How to Choose a Screening Equipment for Material Processing
How do you choose screening equipment for material processing?
- Understand how screening equipment work
- Know the different types of screening equipment
- Consider the material to be processed
- Choose the right screen media
Both crushing and screening equipment is vital when it comes to aggregate processing. By using both, you can turn large pieces of materials into smaller ones. The crusher will use force to crush them, while the screener will filter or sieve them to separate similarly sized materials. The particles will pass through the screen, while the bigger ones will remain on top. In some cases, each piece of equipment can also be used independently. To help you, here is a guide on how to choose a screening equipment. Keep reading!
Understand How Screening Equipment Work
Screening equipment is made of three essential parts — an engine that controls the vibrations, a screen that acts as a sieve to separate the materials, and a catching area. The material to be processed is fed into the machine, where it’s separated over the screen through vibrating motions. This process is called stratification.
Some screening equipment can separate materials in just one run, while other machines are more complicated. For instance, a screening machine can have more than one deck or tier for screening. When the material falls through the top deck, particles that are smaller than the screen holes fall through the second deck where there is a screen with slightly smaller holes, and so on. This way, you have multiple decks with multiple particle sizes.
Know The Different Types of Screening Equipment
When it comes to screening equipment, there are two popular designs available — the incline and horizontal screens. The choice will depend on your operating parameters and production goals.
Just like the name, incline screens operate at an angle between 10 and 35 degrees. Due to gravity, the materials move faster down the screen. For this reason, incline screens can improve your production capacity.
On the other hand, horizontal screens process materials at 0 degrees. There are machines that are adjustable to 10 degrees in either direction, but overall, they’re lower than incline screens. The materials travel slowly to the end of the screen and stay on it longer, which leads to a more accurate particle sizing.
Aside from these, consider whether you need stationary or mobile screens. The advantage of mobile screens is that you can use them both on-site or in remote areas. If you’re interested, you can check out the different types of vibrating screens offered by Kleemann.
Consider The Material to Be Processed
Depending on the qualities and quantity of the material to be processed, the type of screen equipment you need will vary. These are some of the factors you need to consider:
- Quantity: How many tons of material do you plan to process per hour?
- Particle Distribution and Size: The more material that needs to pass through the screen, the larger the screen area should be.
- Shape and Texture: You need to consider the shape of the particle being processed and the desired result. For example, most natural stone is round and even compared to crushed stone which is rough and angular. In most cases, the former is easier to screen.
- Density: The density of the material affects the load the screening machine needs to transport.
- Moisture: The moisture inside and outside the material to be processed can impact the performance of a screening equipment, especially if the screen hole sizes are small. Moist and thick slurry consistencies are hard to screen, compared to dry materials.
All of these factors can help you when sizing screen equipment. Don’t forget to inform your supplier, so you can find the right machine for your application.
Choose The Right Screen Media
The screen media is the component that has holes where the particles can pass through. There are different materials you can choose from.
Wire Cloth
This type of screen media is affordable and has a high number of holes compared to others. The only downside is that these can be damaged faster by abrasive materials. Fortunately, these are easy to replace because of the price.
Rubber
Rubber screen media are suitable for high-impact and large batches of material. These have fewer openings but are heavier and can withstand larger abrasive materials. You only need to be careful with small materials that could wear down the panel over time.
Urethane
If you have to screen wet materials, this type of screen media is the best choice. These also have less open space but are durable.
Key Takeaway
As a business, there are a few things you need to consider when selecting a piece of equipment. You need to be thorough when it comes to your requirements, so you can get the best value for your money.
If you need more tips on how to choose a screening equipment, you can send us a message here at Multico! We can help you pick the right mobile screen that will fit your organization’s requirements. Other than this type of equipment, we can also provide you with crushers, road rollers, forklifts, and more.
