The tube mill, rich of almost one century of industrial utilisation, has become a very reliable machine and constitutes traditionally the basic system in a cement factory.
It is particularly well adapted for cement grinding, grinding of products at high fineness, grinding of very abrasive products and grinding of solid fuels.
For small size mills up to Ø 3.4 m, Fives FCB tube mills are supported by conventional trunnion bearings, a well-proven technology in this range, thanks to the design (finite elements calculations) and manufacturing procedures applied for decades by Fives FCB.
For larger size, Fives FCB has developed in the seventies a pioneering technology consisting in supporting the tube mill by tyres integrated into the mill shell, sliding on shoe bearings.
This technology, designed by Fives FCB with exceptional levels of safety, then guaranteeing a minimised maintenance cost, brings many advantages to the grinding installation: simplification of inlet and outlet ends, easy adaptation of specific feed and discharge system such as pre-dryer for moist material, wear reduction of mill inlet liners, increase of through-flow inlet and outlet areas for optimised mill ventilation, easy access for erection and maintenance.
