Screens are the sieves which make particle size reduction possible. A critical piece of machinery, they protect crushers from abnormal feeds and process the crusher’s discharge before feeding the next phase of the circuit.

Like most highly engineered equipment – product selection is key to ensuring screens operate at optimum performance. It’s important to select a screen which not only meets the site’s current requirements, but can keep up as the requirements of the circuit change.

Imagine, finally reaching the point where you can increase your operations only to find that your existing screen will not cope with the added throughput. Failure to anticipate future growth when selecting your screen could result in extensive costs to upgrade steelwork and replace periphery equipment, such as feeders and conveyors, blowing out payback calculations dramatically.

Weir Minerals manufactures a wide variety of screens, all of which have been purpose built to meet specific requirements. From dewatering and inclined screens to horizontal and multi-slope, each variation has specific features and benefits to ensure they excel in their specific application.

However, before deciding on the screen type, it’s important to ask yourself one question: does this application require a standard or engineered to order (ETO) solution?

What is “standard”?

Our “standard” screens are the catalogue range: screens which have predefined lengths and widths that a manufacturer has successfully sold and installed in the past. A lot of screen suppliers would argue that choosing a standardised screen is risky – how do you know what sizes will suit your customers?

While we agree you cannot follow a one size fits all approach for screen design, for many screening applications, a catalogue screen will fit the bill, because our standardised range of Trio® screens has been built from direct input from our customers from across our unmatched global service network of more than 70 countries around the world.

Through our customers, we identified screen features, sizes and configurations that were needed time and time again in the mining and aggregates industries, which allowed us to ensure our supply chains could rapidly deliver these standard screens and components anywhere in the world.

Our standard range of screens have been designed with an emphasis on ease of maintenance and service, and to seamlessly integrate with existing equipment on site.

Often “standard” has negative connotations, but the “standard” set by Trio® screens has been designed to meet the evolving demands of mine sites and quarries worldwide and is backed by a world-class service network. Buying off-the-shelf can lower the downtime of operations and expedite the commissioning process.

When do you need a custom-built screen?

Although our standard range has been built to meet the requirements of many sites, there are some applications which are non-typical and require something special.

Engineered to order (ETO) screens, which we refer to as our Enduron^® range, address our customers’ needs when nothing off the shelf will do the job.

Screening applications become more complicated as you move further downstream within the mining circuit. As soon as a certain particle size is achieved, focus turns to separating the precious metals from the rock. This added variable is often coupled with different ore types, different methods of extraction and multiplied by the number of process stages; suddenly what was the simple process of separation becomes a highly complex process with multiple variations.

Our range of Enduron^® screens are rooted in decades of experience in providing customised solutions to the mining industry.

Our ETO screens begin with our process engineers mapping out your individual requirements including; length, width, height, speed, stroke, inclination, and application. They will then meet with the screens design team to design every aspect of the product. This information is then reflected on a 3D model which is reviewed by our senior design engineers and our supply chain and manufacturing specialists.

When it comes to “custom made” all Weir specialists are involved to make it a success.

We’ve delivered ETO screens for unique projects around the world. Recently, our team developed a low-profile, double deck screen to accommodate specific space constraints within a plant. Due to the lifting restrictions on site, disassembled components were shipped to the customer and assembled in-situ.

By thinking outside the box, we were able to help our customer increase capacity with a double deck screen in an area that can barely fit a single deck. This is just one example of why custom-built screens are so important, but there are many more. A screen may be required to:

Fit within an existing footprint
Process challenging material
Perfectly compliment the parameters of a project
Match the specific preferences of the screen’s operators

Every application has specific requirements and our ETO screens are designed with our customers’ unique requirements in mind.

We understand that, first and foremost, our customers need our support, regardless of their equipment need. Our experts have spent a lot of time understanding the requirements of our customers and ensuring that our teams around the globe, can offer the correct equipment, regardless of the application.

Get in touch with your local Weir Minerals expert today and find out more about our range of Trio^® and Enduron^® screens.