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Nov 12, 2024

Cleaning and lubrication of wire ropes can reduce plant downtime | African Mining Market

W ire ropes are part of many critical applications in mining, at ports, for crane operations, and in dredging, among other sectors. This means that the correct maintenance of wire ropes is a key

Wire ropes are part of many critical applications in mining, at ports, for crane operations, and in dredging, among other sectors. This means that the correct maintenance of wire ropes is a key component of plant operations. However, Colin Ford, MD of Lubrication Engineers (LE) South Africa says that using traditional methods can take maintenance teams hours to clean one wire rope, and even more time to apply new lubrication to that rope.

Modern lubrication equipment does a much faster and more effective job than these traditional manual methods. LE is a distributor of wire rope lubrication products from Viper, an Australian company, that significantly reduce the time required to lubricate wire ropes.

Gary Wentzel, Senior Technical Sales Representative for LE says: “Whenever machines using wire ropes come to a standstill, a plant loses valuable time. The Viper system helps because where it would take several people maybe two hours or three hours of scrubbing a rope to clean it – which sometimes leaves a machine like a winder rim or a shaft closed for more than a day – with Viper products, we’re able to clean and lubricate in a single pass within an hour.”

A Viper lubricator is a collar with seals that is strapped down and held in place so that a rope can move through it. A wire rope cleaner can be attached to the front of the system, and this spins against the rope as it moves through it, removing old product and cleaning it. Then fresh product is applied as it moves through the rope lubricator.

The Viper lubricator comes in three different sizes to accommodate ropes from 6mm to 165mm: the mini kit ranges from 6mm to 44mm; the mid kit is from 6mm up to 67mm; and the maxi kit can handle ropes from 50mm to 165mm in diameter.

“Other products only coat the outside of a rope and seal the moisture inside the rope, which can cause corrosion. However, the Viper does more than just coat the wire rope; it lubricates it right through to the core of the rope,” says Wentzel.

Often, corrosion occurs on the inside of the rope, which is difficult to see without special equipment. An advantage with the Viper lubrication system is that as the lubricant penetrates to the core of the rope, it expels any water that could cause corrosion from the rope. Different types of greases and lubricants can be used with the Viper system, depending on the requirements for the particular application and rope being used.

Another factor is the reduced risks of this system compared to manual greasing, is It is safer for staff to use, requires smaller volumes of lubricant, and results in less leakage and mess.

Viper is becoming increasingly popular in the South African market, as operations managers see its effectiveness and the benefits of the time it saves their teams. “The interest in the market has been amazing and there has been a wide variety of people that have had interest in the Viper system,” says David Beukman, Global Business Development Manager at Viper.

Beukman says that the interest from so many different industries is also a positive indication of the potential growth in these sectors. After a difficult few years for industries like mining, sentiments are positive and the willingness to invest in products like the Viper that prolong equipment component lifespans indicate that these businesses have adapted to their current economic environment and are still looking to contribute positively to the South African economic landscape.