How to reduce the replacement cost of wearing parts of papermaking equipment?

To reduce the replacement cost of vulnerable parts of papermaking equipment, we should not only rely on "buying cheap goods", but also carry out systematic cost control from multiple dimensions such as purchasing strategy, technical repair, equipment maintenance, process optimization and digital management. The following are several effective cost reduction strategies:

1. Implementing "Replacing with Repair" and Surface Engineering

For large or high-value wearing parts, the cost of directly scrapping and replacing them is extremely high. Surface engineering technology can greatly extend its service life and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Wear-resistant coating and spraying: the wear-resistant life of worn screen drum, rotor and pump body is often 2-3 times higher than that of original new parts by supersonic flame spraying or arc spraying and coating with tungsten carbide or nickel-based alloy.

Laser cladding and surfacing: laser cladding repair of key parts such as shaft head and roller surface can not only restore the size, but also improve the fatigue and corrosion resistance of the surface.

2. Optimize spare parts procurement and inventory management.

Break the situation of relying solely on the original high-priced accessories and establish a flexible supply chain system.

Introduce high-quality domestic substitutes: For non-core precision parts (such as ordinary scraper, seal, conventional bearing, etc.), on the premise of ensuring quality standards, choosing domestic substitutes with high cost performance can usually save 30%-50% of the procurement cost.

Joint Inventory Management (VMI): Sign a long-term agreement with the core suppliers, and the suppliers will establish consignment inventory near or in the factory. This can not only reduce the capital occupation and storage cost of enterprises, but also ensure that emergency spare parts are available at any time and reduce the hidden losses caused by downtime.

3. Strengthen preventive and predictive maintenance.

Unplanned downtime and collateral damage are the biggest cost black holes in paper mills. Scientific maintenance can change passive replacement into active management.

Condition monitoring technology: Using vibration analysis, infrared thermal imaging, oil analysis and other means to monitor the state of key components such as bearings and gears in real time. Intervene in the early stage of the fault to avoid the serious damage of adjacent components (such as shaft and frame) caused by the complete fragmentation of components.

Standardized lubrication management: Poor lubrication is the main reason for the early failure of bearings and seals in the harsh environment of paper machines. Strict implementation of the "five-set" lubrication standard and the use of special grease suitable for high temperature and high humidity environment can double the life of moving parts.

4. Improve the process and raw materials from the source

The wear speed of wearing parts depends largely on the "machining object". Improving the front-end technology can directly reduce the burden on the back-end equipment.

Strengthen impurity removal and purification: increase or optimize the configuration of slag remover and high-concentration desander in the pulping process to remove metal chips, sand particles and hard adhesives in the slurry to the maximum extent. These hard impurities are the "culprits" that lead to the severe wear of the grinding disc, sieve plate and pump body.

Optimization of chemicals and screen washing: rational use of cleaning agents, regular cleaning of forming screens and blankets to prevent fillers and resins from scaling on the screen. Scaling not only affects dewatering, but also aggravates the local wear of dewatering elements and scrapers.

5. Establish the life cycle database of wearing parts.

Cost accounting and life tracking by digital means.

Data-driven decision-making: record the installation time, offline reason, tonnage and repair cost of each batch of vulnerable parts in detail. Find out the law of "abnormal wear" through data analysis (for example, the life of a batch of blades is suddenly shortened), and timely investigate potential problems such as poor equipment alignment or raw material fluctuation.

Comprehensive evaluation of TCO: In purchasing evaluation, the "single purchase price" is no longer simply compared, but the "cost per ton of paper consumables" or "cost per operating hour" is compared. Sometimes parts with high unit price but long service life and maintenance-free can greatly reduce the overall operating cost.