OEM parts avoid vibrating screen damage

As the demand for materials rises, maximizing uptime is of the upmost importance. One of the best ways to ensure reliability for vibrating screens is to always choose original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts. While fabrication shops often produce quality components, they cannot guarantee parts built to OEM standards.

A vibrating screen works as a total system, so minor differences in size, weight, and material can lead to a chain reaction of damage, ultimately resulting in lost profit.

Here are the four most important vibrating screen parts to buy from an OEM:

Shaft components:

Shaft components form the heart of a vibrating screen and are machined from specific material to 25.4 microns, so any flaws can damage an entire machine. For example, if a fabrication shop does not design the shaft shoulders within OEM tolerances, the small difference in size can cause the shaft assembly stack to be too tight or too loose. This can lead to excessive heat and wear and even potential failure of the shaft and body components.

Mounting components:

The mounting components are designed to deflect at a certain spring rate, depending on the weight of the vibrating screen. Replacing a damaged part with a fabricated version that may not be the correct material or design could cause the spring rate to be thrown off. This could mean the mounting assembly cannot take as much load and may be too soft and break again, or it could be too stiff, which may cause side panels to break.

Deck frames:

All material is classified using screen media, which is supported by the deck frames. That makes the deck frame quality extremely important. If a fabrication shop does not manufacture the deck frame according to the machine’s specifications, the media will not tension correctly, leading to broken screen media, contaminated product, and other potential damage.

Side plates:

Properly fitted side plates are vital to the structure and functionality of a vibrating
screen. If one side plate is replaced, and the fabricated version doesn’t exactly match
the opposite, a series of positioning issues can happen down the line. Even the smallest inconsistency can trigger problems with the shaft assembly and cause the machine to rack.

While it may seem like buying aftermarket parts will save money, the result is likely to cause additional downtime and costs. OEM manufacturers ensure parts fit individual machines, so operations do not need to worry about missed measurements or repair costs. 

Duncan High is division manager of processing equipment technology at Haver & Boecker.

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