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Products & Equipment Pits & Quarries
Martin Engineering develops new high-speed impact cradle

August 7, 2013  By Rock to Road


evo_hi-speed_roller_cradle_23352_45August 7,
2013, Neponset, Ill. – Martin Engineering’s new high-speed impact cradle is
designed to reduce roller and frame damage from heavy conveyor loading
conditions in mining, coal handling, aggregates and other applications involving
dense materials and/or high volumes.

evo_hi-speed_roller_cradle_23352_45August 7,
2013, Neponset, Ill. – Martin Engineering’s new high-speed impact cradle is
designed to reduce roller and frame damage from heavy conveyor loading
conditions in mining, coal handling, aggregates and other applications involving
dense materials and/or high volumes. The rugged EVO High Speed Impact Cradle is
engineered to withstand brutal operating conditions, reducing roller failures
and service requirements. One customer estimates that the new cradles from
Martin Engineering paid for themselves in just the first week of service at the
company’s copper handling facility, due to the savings in maintenance and
downtime.

 

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“Under
high-volume conditions, standard OEM impact idlers in the load zone simply
can’t withstand heavy loads and lengthy drops, costing downtime for repairs as
well as the expense of replacement components,” observed Martin Engineering
Service Technician Doug Brown.

 

The new
cradles use Martin Engineering’s Trac-mount technology to slide in and out
easily for maintenance. The modular components are light enough to be removed
by hand, without using a crane or other equipment to handle them.

 

“The new
cradle design only requires one person to change the rollers when the time comes,”
said Brown. “The biggest problem solved is the downtime. In the past, when
customers have needed to change rollers or frames, they had to shut down the
conveyor for an extended amount of time,” he explained. “Old style frames can
be difficult to remove, requiring that maintenance personnel pull the arms
down, then jack up the assembly to pull it out.”

 

“We wanted
something that was slide-in/slide-out,” added Martin Engineering Global Product
Manager Chris Schmelzer. “These new cradles were designed using Finite Element
Analysis, so we could confirm that they’d be strong enough, without having to overbuild
them,” he explained. “We can make it as strong as it needs to be, without
adding excess weight, so workers can remove and replace components without using
heavy lifting equipment.”

 

The
innovative load zone design uses an elastomer bar suspension system that
absorbs and distributes the material load being transferred, greatly reducing
the stress on the idlers’ rolling components and support structure. One
patent-pending design innovation is the use of connecting brackets near the top
of the idler frame to hold the three rollers together. These special brackets
are designed to allow multiple modular cradles to be tied together, so that the
idlers throughout the entire load zone work together as a system.

 

“This
cradle is simple to install, and the easy access to the center roller makes the
maintenance a one-person job,” Brown added. “In addition to greater durability,
it’s intentionally designed to facilitate service, making the task of changing
rollers safer and easier.”


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