• 0

Primary cleaner

The DirtWhacker® Primary Belt Cleaner

image012


The DIRT WHACKER® Primary belt cleaner range is designed to provide the industry with a conveyor belt cleaning solution at the head pulley.

The primary units are highly efficient; and yet, the conveyor belt top cover is exposed to minimal wear.

Our primary belt-cleaning units are also known to be cost-effective, as it requires no specialized labour following installation until the fully worn blades need replacing.

 

 

The DIRT WHACKER® Primary belt cleaner meets the following design criteria:

  • The cleaner blades are designed to bring about minimal belt wear to the belt top-cover.
  • The innovative parallelogram design maintain the optimal belt blade angle irrespective of Blade wear.
  • The air bladder system ensures even blade to belt pressure over the full cleaner width.
  • The blade design is compatible with the majority of mechanical belt fasteners.
  • The unit requires no mechanical adjustment in between blade changes.
  • At all times there is a visual indication of belt to blade pressure.
  • The belt to blade pressure can be adjusted from a suitable remote location.

 

Blades

The DIRT WHACKER® Primary Blades are developed to provide the industry with a durable blade range. These blades provide an excellent balance for the customer when it comes to durability and belt-friendliness.

 

The DIRT WHACKER® Primary Blade system meets the following design criteria:

  • The cleaning blade exhibits excellent belt-friendliness
  • The blades minimize carry-over
  • The blades have an outstanding ability to accommodate thermal shock
  • The system is compatible with all stapled and reversible belts
  • Blades can tolerate belt speeds up to 8 metres/second

 

image015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The DIRT WHACKER® difference with the CONVENTIONAL scraper - rubber mounted

The DIRT WHACKER® cleaner uses belt/blade pressure of 8-12Kg/cm².
Conventional belt scrapers use a blade/belt pressure of 1,1-1,4Kg/cm².

The DIRT WHACKER® cleaner uses blunt blades. The blunt blades are applied to the top cover at a higher pressure and as such minimize the abrasive media (carry over) between the belt and the blade. The blade only wears due to the polishing of the hard metal by a softer material (rubber).

With a CONVENTIONAL scraper, It is well established that the conveyor belt surface has a pre-determined roughness at installation. As wear occurs on the belt surface, during service life, the roughness will progressively increase (3-15 µm). The same applies to the contact area of the scraper blade on the conveyor belt (01-02 µm).

image021

Carry-over is the material that passes between the belt and the blade figure.

 

The rubber mounted conventional scraper has serious shortfalls as illustrated by the following:

image023

a) Regular maintenance checks and adjustments are needed to ensure optimal performance.
b) Some blades will have a negative belt-to-blade angle - causing belt wear. The difference in blade-to-belt pressure per segment will increase as wear occurs.
c) Adhesive deposits onto the rubber suspension will reduce the scraper's effectiveness.

 

 


Parallelogram

 

  • The Parallelogram ensures that the cleaner blades maintain the optimal belt blade angle irrespective of blade wear.
  • Each 150mm blade section is mounted on its own Parallelogram. This ensures that the belt and blade wear are optimally accommodated for.
  • The pressured air tube applies a force on the internal walls of the parallelograms thus generating a controllable and precise pressure on the blade against the belt independently of the amount of blade wear.
  • The hinges around which the parallelograms pivot are coated in nylon and protected by O-rings to avoid any corrosion and/or penetration of small particles into the mechanism.

 

Air System

image025

The DIRT WHACKER® Air System amounts to a vast improvement in cost effectiveness for the industry. The following points illustrate how:

  • The Primary Air system ensures even blade-to-belt pressure over the full cleaner width.
  • When the primary belt cleaner is located inside an inaccessible structure the belt-to-blade pressure can be adjusted from a suitable remote location.
  • No skilled labor is required to operate the belt-cleaner between blade changes.
  • The belt-to-blade pressure can be monitored from a control room.
  • The belt/blade pressure can be managed following various criteria. This is an important consideration when working with fast-moving belts at 8 metres per second.
  • One air bladder supports all blades on a given cleaner unit. This ensures that every blade will have equal belt-to-blade pressure, in spite of wear.