Three Common Issues of Ball Mill Gear Wear: Are You Ready to Tackle Them?

It's widely known that the ball mill is a crucial piece of equipment in a beneficiation plant, and it also represents a significant portion of the plant's investment. To ensure the service life of the ball mill during use, it is essential to first guarantee the longevity of the ball mill gears, as they are the mechanical components that drive the ball mill's operation. Once the ball mill gears are damaged, the ball mill awaits a halt and repair.
Recently, we addressed some clients' inquiries regarding the grinding mill gear wear issues and sought to improve the grinding mill gear wear. In fact, gear wear is the primary cause of reduced lifespan for grinding mill gears. So, what are the reasons for grinding mill gear wear? How can the wear issue be resolved? We have outlined some causes of grinding gear wear and corresponding solutions, hoping they will be helpful to our clients.
Improper lubricant selection and operational errors have led to gear wear in the ball mill.
The selection of lubricating oil and the choice of lubrication methods are crucial for the normal operation of ball mill gears, serving as important avenues for noise reduction and a prerequisite for minimizing wear.
At the mining facility, technical personnel arbitrarily select ball mill gear lubricants without fully considering the application characteristics and quality of different lubricants, nor do they correctly choose lubricants based on actual on-site application issues. This will lead to insufficient lubricant viscosity in the ball mill gears during operation, rendering it ineffective to produce and maintain protective oil film, thereby causing wear on the ball mill gears.
Additionally, a few ore dressing plants have been found to be counterfeiting in the application of lubricants, using waste diesel engines as fake lubricants. Not only do they lack lubricating effects, but they also continue to accelerate the wear of ball mills.
To reduce the wear of ball mill gears, it is imperative to strictly adhere to the standard of using edible oils as ball mill lubricants and selecting the correct tangent value for lubrication methods.
When selecting lubricants, two aspects should be considered. One is the viscosity of the lubricant, and the other is its solubility.
When selecting a lubrication method, it is crucial to ensure its feasibility and comprehensiveness. Current common lubrication methods for ball mill gears include manual lubrication, effluent pool lubrication, oil leakage lubrication, and spray lubricator lubrication. Compared to other lubrication methods, the spray lubricator lubrication system offers higher lubrication efficiency and can produce relatively stable floating oil.
This lubrication method employs a new marine mining installation, utilizing a gas jet spray technique, allowing the lubrication system of the sprayer to achieve superior lubrication effects with only a small amount of lubricant, surpassing that of conventional lubrication methods. Furthermore, the sprayer lubrication is controlled at the electrical control system level with a PLC, featuring a visible display that allows for setting of key parameters, controlling the volume of each spray, and displaying the operational steps. Therefore, we recommend choosing the sprayer lubrication system software.
2. Poor sealing characteristics of the transmission system gear cross-section
Gears in the ball mill drive system generally have large specifications. According to national design standards, there may be certain deviations in the surface values of the gears, necessitating a sealed structure to ensure the sealing characteristics between the gears of the ball mill.
However, in the existing processing technology, many ball mill gear cross-sectional production processes use the port pressurization method. This technique ensures excellent early application effects for the gears, with good sealing characteristics. However, after a period of operation, the compression of the port felt can also lead to the loss of the felt's elasticity, rendering the gear's sealing characteristics ineffective.
Defective sealing structures allow more dust and residues to enter the gears. Under long-term operation, the gear surfaces will suffer severe wear, not only significantly reducing their lifespan but also affecting subsequent maintenance, installation, and operation.
To ensure the sealing of ball mill gears, it is necessary to enhance their precision and strength. Currently, the precision of ball mill gears in our country is generally 9-8-8DC and 9-9-8DC, with the shaft neck surface roughness at 3.2μm. This level of precision and surface roughness is challenging to maintain for long-term operation, necessitating regular inspections, timely maintenance, or opting for gears with higher precision.
3. Gear strength of ball mill does not meet standard, resulting in wear
According to national technical standards, the strength of the large gear in ball mills must reach HB300 or higher, and the gear strength of the small gears must be above 300 HRC45 or even higher. However, some production enterprises fail to meet these strength requirements during the actual production process.
Moreover, a critical factor is that some miners, in an effort to save maintenance time on the machinery, avoid the process of resolving internal stress in the gears. This makes it difficult to achieve the specified strength during the production process, thereby reducing the wear resistance of the ball mill gears.
To enhance the strength of ball mill gears, it is imperative to do so.
When selecting ball mills, it is crucial to choose manufacturers that produce high-quality ball mills.
In the installation of ball mill gears, it is mandatory to comply with national regulations to ensure that the gear top clearance, vibration, and touch meet the standard requirements.
Third: During the subsequent operation of the gears, regularly maintain the working environment of the gears. When wear is limited, repair and replacement should be done promptly. If the surface of the small gear is found to be uneven, it can also be manually polished to reduce the roughness of the gear surface; if the large gear is severely worn and expensive, it can be repaired or flipped for normal use, which not only extends the service life but also reduces the investment in large gears.
The above is the information introduced by the ball mill large gear manufacturer for you. If you have any further questions, feel free to consult our website, where we have professionals ready to explain.