en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mikel Agirregabiria, Technical Manager at ULMA Spain, and Rajesh Shah, Sales Director for Canada, jointly presented the sealing systems and material solutions for conveyor belt idlers in extreme environments such as potash mining.
In potash mining, underground operations face the infiltration of fine, persistent, and highly abrasive dust, while surface conveyors endure winter temperatures as low as –40°C and freshly processed high-temperature materials. ULMA's patented sealing system consists of four protective barriers: the first labyrinth utilizes the spoon-shaped geometry of the metal cover to expel water and dust outward; the sealing lip blocks particle ingress when the idler rotates, fixed to the metal structure through vulcanization; the grease chamber captures particles that pass through the previous barriers; the second labyrinth uses the centrifugal force generated by rotation to push particles out.
The sealing system also needs to minimize the bearing depth, which is the distance from the bearing to the idler support point. This distance determines the cantilever length of the shaft beyond the main load-bearing area; the longer the distance, the greater the shaft deflection, leading to bearing misalignment. If oscillation exceeds 10 minutes, internal friction and vibration increase, weakening performance and shortening service life.
In terms of tube material selection, ULMA has developed heavy-duty composite idlers designed to resist corrosion and abrasive wear from fine particles. Under certain conditions, the strength of composite materials equals or even exceeds that of metal tubes, while being lighter in weight, reducing manual handling effort, shortening replacement time, and improving safety during maintenance. By combining the multi-layer sealing structure of the four barriers, the minimized bearing depth design, and composite tubes, ULMA provides a conveying solution that extends idler service life for environments such as potash mining.
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