Wear plates are regarded as one of the most important components that manufacturing and industrial companies need.
Used to keep machines safe, they offer protection from all kinds of damage.
They’re applied and installed to a wide range of mining and industrial equipment, like crushers, buckets, chutes, etc, to secure and prolong the lifespan of a part or a component, increase productivity and efficiency, and enhance the quality of results.
And when it comes to the wear plate industry, one Australian company has made it its mission to become a global leader in the field.
Enduraclad International, with offices in WA and Queensland, prides itself on supplying the world with wear solutions.
It is commited to providing high-quality products, and servicing customers in a safe working environment is at the top of Enduraclad’s priorities. Enduraclad’s Quality Management System is certified to ISO 9001:2015
State of Origin
Enduraclad began in 2011 from owner and managing director Jason Kell’s garage on donated tools.
The company grew rapidly when Jason was given an opportunity to rent a small factory space in an unused facility in Rockingham, where he installed a borrowed plasma cutter which allowed him to cut steel internally, thus grasping a market that demanded urgency in supply but wasn’t available from competitors in the market.
Despite processing the first dozen orders himself, staff quickly came on board and he provided opportunities for new employment in the Rockingham area, initially offering jobs to those less fortunate and training them in skilled operations of the machinery.
“Within six months, the company had employed 12 full time staff, had began its focus toward Quality Assurance and was an accepted vendor to many mining clients,” Jason said.
“Today Enduraclad operates from five locations globally, including supporting Australian manufacturing from WA and Queensland.”
The company has been the recipient of many business awards since 2014, with the most honoured awards being Medium sized Business of the year from the Telstra Business Awards in 2017 and in 2018 Optus Manufacturing business of the year.
Welding Quality and Selection
Different welding processes are better suited to different metals and fabrication projects.
Enduraclad ensures the welding process being used yields adequate penetration and strength and that it will also meet the projects timeline and budget.
It is also imperative that weld quality and other aspects of fabrication undergo rigorous testing and QA/QC before finished products are received by clients.
For example, ECI’s quality control program includes each of the following:
- Policy and Authority
- Organisation Standards
- Duties and Responsibilities
- Document Control
- Testing Requirements
- Calibration
- Record Retention
- Inspection
Enduraclad implements Lean and Six Sigma systems to ensure the reliability and durability of their product by focusing on driving down variance between end products.
Weld Overlays
Notably, Enduraclad offers products that are thicker and longer lasting. It first introduced 32mm thick overlay to the market which rapidly developed into 50mm thick.
“This unheard-of thickness is still unique to Enduraclad and is specified by many mining clients around the world,” Jason said.
“Enduraclad has developed the only machines available in the market to mass produce this thickness of overlay in sheet sizes double that in size of the nearest competitor in their maximum thickness.”
This concept has reduced the need for gaps between liners, allowing clients to fabricate full rotable tubs for lining of existing chutes, which mean full chutes can be uninstalled and reinstalled by means of swapping the entire chute rather than re-lining.
Premium Products
Enduraclad’s CTC6000® range is a super extreme wear resistant wear plate that is designed to protect against environments of severe abrasion and moderate impact where standard chromium carbide wear plates are ineffective.
The CTC6000® uses a combination of carbon, chrome and tungsten to achieve its abrasion-resistant properties.
The three key ingredients are combined with other alloying materials during the production phase to create a unique mixture that is able to overcome both abrasion and impact in most mining applications.
Variations in the CTC6000® are also available through customised production to suit the application intent and thickness required.
The CTC6000® range is available from 3on3 (6mm) up to 50on20 (70mm), with custom thicknesses available upon request.
Some of the applications the CTC6000® range is currently used for include:
- Chutes
- Ore Bins
- Stackers
- Ore Handling Systems
- Feeders
- Mobile Plant
- TLO Systems
- Reclaimer Buckets
ECI Maxi® is another super extreme abrasion resistance plate made from tungsten carbide granules, that are spread through a tough nickel, silicon and boron matrix.
This particular combination produces a hardness of up to 72RC, resulting in a significant improvement in the service life of the protected component when compared to other standard overlay wear plates.
Enduraclad also offers its Superflow® product – a wear plate material designed to promote material flow and minimise friction.
The material is ingeniously produced by a proprietary machine that enables both ‘smooth’ and ‘polished’ surfaces.
The polished surface essentially creates a non-stick surface that assists in preventing hang ups of sticky products (e.g. mud/dirt/fines) in many applications.
Abrasion Resistance
Recently Enduraclad also developed EmeX®, which was specifically engineered to reduce thickness but offer extreme abrasion resistance and impact resistance all in one ready to use overlay.
“This dynamic product has replaced 17mm thick standard overlays with 4mm thickness that is lasting the same amount of time in specific mining applications,” Jason said.
“This approach to lighten up a product has meant safe and easy installations for clients , lightening bucket and tray weights and reducing shutdown frequencies.”
A Myriad Of Offerings
Providing advanced and innovative products all over Australia to small engineering firms to major clients (such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Roy Hill) as well as major OEM companies (such as Westrac, Komatsu and Metso), Enduraclad is one of the largest suppliers of metallic wear products, with one of the largest range of protective wear solutions in Australia, including:
- Chromium Carbide Overlay (CCO) wear plate
- Tungsten Carbide Overlay (TCO) and Tungsten Carbide wear plates
- Advanced Ceramic tile, liner and paste products
- Quenched and Tempered Steels (QT)
- Ni/CrMo Castings, Block products
- Hardfacing / Thermal Spray
- Polymer products
With four large profile cutting tables, Enduraclad offers quenched steel cut to 1mm to 200mm thickness with the option of oxy and plasma bevelling for base lips and edges, with Grade80 (for use as lifting tines, earth moving bins, etc) through to Grade500 for use in tub tray buckets, chutes and cutting edges.
Advanced Ceramics
Advanced ceramics have been shown to outlast most standard metallic overlay applications, and have been shown to provide up to 10 times the life expectancy of the component being protected.
The liners are now in high demand for applications that require extreme sliding abrasion from bulk material handling.
Enduraclad’s Enduratile® rubber XT ceramic tiles are shown to last as long as five times that of a standard 92% alumina tile in most cases. Features of the product include 6mm studded steel backing plate, durable natural rubber protective coating, superior bond strength of greater than 6Mpa, and is available in all shapes and sizes.
The benefits of this rubber tile is its maximum wear life, greater resistance to impact, cost effectiveness, lightweight, engineered to suit and customised to fit, provides noise and vibration reduction and also promotes material flow in both wet and dry environments. Enduraclad also offers a large range of rubber and polyurethane products.
Giving Back To The Community
Not only is Enduraclad proficient in taking care of heavy duty machinery with state of the art welding techniques, it is also a company that gets involved and gives back to the community by providing vocational opportunities and mentoring to the local high schools.
“Enduraclad prides its involvement in the community particularly in providing opportunities for school aged employees, by working with the local high schools in the area to engage students in practical working experience, learning all about welding and fabrication techniques whilst being paid for their efforts,” Jason said.
“Opportunities are provided for students to work one day a week during the school year which compliments their studies.”
Furthermore, Enduraclad has supported the local communities through sponsorships, donations and offering return to work programs.
The community focus remains a key value within Enduraclad and its staff, who are extremely proud of the efforts and contributions of the entire team.
Source:
P (08) 9437 4506
E [email protected]
W www.enduraclad.com.au
