Martin® Air Cannons Require Less Maintenance
Product Types Used Air Cannon Solutions , Air Cannons , Flow Aid Accessories
Industry Mining
Customer Ispat Inland Mining Company Virginia, Minnesota

Problem

Filter cake is released from the filter sections with the discharge of air from a Martin® Air Cannon.

To preserve the life of the air cannon’s piston and sealing o-rings, oil was added to the air supply. But as the air cannons would discharge the oil would collect on the filter, causing the filter to plug or bind. Filter efficiency would go down, which in turn reduced plant output and increased maintenance problems.

Solution

A Martin® Air Cannon is installed on each vacuum filter at Ispat Inland’s taconite processing plant.

To eliminate the need for adding lubrication to the air supply, the plant installed Martin® XHV Retrofit Valves on the air cannons. Designed for applications where the temperature does not exceed 200°F (93°C), this patented replacement valve features a short 5/8-in. (16-mm) stroke and a piston fabricated of Nylatron® Nylon to provide a long life. The piston operates without requiring lubrication in the air stream and is guaranteed by Martin Engineering for two million firings.

Results

The Martin® XHV Retrofit Valve has been in operation since March 2002. Since then, the Martin® Air Cannon has discharged every eight seconds during the plant’s round-the-clock operating schedule, achieving roughly 3.5 million cycles per year without problems or maintenance.

Resources

PDF - Printable Version of Case Study Download
Brochure - Mining Industry Download
Brochure - Air Cannons Download
Brochure - Martin Engineering Corporate Profile Download

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