Step inside your mill – here’s why you should take a closer look at liner wear

Metso MillMapper™ is a patented solution that captures over 40 million thickness points per scan, offering unmatched accuracy in wear analysis. It helps maintenance and operational teams understand wear behavior and it also helps Metso to optimize liner design, improve mill performance and to offer better products and service to our customers. Metso’s latest addition to the MillMapper suite is MillMapper 3D view, where you can enter your mill virtually and get a 360 view of all your previous scans. 

Metso MillMapper™ has long been the industry standard for mill liner condition monitoring and has allowed Metso's liner experts to help operators globally to plan maintenance, reduce downtime and in fact optimize the performance. With the latest MillMapper addition to the software, MillMapper™ 3D View, digital wear analysis is taken to a new level.  

In this blog, Metso’s wear analysis expert will take a closer look at the importance of monitoring how your liners wear and how it can impact your grinding performance. 

From manual to digital, a smarter way to monitor wear 

In the past, visual inspections and manual tools were often used to assess liner conditions. However, this method had its shortcomings such as missing spots in hard-to-reach areas of the mill, or failing to take accurate readings due to surface cleanliness. Manual inspections can also be quite subjective and dependent on the inspector’s skill level and knowledge. Many sites have now turned to digital scanning technology to properly assess the entire mill, which leads to much more accurate readings.  

With proper scanning tools, it is possible to capture over 40 million thickness points that give you an incredibly detailed map of your liners condition and wear pattern across the entire mill. With this level of accuracy, it is possible to better understand wear patterns and optimize the reline plan to avoid catastrophic failures and unexpected downtime. 

MillMapper not only creates a detailed topographic map of the mill's interior but also identifies the most worn areas which are critical when planning maintenance for a specific, targeted section of the mill. The data from the scan, along with additional information such as operating hours and tons produced, is then entered into the software, resulting in a comprehensive MillMapper wear report. 

Mill liner optimization 

Having insight into both current and historical wear rates, wear behavior, and overall mill performance is essential for liner optimization. Optimizing mill liners goes beyond timing replacements, it’s about enhancing performance, safety, and sustainability across your operations. When continuously monitoring and optimizing your mill liners, you can significantly improve operational safety by eliminating the need for manual inspections.  

MillMapper helps synchronize liner life cycles, enhance throughput and uptime, and supports better decision-making through accurate wear reports, detailed analysis, and reliable wear forecasts. 

Optimized liners are designed for better liner material utilization, to last longer and better suit your current operation. This not only reduces material waste but also contributes to lower CO₂ emissions, supporting a more sustainable mining process.

Monitor the inside of your mill in 3D 

Traditional wear reports provide valuable data, but they can be limited in scope. By having an opportunity to “virtually” enter your mill, you can gain a much deeper understanding of its condition. The MillMapper 3D view is a digital tool that creates a realistic, interactive model of your mill’s interior. This allows users to make informed decisions and plan maintenance based on a comprehensive 3D visualization, rather than relying solely on cross-sections and other data in the Wear analysis report. With this tool, teams can access a complete 360-degree view of all previous scans, offering a detailed historical record.

Interactive and immersive experience 

The virtual environment enables users to explore the mill’s interior in detail. You can identify areas of wear, zoom in for closer inspection, take measurements, and view heat maps. The cloud-based interface is designed to be user-friendly and does not require any specialized software. This approach allows for a more thorough analysis than traditional reports, helping users to plan maintenance more accurately, reduce unnecessary inspections, and maintain a detailed history of equipment condition.

Stay connected and collaborate 

MillMapper 3D view supports remote collaboration, by letting users to invite colleagues or Metso experts to review the mill’s status together, regardless of location. Soon, this functionality will be integrated into the MillMapper Portal, where all historical reports and visualizations can be stored and accessed. This ensures continuity and knowledge transfer, even as team members change.