DESMI to reliability engineers: We have the money-saving answer for pumping asphalt and bitumen

The challenge was clear. An American roofing shingle manufacturer’s new corporate “reliability engineer” reached out to DESMI. He was looking for an alternative to the filled asphalt pumps that his company had used for years from another supplier.

The one-year challenge

The challenge was clear. An American roofing shingle manufacturer’s new corporate “reliability engineer” reached out to DESMI. He was looking for an alternative to the filled asphalt pumps that his company had used for years from another supplier. He had been going through the factory’s equipment to determine which products were the least reliable and costing the most money.

“He identified their filled asphalt pumps as the most expensive,” says Charles Womack, Business Development Executive Sales Manager at DESMI. “It was not only on the purchasing side, but also on the maintenance side, since the whole line had to shut down when the pump wasn’t running. And that happened a lot.”

Womack proposed the proven DESMI HD201 ROTAN© asphalt pump, and the client agreed to a demanding trial. “The goal was that if the pump could run for 12 months, then it was a success.”

In this challenging, abrasive application of pumping asphalt mixed with limestone, pumps typically run on variable speed drives. When first installed, they run at 30-40% speed. As a pump wears, performance drops, so the operators speed up the motor to counter the slippage. They keep speeding it up until at a certain point, it is considered a failure and the pump is replaced.

“We installed the pump on January 7, 2019,” Womack says. “As of today, 16 months later, the pump is still operating at original speed. It is still performing just as it was on January 7 more than a year ago.”

In addition, the company has changed the pump’s high-temperature graphite packing just four times. “Previously, they were changing packing every one- to two weeks,” Womack says. “Why is that important? These pumps are operating at 450 degrees Fahrenheit [230° C]. You are changing packing in a very hot pump. If you can keep the guys out of there, you reduce the risk of injury.”

Womack adds, “It has proven to be an exceptionally successful trial.”

Read the rest of the story here: https://www.desmi.com/news-(3)/desmi-to-reliability-engineers-we-have-the-money-saving-answer-for-pumping-asphalt-and-bitumen.aspx