A constant presence of hot points was detected in the CODELCO Norte primary crushing protection connections. This was mainly due to the equipment being submitted to strong mechanical vibrations.
When carrying out the corresponding maintenance, tulip-shaped connections cracked due to their fragility. This led to quarterly maintenance with full crushing stoppage and considerably decreasing crushing material feeding to transportation, with high costs for the area due lo low production.
The solution provided implied a complete inspection of the primary crushing protection connection tulips, incorporating the design and manufacturing of a strong and easy to maintain tulip system.
As a result, a complete solution was delivered after 10 calendar days, reducing the time for these spare parts supply, as they did not exist in the market. Furthermore, this is an alternative that provides fast and easy maintenance, reduction of maintenance time and frequency, with a stock policy for spare part replacement.
