Weir Minerals celebrates 20 years of the Cavex hydrocyclone

This month marks the 20 year anniversary of one of 2836 Weir Minerals’ most iconic brands – the Cavex hydrocyclone.

“When the first Cavex hydrocyclone was introduced, the industry was changed forever,” says Debra Switzer, Weir Minerals global product manager for Cavex hydrocyclones.

In 1996, a team of engineers from Warman International in Australia got together to develop the ‘next big thing’ in hydrocyclones. What they came up with was said to be revolutionary.

The novel inlet geometry removed all sharp angles from the feed chamber, allowing slurry to move through the hydrocyclone smoothly, which greatly reduced wear while increasing its efficiency. The new generation of hydrocyclones is said to have easily delivered up to three times the wear life of the old technology.  

The streamline feed chamber is still in use today.  When Weir Group acquired Warman International in 1999, it brought with it a myriad of improvements and modifications designed to ensure Cavex hydrocyclones provide excellent wear life along with maximum productivity, regardless of the application.

In 2010, Weir Group acquired 440 Linatex, which brought with it a range of highly specialised dewatering hydrocyclones and superior rubber products for lining. This was significant for Cavex hydrocyclones because it enhanced the portfolio and improved the hydrocyclone wear rates.

Last year, Weir Minerals introduced the Cavex 700CVX hydrocyclone, designed specifically to meet the demands of Weir Minerals’ customers and which has been proven to achieve a claimed up to 50% higher throughput capacity than other competitor cyclones in the 26 inch diameter range, due to its larger inlet and vortex finder configuration.

“Product development never stops at Weir Minerals. Over the past two decades our team of engineers have developed advanced lining technology for ultra-heavy duty applications, to withstand the demands of high volume abrasive materials,” states Switzer.

Weir Minerals says it is set to redefine hydrocyclone efficiency again with the development of the new Synertrex monitoring system.  The latest technology in remote monitoring systems allows users to obtain operational data in real time, to ensure optimum performance and efficiency of their mill circuit.

Today, there are more than 26,000 Cavex hydrocyclones operating throughout the globe, making up more than a quarter of the global market share. Every single one of these hydrocyclones is backed by the extensive Weir Minerals service team.