by Jon M. Casey

For dealers and guests who attended Terex Finlay’s North American Open Day July 23 in Charlotte, NC, one of the highlights of the equipment demonstration was the recycling capabilities of the 883+ SPALECK® tracked screen plant. The Terex Finlay 883+ screen plant has been combined with SPALECK® German technology, to give operators the ability to screen material that until now was difficult or impossible to screen, especially in a recycling application. For recyclers who are looking for ways to screen stringy and damp material, this innovative option is a proven method that deserves consideration.   

The SPALECK dual slope design allows troublesome material to flow across the top deck with smaller, more desirable material passing through to the second deck below. In this application, the top deck is outfitted with a 3-D stepped, punch plate that moves material across the top screen in a descending, cascading flow. The coarser, wetter material is moved across the screen without blinding.

The lower deck of this two-stage, dual slope screen option, is inclined at a slightly different angle from the upper deck and it oscillates with a counter, flip-flow, motion. Together, these screens produce three distinct products with one pass of material through the machine. More importantly, the ability of the SPALECK screen technology to screen wet, bulky material, gives operators a wide variety of applications where this system can be used. These include compost, plastics, biomass, topsoil as well as C&D waste, incineration slag, scrap metal and electronic scrap.

SPALECK Sales Engineer René Theissen who works with Terex Finlay personnel at events of this kind, answered questions about the performance of the SPALECK technology. He noted that this is a proven method of material separation with an extensive history of success in Europe. Theissen, along with Terex representatives Brian Pauley and Paul O’Donnell, explained how the top deck punch plate comes in various sizes based on the customer’s needs.

In this application, the Finlay 883+ unit was outfitted with a 3-1/2 inch by 5-inch 3-D top deck steel punch plate, a design that helps wet and stringy material to flow across it without hanging up. Smaller material is free to descend onto the second deck. When conditions warrant, a rubber 3-D punch plate is also available for materials where a small amount of additional screen deck vibration on the top deck, would help keep material flowing more effectively.

Modular panels, five rows of four panels each, make the upper deck punch plates easy to change. The second deck features live-framed flip flow rubber screens that are 180 degrees out of phase with the box so that the counter motion/agitation creates a flipping of material for more thorough screening. “When a crew encountered wet material in the past, they would have to shut the operation down,” said Pauley. “Now, they can keep on working all year round. The extra throw allows for the material to move through the system more effectively.”

“With this design, there’s enough friction between the materials that there is no screen blinding either,” added Theissen. “The stretching and flexing of the mat keeps the screen clean. In this way, you can still have a smaller screen design.”

With the addition of the SPALECK option to the Terex Finlay 883+ screen plant, end users still have the ability to switch out the screen decks to a conventional style deck, for traditional screening jobs. When the work is complete, they then can re-install the SPALECK deck for specialty screening. Theissen said that this switch usually takes two men about four hours, using conventional lifting equipment like a mobile or overhead crane if one is available. For owners of an 883 screen plant who purchased their unit before the SPALECK box became available, the unit can be retrofitted with a SPALECK screen box for added screening capabilities.

SPALECK® Screen for manufactured sand

In the aggregate, concrete and brick portion of the recycling demonstration, a Finlay 693+ Supertrak Screen plant was configured with a 20’ x 5’ two-deck SPALECK screen to show how aggregates could be crushed and screened, passing across the 693+ as a final screening to produce a quality sand without using conventional classification techniques. While this segment of the program did not include recycling material being screened with the 693+, the observations of the fine screening and separation that takes place in the SPALECK screen box gave observers a new consideration for being able to make use of material that otherwise would not be marketable. To be able to screen material down to three mm without blinding or plugging of the screen deck, gives operators a new option for processing recycled materials. For more information on the Terex Finlay equipment line, visit their website at www.terexfinlay.com.