Operating and Maintaining Shale Shaker Screen Smoothly

Once you’ve selected a shale shaker screen, it’s important to keep it in good shape to ensure that it provides top separation performance over the long term. This means properly transporting, storing, installing, and maintaining your screen. Always transport the screen in its original reinforced, corrugated carton, and leave the screen in this carton until you’re ready to install it. Store the shale shaker screen vertically not only to conserve floor space in your plant but to prevent damage caused by stacking other items on the shaker screen. Follow the shale shaker manufacturer’s instructions when installing the screen in your shaker.

If your screen is attached to its frame with mechanical fasteners or a hook strip, take extreme care when handling and installing the loose screen: Any dents or creases in the screen cloth will create stress concentration points that can lead to premature failure (tears or holes). Also take care when tensioning such a screen because under- or overtensioning will impair the screen’s separation performance and shorten its service life.

You can keep your shale shaker running smoothly over the long term by periodically inspecting the screen (or screens) and providing regular preventive maintenance. This is even more important if your shaker has a fine mesh screen. A shale shaker that handles fine particles typically has multiple inspection openings on each screen deck so the operator can make a quick visual check of the screen without having to disassemble the shale shaker.

Your routine maintenance should include checking screen tension,checking for material buildup or blinding on each screen, checking the condition of antiblinding devices, and — most important — inspecting each screen for tears or holes.

To increase the pretensioned screen’s service life, a backup screen can be installed under the more delicate
process screen in the same frame to provide mechanical support for it. The backup screen is coarser and more
durable than the process screen and is simultaneously pretensioned and bonded to the frame with the process screen. The backup screen also protects the process screen from direct impact and abrasion by antiblinding devices.