Drake Cement selected MDG America to supply its new vertical mill grinding plant in Paulden, Ariz., with four high-quality chain bucket elevators that will carry between 26 to 362 tph of material.
The first set of elevators consists of two connected bucket elevators that take feed material from the existing conveyor belts and, can either continue feed to existing grinding units, or divert feed to the new grinding plant. The conveyor belts will feed a diverter gate to the bucket elevator which feeds the hoppers.
The hopper discharge feeders send the mill feed material to the third bucket elevator which will feed the vertical roller mill (VRM) for grinding. The bucket elevator handles the mix of materials. After the VRM, the material is either air swept as a product out of the classifier, or the oversized material will be discharged to the VRM discharge chamber. The fourth bucket elevator will then collect the material and return the material for further grinding and metal discharge.
The chain mounted buckets are driven via the top rotor and drive unit, while the bottom rotor is adjusted and tensioned to ensure the units operate efficiently and remain in alignment.
The new grinding plant increases Scottsdale-headquartered Drake Cement’s cement production in the Southwest.