Tufflex screens can help reduce blinding and pegging in mining because of their polyurethane-coated surface and flexible rope-based construction. Polyurethane-coated wire rope and polyurethane-coated synthetic cord form square or rectangular apertures. The smooth surface reduces material adhesion, while local movement in the flexible screen cloth helps release trapped particles. Results depend on aperture size, particle shape, moisture, clay content, feed distribution, vibration and installation.

Key Takeaways

• Two mechanisms, two fixes. Pegging is mechanical (near-size particles wedged in apertures); blinding is physical-chemical (wet fines and clay adhering to the surface). They need different corrective actions.

• Surface and movement work together. The polyurethane coating reduces adhesion; the rope-based cloth flexes under vibration to help dislodge lodged particles.

• Aperture geometry is not optional. A material change cannot compensate for an aperture that is wrong for the target cut size and particle shape.

• Measure, do not assume. Reduced blockage and longer wear life are separate outcomes and must be tracked separately.

• Media is one part of the system. Bed depth, feed distribution, inclination and vibration set the ceiling on any screen-media improvement.

Summary Table

Definition

Blinding is the partial or complete obstruction of screen apertures by fine, wet, sticky or clay-rich material that adheres to or bridges across the screening surface.

Pegging is the mechanical wedging of a particle — usually near the aperture size and often elongated, flaky or angular — inside a screen opening, where it remains lodged despite screen vibration.

Tufflex screen media is a polyurethane-coated, rope-based screening cloth in which coated wire rope and coated synthetic cord are joined to form the apertures, rather than the exposed woven metal wires used in conventional WIRED & STEEL SCREEN MESH.

Working Principle

The mechanism operates on three levels.

Surface level. The polyurethane coating forms the contact surface between feed and screen. A smooth, low-adhesion surface gives wet fines and clay less opportunity to anchor and build a film across the apertures.

Structural level. Because the cloth is built from coated rope and cord rather than rigid woven wire, it retains flexibility. Under machine vibration the screen surface moves locally, and this secondary movement helps loosen particles that would otherwise stay wedged. Partially welded constructions show more of this effect than fully welded ones.

Flow level. In side-tensioned arrangements the synthetic cord runs parallel to the hooked edge and behaves similarly to rider bars, guiding oversize along the deck while allowing fines to migrate toward the openings. This supports stratification — the redistribution of particles by size as they travel across the deck — so more fines actually reach an aperture instead of riding over the surface.

Together these effects raise the effective open area during operation, which is the number that governs capacity. Nominal open area on a drawing means little if a third of the apertures are blocked within an hour of start-up.

Benefits

• Higher effective open area during difficult wet or sticky conditions, supporting sustained capacity.

• Less manual cleaning, fewer process interruptions and lower unplanned downtime where blockage was the dominant constraint.

• More consistent product sizing, because open apertures give particles a predictable opportunity to pass.

• Reduced adhesion of wet fines compared with rougher or more exposed screening surfaces.

• Potential operating-cost reduction, measurable as cost per tonne processed rather than purchase price alone.

Each benefit is conditional. In high-clay, high-moisture feed, or on a deck running excessive bed depth, the improvement may be partial. That is an engineering reality, not a product defect.

Applications

Tufflex-type media is evaluated where blockage — not wear — is the binding constraint on throughput.

• Gold ore and alluvial feed, where wet fines and variable moisture cause surface buildup.

• Iron ore and copper ore screening ahead of GRINDING, where near-size particles peg in square apertures.

• Coal preparation, where clay-rich fines blind conventional decks.

• Silica sand and aggregates, where consistent sizing depends on stable open area.

• Wet sticky material containing clay, and abrasive ore where both wear and blockage occur together.

• Tailings and slurry duty where fines content is high and moisture is unavoidable.

In most circuits the screen sits between size reduction in CRUSHING and downstream CLASSIFICATION, so blocked apertures propagate as mis-sized feed into the next stage.

Material Comparison

The comparison is not a ranking. Woven wire still wins on open area in clean, dry duty. Rubber still wins on coarse impact abrasion. The case for Tufflex is specifically where adhesion and near-size pegging are the limiting factors.

Application Comparison

Industry Application Matrix