How to optimise crusher performance and achieve screening efficiency
 The crushing and screening equipment market in India is expected to grow at the rate of 13 per cent per annum during 2012-17 driven by aggregate and construction industries, road projects, and railway lines. As the government has announced its “100 smart city” project, the demand for artificial sand will grow substantially. This, in turn, will fuel the demand of crushing and screening machines.
The crushing and screening machines market in India has gone through a sea change during the past decade. With the entry of global players, the market has evolved immensely. World-class, innovative machines are driving the market growth. However, as plenty of options are available for a plant operator, it is very much critical to identify appropriate crushing and screening machines for desired operations.
Commenting on things to be considered while selecting crushing and screening machines, Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India said, “While selecting an appropriate machine it is important to know which basic material shall be crushed or screened e.g. feed size, moisture percentage, nature of the rock (i.e. hardness, abrasiveness, crushing stage and ratio) and consequently the output – product size, sharpness, quantity and gradation requirement. Different rocks and final product requirements need different crusher and screen solutions.”
Senthil Kumar, Managing Director, Propel Industries Pvt. Ltd. observed the selection criteria as:• Production capacity of aggregate in tonne per hour will help customer in getting return on investment easily.• Reliability of the plant is very important, which can be measured in plant availability in per cubi-city. • Customer can consider the product cubi-city measured in flakiness index before selecting the plant.• Power consumption percentage for per tonne of production will help to save the operation cost. • Wear parts life will help to increase the machine productivity in turn increase the profit and avoid breakdowns.• On-call service support is also very important which will help to the customer to run the plant uninterruptedly.
Crushing is a communitive process wherein the upstream drilling and blasting process has a direct impact on the finished product after crushing. “At PROMAN we educate our customer in crushing and also select the optimum crushers and systems so as to maximise the quality or quantity or balance of both as per customer requirement thereby helping our customers to provide the desired aggregate at lowest operating cost,” says R S Raghavan, Managing Director, PROMAN.
Proman infrastructure Services Pvt. Ltd. is a company formed by a group of professionals with extensive experience and expertise in Crushing, Screening and Heavy equipment. Its main focus areas are in the field of crushing, screening and mineral processing.
According to Mr Raghavan type and size of material, product mix required, and quality and quantity of product required are some of the factors which are very important in selecting crushers. PROMAN provides the following services:• Manufacture and supply of crushing and screening equipment.• Detailed design and engineering for turnkey crushing and screening systems.• Project management for crushing and screening systems.• After-sales service for crushing systems.• Supply of wears and spares for crushers.
PROMAN range of crushing and screening solutions include PROjaw jaw crushers, PROcone cone crushers, PROMAN REMco Vertical Shaft Impact (VSI) crushers, PROMAN ORTNER sand washing equipment, and PROMAN Finedoor feeders and vibrating screens.  PROMAN also manufactures equipment on wheels and tracks for the mobile crushing and screening equipment market.
Subodh Kumar Dey, AGM – Technical, Torsa Machines Ltd. adds, “Mobility, preferred boulder size and product sizes, production plan, best selling product, and applications of end products should be considered while selecting crushing and screening machines.”
How to optimise crusher performanceOperating the crushers to the optimum efficiency will go a long way in ensuring the availability and bringing down the cost of production. “The processes involved like feeding of the crushers, crushing action, choke feeding, periodical maintenance are some of the key factors to be considered for optimising performance. Training provided to the operators plays a very important role in optimising performance,” Mr Raghavan suggests.
Whereas Mr Palagiri points out, “The uniquely matched components of a plant, as well as the abilities of the machine operator together lead to optimal results. Clever material flow concept – a continuous feeding system makes an essential contribution to the high performance of the plant. Plant automation supports defining the output size. Quick access to the operating unit with an easy menu guide and visualisation is vital. Constant maintenance helps to reduce breakdowns and guarantee optimal material flow.”
“Uniform feed gradation is essential to optimise crushers,” Mr Senthil Kumar adds. “It is important to have preventive maintenance frequently.”  Mr Dey outlines few points to be considered to optimise crusher performance:• Keep the lead distance minimum• Adequate stock for continuous feed• Select the most suited equipment i.e. right equipment for right purpose.• Minimal double handling by synchronising feed, production and sells.
How to achieve screening efficiencyThe performance range for screens depends on the type and composition of the feed material and the grading ranges to be screened. “The key to screening efficiency is to correctly identify the application requirements,” opines Mr Palagiri. “The throw and speed of vibration is important to good screening. It depends on feed size and material composition, moisture, bed depth and physical parameters of amplitude and frequency. Correctly loaded material permits an optimum material flow and prevents material congestions. Achieve best distribution of the material on the whole screening surface by efficient utilisation of the whole screening surface. A simplified and user-friendly control system will ensure better safety and visibility for the operator. Screens must be checked on a regular basis to guarantee maximum efficiency and performance.”
Mr Raghavan says, “Screening efficiency is achieved with highly efficient and well-designed screens, further controlling moisture content by 2-3 per cent, proper utilisation of the screening area by distributing the feed across the width of the screen and efficient design of the product chutes of the screen.”
According to Mr Dey, right screen should be selected for right job. He adds, “Moisture percentage should be kept within recommended level. The stroke should be adjusted as per preferred feed.” Lesser stroke should be opted for finer particle separation and higher stroke for coarser particle separation.
Whereas, Mr Senthil Kumar feels, “Vibrating amplitude and screen frequency or speed is very important.”
Product innovationPROMAN plans to launch bigger jaws and cones as well as fine screening equipment in the near future.  “Our VSIs deliver lowest power cost per tonne due to multiport technology. Our cones have high capacity with low power installation. Our crushers are flexible to maximise the quality, range of products or quantity with minimum or no investment for varying needs of a contractor or quarry owner,” claims Mr Raghavan.
“A compact wheel mounted unit with jaw and cone mounting on the same chassis including feeder and screen unit is our latest endeavour,” informed Mr Dey. The new machine is expected to drastically minimise the plant installation area and keep more space for product storage. Due to eliminate one extra chassis, it makes the plant more economical. This plant is available within 100 TPH range (Model: TORSA NOMAD C5080) in single chassis option and 150 – 200 TPH (Model: TORSA NOMAD JC 2100) is available on dual chassis.
Propel has recently launched QM Series cone crushers, which is fixed shaft type cone crusher. In case of power failure the crusher can be put back in operation within few minutes. Close side sitting adjustment is fully automated.
Indigenously developed QM Series cone crushers deliver reliable performance for various applications. “For reduced operating costs, extended life and unmatched reliability, QM Series cone crushers are the dependable choice,” assures Mr Senthil Kumar. “Some of the key features of this series cone crusher are durability, ease to use, superior performance and safe in operation.”
Kleemann GmbH looks back on a history of over 150 years. The first mobile crusher and screen plants were already in operation in the 1920s. In March 2015, Wirtgen India started production of mobile screens at its Pune factory. Crushing and screening plants from Kleemann GmbH are characterised by their excellent customer benefits. The Kleemann crushers are being used to produce aggregates for flexible and rigid pavement roads and crushing coal. These crushers are able to produce higher cubic capacity resulting in lower owning and operation cost.
Kleemann screens are suitable for use wherever high outputs are required and where difficult to screen material has to be separated._______________________________
The uniquely matched components of a plant, as well as the abilities of the machine operator together lead to optimal results.
Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India_________________________________
Training provided to the operators plays a very important role in optimising performance
R S Raghavan, Managing Director, PROMAN______________________________________
Uniform feed gradation is essential to optimise crushers. It is important to have preventive maintenance frequently.
Senthil Kumar, Managing Director, Propel Industries Pvt. Ltd.________________________________
Mobility, preferred boulder size and product sizes, production plan, best selling product, and applications of end products should be considered while selecting crushing and screening machines.
Subodh Kumar Dey, AGM – Technical, Torsa Machines Ltd.