Astec Industries showcased its prototype Vari-Frequency screening technology at AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo in Nashville, presenting a solution that will be available on horizontal screens.
Astec’s reimagined screen deck, which the company describes as a “first of its kind,” utilizes a structured frame paired with a live, free-moving deck. The deck harnesses natural frequencies and vibrations that are activated during operation and when material impacts screen media.
Astec says the vibrations stimulate the screen media and bulk material, reducing blinding and boosting productivity.
“Anybody who’s run a screen has had a blinding issue somewhere along the line,” says Stephen Whyte, group vice president of product management at Astec. “This helps eliminate that.”
The Vari-Frequency screen uses side-tensioned screen wire cloth, the company says, and it does not require an external power source. It has common interface points with other low-profile screens.
“We do high-frequency screens,” Whyte says. “We do multi-frequency screens. This would be like the next generation that really takes it to a different level. From one end of the deck to the other, it’s all different frequencies and amplitudes. The impact of material on the deck also affects those frequencies.”
According to Whyte, Astec put roughly 10 years of research and development into its Vari-Frequency technology.
“It’s really been an evolutionary sort of process,” he says.
