The different types of wear plates and their uses

Regardless of the type of machine, industry or operating conditions, the wear plate you choose will have a huge impact on the longevity of equipment.

Not all wear plates are created equal

Different industrial needs require different types of wear plate. Heavy, bulky wear plates on fixed plant machinery may seem more durable, but in reality, produce strain on equipment. Lighter, thinner wear parts, can be more effective due to the efficiencies of ergonomics and aerodynamics.

Quenched and tempered steel wear plates

Quenched and tempered steel, amongst its many other applications, is also used for wear-protection purposes across the earthmoving and mining industries. These types of wear plates are an economical option, but are not as durable as duplex wear plates, which have been specifically developed for the sole propose of protecting important equipment assets.

Applications: Excavator buckets, bridges, wear liners, deflector plates and other earthmoving and mining equipment.

Treated wear plates

Wear plates can be treated to increase their lifespan. This results in significant cost savings in replacement parts and less downtime and unplanned maintenance. Plus, output is increased due to reduced downtime – a win-win scenario.

Different wear plate composition also leads to different protective properties, with some treatments more suitable for abrasion, and others suited to protect against impact.

Treatment options include white iron XT Blok, Chromium carbide or Tungsten carbide coating. But which plate is right for you?

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Duplex wear plates

Duplex wear plates have been designed with a single function – to increase the lifespan of your valuable asset. This results in significant cost savings in replacement parts and less downtime and unplanned maintenance. Plus, output is increased due to reduced downtime – a win-win scenario.

Different wear plate composition also leads to different protective properties, with some duplex wear plates more suitable for abrasion, and others suited to protect against impact.

Duplex wear plate options include white iron chock blocks and buttons, chromium carbide, chromium tungsten carbide or tungsten carbide coating. But which plate is right for you?

Cutting Edges’ white iron “XT Blok”

White iron is tougher than steel due to its higher chromium content. It is possible to extend the life of your mining/earthmoving equipment by welding a white iron wear overlay to the surface of certain machinery to increase its toughness and provide protection from severe abrasion and impact. Equipment treated with white iron “XT Blok” will generally outlast quenched and tempered steels by up to three times.

Applications: Mining buckets and teeth/adaptors.

Cutting Edges’ chromium carbide wear plates

These plates are produced using a submerged arc welding process that delivers an extremely hard chromium carbide layer atop a mild steel or chromium steel backing plate. Cutting Edges offer two main types of chromium carbide wear plate.

CC1500: this wear plate produces a surface with a low coefficient of friction, which lessens the likelihood of hang-ups and blockages in equipment.

Applications: maintains the efficiency of chutes, bins, hoppers, buckets and other material handling equipment.

 CC1200: a chromium layer is welded onto a shock absorbing mild steel base, ensuring that the product performs under high impact conditions.

Applications: Liner plates on mobile machines; Fixed plant liners, chutes, screens, and deflector plates; High speed conveyor chutes, fan blades and feeder bins; Various diameter abrasive media pipes; Bucket protection and skid plates.

Both, the CC1200 wear plate and the CC1500 wear plate, come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses and can be cut to shape for custom use.

Cutting Edges’ chromium tungsten carbide wear plates

Like chromium carbide wear plates, these tungsten carbide wear plates consist of a duplex material composed of a chromium tungsten carbide alloy welded into a mild steel base.

Undissolved tungsten carbide particles are dispersed throughout the alloy overlay. These tungsten carbide particles provide additional protection to the original product and slow down the wearing process.

CTC2000 – this is a chromium tungsten carbide wear plate designed to provide superior performance in the most demanding conditions.

Applications: These plates were developed in conjunction with the OK Tedi Reliability Engineering Team, to improve wear characteristics in extreme wear conditions. Wear plates with a chromium tungsten carbide coating are shown to outlast quenched and tempered steels by up to 12 times and white iron by up to four times.

Applications of wear plates

Wear plates are particularly relevant to machines used in construction, quarrying, and mining due to the extreme conditions they operate in.

Making certain that wear parts are durable and easy to install is critical in ensuring the upkeep of the equipment in order to minimise unplanned downtime.

Industries and machines that will most benefit from wear plate solutions include:

  • General industry – Liners for bulldozer moldboards, front-end loader buckets, grader moldboards, excavator buckets.
  • Mining, cement and brick industries – Dozer moldboards, shovel buckets, chute liners, dragline buckets, classifier screens, mine and quarry skips, pug mill paddles, compactor rollers, bucket lips, dipper buckets, ore cars, ore scrapers, dump truck trays, loaders and high lifts, skid plates
  • Power plants – Pulveriser mills, cyclones, receiving hoppers, chute liner plates, coal handling systems, coal buckets, conveyors, fan blades and housings
  • Steel mills – Blast furnace, coke oven and sinter plants, skip car liners, sinter breakers, ore bucket liners, receiving hoppers, grizzly bars, feeder bins, conveyor buckets, chutes, spiked roll crushers
  • Quarrying and mining industries – Crusher liner plates and screen plates
  • Other applications – Grain chutes, rub bars for conveyor chains, agitator paddles, dredge pump liners, grit blast liners, centrifugal pump liners, mower skid lates

Want to know more about how wear plate technology can be used to improve the productivity of your equipment?

Cutting Edges provides a Complimentary Site Audit and Fleet Review, working with you to plan your maintenance cycles and identify problem areas.

Cutting Edges' Complimentary Site Audit and Fleet Review

Enquire now for information on any of the above tailored to you, or for a complimentary Site Audit and Fleet Review of your fixed plant or mobile earthmoving wear parts.

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