Wear on critical components
Girth gears, pinions, riding rings or thrust rollers with wear, pitting or surface damage that compromises operation but not the machine as a whole.
Services
Revamping & Retrofit
We modernise, repair and adapt existing equipment — ours or other manufacturers’ — to extend its service life without full replacement.
Our approach
Replacing isn’t always the best option
A drum, a mill or a screen with twenty or thirty years of service behind it is not necessarily at the end of its life.
Often what fails is one specific component — a girth gear, a riding ring, a drive system — and replacing the whole machine costs far more time and money than repairing or upgrading it where it stands.
At COMSPAIN we bring the same engineering judgement we apply to new equipment to the assessment of existing machines: we work out why a component has failed, how much margin the rest of the equipment still has, and which solution — on-site repair, replacement of a critical part or upgrading of a complete system — solves the problem at the lowest cost and with the shortest plant shutdown. We work on our own equipment and on other manufacturers’ alike.
Common reasons
When revamping makes sense
A need for more capacity
The plant has grown and the original equipment has fallen short. It can often be adapted rather than replaced.
A change of product or process
The machine was designed for a different product or different conditions from today’s, and needs adjustment to keep performing well.
Obsolete components with no original spare
Older equipment — ours or other manufacturers’ — for which no original part is available any more, so a compatible alternative has to be designed and manufactured.
Efficiency improvement
Drive, lubrication or insulation systems that can be upgraded to cut energy use or maintenance, without changing the whole machine.
Regulatory compliance
Changes in environmental or safety requirements that mean modifying existing equipment to keep operating in line with current regulations.
How we decide
How we decide between repair and replacement
There is no single answer. This is what we usually look at before recommending one option or the other.
Revamping usually makes sense when:
- The failure is in one specific component, not in the machine’s overall structure.
- The equipment has been running for only a few years relative to its expected service life.
- Plant downtime is critical and an on-site repair is quicker than manufacturing and installing a new machine.
- The available budget doesn’t cover a full replacement in the short term.
Replacement usually makes sense when:
- The equipment needs a step change in capacity or technology that the current design cannot accommodate.
- The accumulated cost of successive repairs is approaching that of a new machine.
- Structural components (drum shell, frame) show extensive damage, not just wear.
Either way, the initial assessment is free and without obligation: we look at the equipment, evaluate the problem and give you an honest recommendation, whether or not you want us to carry out the work.
Scope
What a revamping project involves
On-site repair without dismantling
Grinding and repair of riding rings, welding and re-machining of girth gears and other critical components, directly at the plant.
Replacement of critical components
Design and manufacture of replacement girth gears, pinions, riding rings or drum shells, including for equipment we did not originally build.
Upgrading of ancillary systems
Adding automatic lubrication, an emergency auxiliary drive or other systems the original machine did not have.
Capacity or process adaptation
Design changes to adapt existing equipment to a new production capacity or to a product other than the original one.
Diagnosis and design of the solution
Technical assessment of the equipment, definition of the scope of work and detail engineering before anyone touches the machine.
Why COMSPAIN
Why trust the upgrade to COMSPAIN
An honest diagnosis
We recommend repair, upgrade or replacement on the basis of what suits the customer, not what suits us to sell.
Repair on site
Many jobs are done without dismantling or moving the equipment, keeping plant downtime to a minimum.
We work on any manufacturer’s equipment
The original machine doesn’t have to be ours for us to work on it.
The same rigour as on new equipment
Engineering, certified materials and quality control identical to those of a full manufacturing project.
Cases with decades of history
We work on equipment with more than 30 years of continuous service.
Looking for something else? For recurring support and maintenance see Technical assistance; for replacement parts, Spare parts.
Projects
Revamping in practice
Have equipment that needs a second life?
Tell us what the problem is and which machine it affects — ours or another manufacturer’s — and we’ll give you a technical assessment.