New road-going trommel uses Baldor-Dodge bearings to simplify on-site maintenance

One of the major features of the new stone cleaning and sizing machine is deployment flexibility, thanks to the design's incorporation of a low loader trailer. Aside from deployment flexibility, one of Stelex’s key design parameters for the new trommel was ease of on-site maintenance. The company therefore chose to standardise on Dodge Imperial ISN bearings for all of the machine’s main rotational load-bearing parts. These bearings use a patented thin wall push-pull adapter system which can be either metric or imperial sizes and achieves clearance setting without the use of feeler gauges; the bearing can be installed or uninstalled simply by turning a locknut clockwise or anticlockwise.

According to Stelex’s Managing Director, Richard Evans, “Every Dodge Imperial ISN bearing does what it says on the box – it can be installed and uninstalled in less than 15 minutes. What’s more, the bearings can be fitted without specialist tools and are supplied pre-lubricated and fully sealed, making them perfect for on-site maintenance purposes. Not that they need replacing very often – we are getting in excess of 10,000 hours service, which is a very good figure, especially given the aggressive operating environment. We currently use 90 mm Dodge Imperial ISN bearings – there are eight of these on the HT182M, which are contained in ISN pillow blocks – but we are also looking at using the 140 mm models on larger trommels in development.”

The HT182M road-going trommel is the ideal solution for cleaning and sizing quarried stone, regardless of location. The machine's integrated low loader trailer enables it to be driven to the exact point of need on site. It is capable of handling blasted, ripped or as-dug material, and can process up to 500 tonnes/hour. Typical applications include quarry overburden cleanup and the removal of fines prior to crushing.

The trommel’s main components are a 42-tonne capacity feed hopper equipped with a variable speed reciprocating tray feeder, and a 1.8 m diameter x 9.8 m long screening barrel. The barrel sits on hydraulically-driven support rollers – the main drive pump can be powered by an electric motor or a diesel engine – and its rotational speed can be varied to accommodate different material flow rates. The complete machine sits on support legs or an under-frame, and the desired grade of material is obtained via an extraction hopper placed beneath the appropriate section of the screening barrel.