Vesconite in Mining

Vesconite’s origins lie in the gold mining industry, a notoriously harsh working environment. The product was developed as a maintenance-free alternative to bronze bushings traditionally used in mining equipment. Unlike bronze, Vesconite eliminates three key issues: The need for regular lubrication; the effects of dirt and grit on costly components; the damage caused by water to traditional bushing materials. Vesconite offers up to 10 times the lifespan of traditional bushes in these harsh conditions and saves hours of downtime caused by machines requiring frequent lubrication.

Common Mining Applications

BENEFITS FOR MINING

Vesconite has been shown to offer up to 10 times the life of bronze in these harsh conditions.
Vesconite is hard wearing and eliminates time-consuming greasing of bushing parts.
Vesconite prevents damage to costly machine shafts.
Vesconite is unaffected by dirty, gritty and damp conditions.
Vesconite does not swell or distort when exposed to water.
Vesconite low friction co-efficient and high abrasion resistance is well suited to many mining applications.

MATERIAL COMPARISON

Bronze is the traditional material used for bushes in mines. Traditional because there were no viable alternatives until Vesconite fit and forget bushes. The problem with bronze is that it does not always perform well in the dirty, often wet conditions found in the mines. Also, bronze parts are often stolen for their scrap value. Bronze works well as a bushing material if regularly greased, if dirt is kept out and if there is no moisture or water about. But these are three big “Ifs” in the harsh conditions encountered in mines.

Nylon bushings have often been tried in mines. However, nylon absorbs moisture – up to 9% by mass in a humid atmosphere. This causes nylon to swell by up to 3%. Swelling means that clearances are lost and unexpected seizures occur. Humidity also causes nylon to soften. This leads to the wear rate speeding up, and bushings squeezing out because they cannot take the bearing load. Vesconite’s water absorption is so low that any swelling and softening effects are negligible.

Vesconite Mining Case Studies

Vesconite honoured for Covid Business Resilience

Vesconite Bearings is pleased to have received the Business Resilience Award, presented by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa…

Bearing swell problem solved for percussion hammer drill

A nylon bearing-swell problem almost led to the abandonment of a project to develop a new percussion hammer drill until the drill…

Break-down order? - No problem

When Vesconite Bearings’ team visited knife-gate valve manufacturer A.C.Valves to fully understand how its client was using low-friction wear-resistant Vesconite polymer guide…

New electrical isolation pads make SX plants safer

An engineered polymer traditionally used for bearings has reduced fire risks on solvent extraction (SX) plants. The polymer, Vesconite, has been installed…

Vesconite water flinger adopted by pump manufacturer

A Southern African pump manufacturer has received its order for Vesconite low-swell hard-wearing water-flingers for four of its pump sizes.

Vesconite sliding wear plates operate beyond 1300 hours

Test-work on Vesconite polymer sliding wear plates has shown promising results on a crawler drill that is employed at a zinc project,…

First batch of pneumatic chainsaws expected in March

The first batch of 60 Magnevane pneumatic chainsaws (The Swordfish M15) with Vesconite Hilube polymer vanes will arrive in South Africa in…

Order for Spillminator with Vesconite bushings dispatched

An order for a Spillminator with Vesconite bushings at the pivot points was dispatched by Lani Service Centre to a South African gold-mining company in September 2017.

Vesconite used in innovative mining technology

Mineral processing equipment manufacturer and designer MechProTech has introduced hydrodynamic composite bearings made out of Vesconite thermopolymer plates that are bent into…

Hitemp 150 bushings in rock drills perform well under extreme conditions

A company specialising in pumping equipment continues to use rock drill machinery fitted with bushings made from Hitemp 150, Vesconite's temperature and…

Vesconite used on flask door opening mechanism

Flask doors are opening mechanisms allowing ore to pass through and into a skip situated below. Knuckle pin bushes, used on the…

Vesconite used on a peripheral grinder

A South Africa mining company using peripheral grinders to sharpen steel bits on rock drills contacted us for a replacement solution to…

Vesconite bushings on a vertical borer stabiliser rod

A earth-boring company was looking for a durable material to create stabilisers for its borer machines. The machine bores between levels in…

Vesconite used as oscillating bearing on filter rakearm

South Africa - A mining company sought a harder-wearing alternative to white metal liners on filter rakearms. These rakearms are used to…

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