, cordless cap lamps and the world’s leading proximity detection and collision avoidance system, HazardAvert, but it will also be introducing technologies including intrinsically safe Wi-Fi voice and data communications, wireless asset tracking and wireless, battery powered atmospheric monitoring.

Strata Worldwide is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and has a collection of engineering, service and support facilities in numerous locations around the US and in seven other countries.

JADCO

JADCO Manufacturing is introducing its Hardguard wear steel, an extremely hard, laminated bi-metallic composite with chrome-moly white iron bonded onto a mild-steel backing plate.

Available in blocks, bars, edges, button, donuts, skids, plates, and a variety of other shapes – all subjected to post-bonding heat treatments and thorough chemical, microstructure, visual, hardness, ultrasonic, and destructive examinations – these products can be custom-designed and fitted to suit most applications.

The product is especially ideal on buckets, including excavators, loaders, draglines, and face shovels, as well as crusher spider arm guards, discharge chutes, rock boxes, grizzlies, adaptors, screens, and hoppers.

Hardguard pieces have a finely dispersed microstructure and a minimum 63 HRC alloy hardness.

JADCO is headquartered in Zelienople, Pennsylvania.

Norwest

MINING consultant Norwest Corporation is on the lookout for mining professionals to join its team as SME 2012.

The company says it is undergoing a dynamic growth phase. As such it wants geologists, engineers, hydrologists, environmental specialists and other mining and energy professionals.

Voith

OPEN pit mining belt conveyors often transport the extracted raw materials over long distances or large elevation changes. Voith has developed a coupling, the TurboBelt 780 TPXL, for the drives of these belt conveyors.

It has been specially designed for economical induction motors operating at speeds of 900 to 1200rpm. Voith says the fluid coupling transmits twice the power of previous couplings of the same size.

It says the controlled start-up with gradual introduction of torque is not only easy on the belt, but also on the entire driveline. Start-up times of up to several minutes can be individually set in the control system.

At the heart of the development is the profile of the blade wheels in the coupling.

Voith’s fluid engineers have optimized this profile using computational fluid dynamics. As a result the blade wheels are claimed to transmit double the power with the same diameter, wear-free. To be precise, the TurboBelt transfers up to 1100 kW at 900rpm, 1500 kW at 1000rpm and 1900 kW at 1200rpm.

Power density is further increased thanks to the direct attachment of the TurboBelt to the motor flange, combined with two flow circuits operating in parallel. Compared with traditional couplings, the TurboBelt requires only half as much installation space and is also significantly lighter.

Installation and alignment are both simple and quick, Voith says, and the entire drive is lighter and more compact. This can be especially beneficial for mobile conveyor systems.

Voith says the optimized, hydrodynamic power transmission with the TurboBelt provides precise control of torque transmission, resulting in better protection of the belt, as well as extending service life of all drive components. The TurboBelt itself offers availability of up to 99.8%.

An L10 bearing service life of 80,000 hours helps to achieve this high level of availability. Further claimed benefits include very low maintenance, with the first overhaul due in approximately 10 to 15 years.

Voith Turbo is a group division of Voith GmbH.

Keep watching International Longwall News next week for photos and coverage from SME Seattle 2012.