PROK Chile Introduces State Of The Art Pulley Testing Technology To The South American Market
The new equipment allows customers to check and verify pulleys before they are installed, leading to far greater performance and lower operating costs. This process was pioneered in the Australian mining market and has delivered significant improvements in pulley reliability for clients leading to lower costs and more tons of ore.
PROK recently commissioned this brand-new Pulley Vibration Acceptance test rig at our manufacturing facility in Santiago, Chile. The machine is the first of its kind in the region and will provide customers access to market leading OEM pulley testing equipment.
The test rig acts as a quality control station, guaranteeing reliability and conformance, including:
- Bearing Faults – Inner race, outer race and rolling element analysis
- Load Testing
- Temperature checks
It’s been specifically designed and engineered to handle the biggest pulleys in the market, the unique design ensures load and wrap are maintained while the analysis takes place.
Pulleys are rigidly mounted into the machine high capacity load cells, so we always know exactly how much load is being applied to the pulley. Load is present depending on the bearing type and dynamically controlled throughout the test by the machine’s computer, which also auto-tracks the belt while running.
Its robust design and dedicated footings are a result of extensive modelling to eliminate the risk of structural resonance, distortion and vibration transmission affecting results.
The machine can also be used to test pulleys that have been sitting idle on site for long periods of time, identifying any potential issues prior to being put back into operation.
PROK Chile General Manager Andres Virot said the new test rig will provide significant value to mining companies in the region.
“The new test rig is a unique offering for PROK Chile and will provide our customers with access to a quantifiable measure of pulley quality and the confidence that they have defect free bearings prior to dispatch for both new and refurbished pulleys.”
The team recently completed a full pulley refurbishment of a 17 ton, 1650mm diameter pulley for a key customer located in Chile, which was one of the first pulleys through the test rig.
PROK offers market leading pulley test facilities located in major mining regions across the globe.
If you are interested in finding out more about pulley testing, contact us to speak to an expert.
