Aker Flotation Machines
The AKER Flotation Machine was developed during 1977 and 1985 by a team of experienced mining and design engineers at MINPRO International A/S, situated in the centre of Norway’s mining country. A unique combination of ore dressing knowledge and sound engineering design has resulted in a highly efficient, inexpensive rugged flotation machine suited for a wide range of applications.
The machine is practically self aerating, but the use of supercharged flotation air is always recommended. The cell consists of a rectangular or circular tank. The impeller is of patented design and is a comparatively small diameter open-ended turbine unit ( free-flow ), cast from a special type of polyurethane. The impeller blade design and very special type of polyurethane selected give controlled flexing of the blades which permits start-up under sanded conditions and prevents damage from oversize or tramp materials. The flexing of the impeller also prevents lime-scale build-up in the air slots when working in high lime content circuits. Under extremely severe scaling conditions it is possible to inject very small quantities of water into the flotation air and this will prevent any chance of scale formation. The stator consists of a number of rectangular steel plates welded vertically onto a horizontal steel base plate consisting of two identical sections. The vertical steel plates are covered by means of polyurethane gloves and the bases are protected by means of a cast polyurethane covering.
During the design stages particular attention was paid to producing an uncomplicated mechanism with the following design criteria:
- Good Metallurgical performance.
- It must be possible for the flotation mechanism to handle coarse minerals.
- Direct start-up under all conditions.
- Low energy consumption.
- Long-life flexible wear parts.
- Good aeration properties.
- Simple and rugged construction.
- Ease of maintenance.
