Thread: Alternative to Clearvue

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

May I ask what that cyclone is separating?

Pete

In the absence of an immediate reply from BMKal, I expect that it is being used for separating dense material like crushed ore in the mining industry. Typically done with water...

https://twitter.com/CyclonesParnaby/...94066687954944

Here are some being used for separating copper ore that look like a Dyson on steroids... }

https://www.miningmagazine.com/w-ima...el-768x475.jpg

Thanks. I was wondering if it was being used for separating gold from the pay dirt. Seen too many gold mining shows.

Pete

Thanks, Neil, it certainly is a Dyson on steroids!

Cyclone Stack.jpg Dyson on Steroids.


Wonder what the science is for using 16 "small" cyclones versus one humongous one? The safety fence illustrates the scale - it's big.

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Thanks for the picture BMKal. In the woodworking community it is extremely rare to see one tilted and you will find many people getting very fussy with their levels to make sure they are vertical. May I ask what that cyclone is separating?

Pete

Thanks Pete. That one was in an iron ore beneficiation circuit just out of Whyalla. It processed the very fine "slimes" that were in the plant feed to separate the fine iron ore particles from other lighter fines particles, and was one of the earlier stages of the processing circuit. The iron ore "fines" collected from this cyclone went straight to "de-watering" on a vacuum filter belt prior to collection and storage for export.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Thanks, Neil, it certainly is a Dyson on steroids!

Cyclone Stack.jpg Cyclone on Steroids.


Wonder what the science is for using 16 "small" cyclones versus one humongous one? The safety fence illustrates the scale - it's big.

A cyclone circuit like this is typically used in a grinding circuit with one or more ball mills or similar. The mill overflow slurry is pumped up to the cyclone cluster which is typically mounted above the mills, where they separate the ground (fines) material from the coarser unground material, which returns back to the feed end of the mill for re-grinding. The "fines" passes on to the next stage of processing. In this application, a very high volume of slurry is pumped to the cyclones at very high pressure - the particle size at which separation is effected inside the cyclone/s is determined by the speed at which the material enters the cyclones - which in turn is controlled by the volume and pressure of the material being pumped to the cyclone/s. A cluster of smaller cyclones is much better for achieving the required pressure for the particle separation required (in a gold milling circuit, this is generally less than 100 microns) than a smaller number of larger diameter cyclones will be. Additionally, cyclones in this sort of application are a very high maintenance item, with internal wear components requiring change-out on a very regular basis. The body of these cyclones is usually made of plastic or fibreglass, so any slurry which breaks through the liners inside the cyclone will very quickly destroy the body. Common practice is to have a cluster where only about 75% of the available cyclones are running at any one time, and the remaining are taken out of circuit and stripped for maintenance (which can easily be done without removing the cyclone from its operating position with today's designs). Wear components inside the cyclones are typically ceramic or white metal alloys, depending on the material being processed.

I supplied a lot of Clearvues to a company doing mobile laboratory work for mining companies, I even sent some to Mongolia for the same company and always wondered what happened to them.

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

If you could locate enough members local to you that would be interested in building some you could use the plans Bill Pentz has on his site to make a batch of your own ClearVues. Have the sheet metal cut and either put the together or you guys assemble them yourselves. You could possibly get better pricing by buying all the motors and VFDs at once. The tough part is making/finding an impeller. While not cheap making your own cyclones or having them made will cost less than importing.

Pete

I like the idea of this. Does anyone have digital versions of bill pentz cyclone design if a sheet fabrication asked for them?

Or am I likely to have more success walking in with thin mdf or cardboard cutouts of the plans if I can get to that stage?

Cheers
Nathan


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay so I’ve found some quiet easily, will be calling a sheet metal fabrication place tomorrow to ask some potential pricing options

metric cyclone based on bill pentz data | 3D Warehouse

delbs are you aware those digital plans are for a cyclone using 100mm/4" ports?

Pete

Yeah was going to change that to a single 8” inlet

I’m also chatting with clearvue US directly as they do ship to Aus so I’m waiting on a quote from them as an alternative to building

Cheers
Nathan

Well the two metal fabrication places nearby I thought would be most likely to take this on have respectfully declined to enter into a conversation.

Clearvue in the US are the ones that seem able to get it to my doorstep. Will post some prices once I discover more

Cheers
Nathan

Bill Pentz' original spreadsheet is attached. You can change the numbers in that.

As discussed before, getting a 16" or 17" impeller made for it will be one of challenges. One of the better options is to source from India where they make a lot of impellers for ag and industrial use...

https://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/impellers.html

The other challenge is transport as charges are on size not weight. I suggest that the cyclone body come in two parts so that the bottom cone can be partly fitted inside the top of the cyclone during transport and then be bolted together at destination.

Neil, I can get the impeller made here at a reasonable price as I have already had one made. I believe that a 17" impeller is the way to go as it serves everyone's needs and simplifies things.

I found a local sheet metal fabrication shop that can make all the sheet metal parts for around $600. They expressed concern how the parts would be joined together. From memory it would be slightly thicker than the gauge recommended by BP, and they would also roll the forms for that price.

My plan is to use Sikaflex and pop rivets, as has been suggested. Although, I’m wondering if I will need to solder some pieces, which leads me to…

Before going ahead with it, I thought it would be best to make a scale model from cardboard to ensure I avoid any surprises with joining it together.

So, I’m currently copying the dimensions from that spreadsheet to Sketchup, then transferring that to cardboard

Originally Posted by delbs

I like the idea of this. Does anyone have digital versions of bill pentz cyclone design if a sheet fabrication asked for them? ...

This was discussed quite some time ago on this Forum - I searched but could not find it! The quotes from a couple of sheet metal fabricators cruelled it; substantially higher than buying a Clear View which was then readily available.