Metso has been a leading manufacturer of rock-crushing equipment for the mining and aggregate industries for over a century. Their crushers, screens, feeders, and other machinery are found in quarries, mines, and processing plants worldwide.
In recent years, Metso has pioneered automation systems that bring the centuries-old practice of rock crushing into the 21st century. These smart systems are optimizing crushing operations, increasing production, reducing costs, and transforming the way the industry works.
Metso’s Automation Technology
At the heart of Metso’s automation systems are advanced sensors and controls that automate key parts of the rock-crushing process. These include:
Feeding
Sensors monitor the feed rate into crushers and screeners, enabling these machines to operate at optimum capacity without overloading. The automated feed controls eliminate the guesswork that operators previously relied on, leading to more consistent production.
Bearing Temperature Monitoring
Sensors track the operating temperature of bearings and other essential components. This allows incipient problems to be detected early, avoiding catastrophic failures. It also enables predictive maintenance instead of reactive maintenance.
Truck Unloading Management
Sensors and traffic light systems optimize the flow of trucks unloading raw materials into the hoppers and feeders. This reduces wait times and keeps material moving smoothly through the primary crushing stages.
In addition to automating the physical crushing operations, Metso’s automation systems provide advanced monitoring and reporting capabilities. Operators can view the status of the entire plant on computer screens in the control room. The system generates detailed production reports and operational data to help optimize performance.
Benefits Of Metso Automation Systems
The automation technologies introduced by Metso deliver significant benefits at every operational level:
Increased Levels Of Production & Efficiency
Plants equipped with Metso automation can achieve major gains in crushing productivity. For example, when Pedreira Guaravera, an aggregate plant in Brazil, implemented a Metso automated system on its primary crusher, production increased by 40%. This was achieved by eliminating bottlenecks in the crushing line, enabling continuous production flow.
Better Quality & More Consistent Products
With automated feed rate controls, the crushing chambers operate at a steady capacity rather than the variable feed rates related to manual control. This results in much more consistent product size, shape, and quality. And it reduces the dependency on operator skill.
Improved Machinery Uptime & More Efficient Maintenance
By catching problems early through temperature and diagnostic monitoring, Metso automation allows plants to reduce unplanned downtime. Maintenance can be scheduled during optimal periods rather than at inopportune times when components fail unexpectedly. This also increases overall equipment effectiveness.
Data-Driven Decision Making
With a wealth of operational data automatically collected, plant managers can make smarter optimization decisions. The real-time production numbers help tune processes for maximum performance. Insights into utilization and downtime allow adjustments to improve efficiency.
Changing The Rock-Crushing Industry
While automation has long been standard in many industries, rock crushing has been slower to adopt new technologies. But Metso’s systems are now bringing the power of automation even to smaller, technologically conservative aggregate and mining operations. This is quickly changing how the industry works in several key ways:
- Automation is allowing smaller plants to increase production capabilities to compete with larger competitors. Intelligent systems can help maximize output from existing equipment.
- Remotely monitoring and troubleshooting problems reduces downtime, labor costs, and maintenance, resulting in more efficient machinery and increased profitability.
- Real-time production data enables fact-based optimization rather than guesswork. Managers can make data-driven decisions to refine operations.
- The industry is shifting from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance. Through early issue detection, costly failures can be avoided.
- Metso’s automation enables more sustainable growth. Existing plants can increase capacity through optimization versus capital spending.
The Future With Automated Crushing
Metso is already working on the next generation of crushing automation systems that will leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and expanded remote control capabilities. Key developments we expect to see in the future include:
- Artificial intelligence and advanced algorithms will optimize a rock-crushing plant’s processes in real time to achieve the highest throughput and lowest cost per ton.
- Implementation of automation will accelerate across the mining, aggregate, and cement industries as the benefits become apparent.
- Fully autonomous crushing systems are on the horizon, using the data from sensors and controls to operate with little or no human input.
- Metso will continue innovating, but competitors are also entering the automation arena, advancing capabilities across the industry.
Find The Right Automated Rock-Crushing Solutions From Metso With Mellott
Metso’s automation systems are bringing revolutionary changes to the rock-crushing industry. These smart connected systems are ensuring crushing operations can compete in today’s data-driven world by optimizing operations, increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving profitability. Companies that fail to adopt automation technology may struggle to keep up.
The future points toward even greater capabilities as artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and expanded remote control enhance automated crushing further. Mellott is able to provide guidance for companies considering Metso’s groundbreaking range of machines.
Contact Mellott today and let our team use our extensive real-world knowledge to find the right rock-crushing automated solutions for your operations.
