Tips for replacing cone liners

What’s the strategy behind pinpointing the optimum time for a cone liner changeout? And how do you determine just the right time to do it?

Curt Theisen, crushing technical support engineer at Superior Industries, offers perspective.

“Properly timed changeouts lead to greater crushing efficiency and liner performance,” Theisen says. “Wear rates and wear patterns differ based upon application parameters. The overall goal is maintaining the desired feed opening throughout the life of the liner to get the most utilization out of the wear part.”

Utilization targets

In Theisen’s role, he helps producers reduce wear costs and increase plant uptime – especially in tough, abrasive applications.

While the typical operation may achieve as little as 35 percent liner utilization and must discard the rest, Theisen says at least 50 percent liner utilization is the desired target. He suggests weighing the liners when they are new and after they are changed out, with the goal being to have worn liners weigh no more than half their weight at installation.

When working with a new set of liners, a good first step is to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for liner assembly.

Typically, product installation instructions will indicate the open-side and closed-side feed openings for each specific liner assembly. Depending on the feed openings and liner configurations, the instructions will illustrate the optimum dimensions between the adjustment cap and the top of the adjustment ring itself.

As the liner wears throughout its utilization, that dimension changes. Once the adjustment cap hits a predetermined distance from the adjustment ring, that’s a good indication that liners need to be changed out.

Wear performance

To ensure ongoing efficiency, Theisen says it’s wise to monitor the wear performance statistics on a set of liners throughout their lifecycle.

Did the liners meet or exceed expectations? How many hours of crushing do you average throughout the life of the liners?

Importantly, if you’re using a belt scale, Theisen suggests examining the total tonnage of product throughput achieved from a particular set of liners. Once that desired tonnage is identified, monitor any reduction in throughput.

As liners wear, the crusher is adjusted to keep a consistent closed-side setting – and the actual feed opening at the top of the liner cavity starts to close off.

Once up to 10 percent of crusher throughput is lost, operators cannot regain the money lost in that percentage of product reduction. At that point, it’s best to change out the liners – even if they are not fully worn.

Finally

The bottom line is to determine whether your liners are the best choice for your feed materials, specifications and product demands. Know the value your wear parts provide, and ensure you continuously reach your throughput goals by properly timing your liner changeouts.

Carol Wasson is a veteran freelance writer for the aggregate and construction equipment industries.

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