Properly Tightening Your Screen Media
By Serge Raymond, MAJOR product specialist
Material processing is the heart of an operation, and your screen media is the backbone. Keeping screen
media well-maintained and ensuring proper installation isn’t just another task to check off your to-do
list. It can either make or break your production line.
We’re here to help.
Before you Start
Ensure the screen media and machine are safe and clean. To do so, examine your machine for cracks,
broken welds, or loose bolts. It’s important to find and fix these damages before you begin maintenance
or tightening on your FLEX-MAT screen to ensure safety. Not all screen media is handled the same way,
so maintenance looks different for each type.
Maintenance and Tightening of Modular Panels
FLEX-MAT Modular Panels are available in Series D, S and T. MAJOR offers two snap types, including
stepped and grooved. We also offer interlocking modular panel models in pin and sleeve, pin and leg
and pin and leg maxi styles.
To install your modular panel, use a 12- to 16 ½- inch drive ratchet and tighten it by hand. When you
determine proper torque, we advise tightening your screen to the point that it springs back when
pressed on, or to the point that it’s difficult to push the FLEX-MAT under the strip from the crown
support bar. It’s important not to overtighten any series of the FLEX-MAT. To ensure this, we
recommend applying torque until the surface feels like the surface of a drum. At this point, you can stop
tightening.
Maintenance and Tightening of Tension Screens
The FLEX-MAT Tension Screens are the series D, DD, S, T, and L. Some series can be stretched, but the
tensioned series L and T should not be due to the straight wire. Any additional stretching on these
tensioned screens can lead to damage to the screen.
The larger wire diameters in D, S and DD, mean the wires are too rigid to stretch.
To ensure your operation is running at peak efficiency, call our MAJOR Authorized Dealers to perform
regular on-site Screening Performance Assessments. We’ll send a team member out to your screening
Major Wire Industries Ltd. plant to collect data and operational parameters. From there, our team will provide you with a detailed,
confidential report that identifies opportunities for improvement, recommends corrective measures,
defines screen requirements, and evaluates business opportunities.
To get a Screening Performance Assessment scheduled for your facility today, contact your MAJOR
Authorized Dealer. Visit www.majorflexmat.com to learn more.