Break-down order? No problem
PUMPS
When Vesconite Bearings’ team visited knife-gate valve manufacturer A.C.Valves to fully understand how its client was using low-friction wear-resistant Vesconite polymer guide strips in knife gates, the company was manufacturing two valves for a South African gold mine that had experienced a break-down. The 20” valves had been requested the day before and the mine’s supplier was due to pick them up on the day of Vesconite’s visit to the company, which can manufacture 200 - 300 knife gate valves a month depending on the size of the valve. A.C.Valves director Colin Scott notes that the gold mine required two narrow-design Wafer Ring Flange (RF) bidirectional valves, which are A.C.Valves’ most popular
design and the design that uses Vesconite as a guide strip. The valves, which handle light and medium slurries, are relatively thin and are designed in keeping with mining company plant designs that require small compact plants. The Wafer RF valves consist of two cast iron pieces with a stainless steel gate that lies sandwiched between the two. A PTFE rod with O-ring acts as a scraper at the bottom of
The production of knife gate valves for a gold company
8
Pipes, Pumps and Valves Africa - Jul/Aug 2021
