January 2020 / 59
changed several times over the
years as Black Hills Bentonite has
looked to increase the process effi-
ciency by minimizing downtime.
"We had tried several different
pin materials over the years, includ-
ing tungsten carbide, which didn't
help as much as we had hoped,"
says Andy Mills, assistant general
manager at Black Hills Bentonite.
"Then we did some trial runs with
some new pins and saw our down-
time drop considerably."
The pins were tested on-site
during the course of normal pro-
cessing operations. Both Black Hills
Bentonite and the supplier were
able to monitor the wear on the pins
and the product quality to find the
right fit for the application.
New pins reduce
maintenance time
The old pins that the company used
in the pin mixer had a tungsten
The pins spin inside the mixer,
pushing the material together with
the binding liquid to create the final
product. The new pins are covered
in a nickel matrix cloth with tungsten
carbide chips.
