A fter attending a trade show in Canada, business enquiries
directed at Johannesburg firm Corflex Engineering have resulted in
the sale of two hydraulically- operated 500 mm pinch valves to be
used in a tar-sand project in the north American country. This
follows previous orders received for mines in Zambia and Mali
towards the end of last year.
„We are also optimistic that a significant order for three 200 mm
hydraulically-operated pinch valves for mining applications will be
coming through from Australia,“ states director Dave Webber.
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Having firmly established itself in the Australian market, with an
impressive success rate from enquiries received over the last four
years, the company will be focusing on broadening the development
of its export market.
The perceptionflow chart of coal handling plant is that Corflex valves are superior to similar
products made elsewhere in the world in quality and pressure
ratings.
Local business for the company is at a steady rate as numerous
agents around the country keep a constant flow of orders coming
in.used iron ore mining equipment price usa
Pinch valves have historically been confined to low-pressure
applications due to inferior-strength sleeves.
„In every other respect they are ideal slurry valves, being a
rubber-lined pipe when open and, providing that they arfroth flotation to remove iron from gold oree shut
properly and not allowed to leak, there is very little or no wear,“
explains Webber.
Traditional alternative options for high-pressure applications are
ball, plug, gate or other steel valves.
These, however, have certaingold refining equipment suppliers drawbacks, such as the need for
intensive maintenance which requires frequent disruption to the
pipeline, which is costly.
With the local mining industry booming in the early 1980s, Webber
saw an opportunity to manufacture a pinch valve that would be able
to tolerate high volumes of abrasive material at high pressures and
that would require little or no maintenance.
„To this day, our valves have been developed to operate at higher
pressures than any other similar valve in the world,“ maintains
Webber.
The manufacturing process of the rubber pinch valves begins with
the laying up of the liner on a mandrel to the required
thickness.
Reinforcement, usually high-tensile wire, is then added, the amount
of which depends on the working pressure of the sleeve.
The outer cover is then applied, which protects the sleeve from
weathering and corrosion.
All this is carried out by hand and manufactured to ISO 9002
standards.
At the completion of the making of the valve it is pressure-tested
to twice the recommended working pressure.