5 things you must know about bucket teeth adaptors

To maximise the performance and lifespan of your bucket teeth, they must work in unison with the fitted bucket teeth adaptors.

If they are not matched correctly, or your adaptor is worn out, you can expect premature bucket tooth loss or breakages, even if you are using the right bucket teeth for the machine and digging conditions.

Use the information in this article to help ensure the best bucket setup and drive the most productivity and profit from your earthmoving operations.

1) How long should bucket teeth adaptors last?

While it depends on the digging conditions you should get around eight tooth change-outs from one adapter however, it may be less if you are operating in highly abrasive digging conditions.

You will know it is time to replace your bucket teeth adaptors when you start consistently breaking or losing bucket teeth in operation, when you were not before. You will also likely see wear on the adapter nose or top and bottom leg, as well as find that new teeth have excess movement on the adapter when fitted.

Without due care and maintenance, worn bucket teeth and adaptors can lead to a vicious circle of wear and damage as operating a bucket after you lose a tooth, or with worn teeth, adds more stress on the other teeth and adaptors.

A reliable bucket tooth system is essential, as is putting maintenance plans in place that sees machines parked when bucket teeth break to avoid causing even more damage.

2) Which bucket teeth can I use with my adaptors?

One adaptor will usually work with up to around eight different bucket tooth profiles, if they are designed specifically for that adaptor. For example, if you have a CAT J-series adaptor installed, you must use a CAT J-series bucket tooth.

3) Can I customise adaptor material?

The higher the hardness of a metal, the harder it is to weld. Given the importance of a good weld when installing bucket teeth adaptors, they are generally constructed from a softer alloy than the bucket teeth themselves to allow for better welding to the bucket lip, while still offering good wear and impact properties.

4) How to select bucket teeth adaptors

Generally, you will only need to consider the adaptor you are installing when you are building a brand-new bucket or changing your tooth system.

Welding on new adaptors is a big job so choosing a bucket tooth adaptor (and the associated tooth system) is an important decision to get right. That is compounded when you consider that most operations prefer to have consistency across their fleet of machines rather than multiple different types of bucket tooth systems.

You should always choose your bucket teeth size and profile first as they are crucial to the digging performance of your bucket. They are also the highest turnover G.E.T item and the one that is most likely to cause unscheduled downtime.

People tend to choose a smaller adaptor and associated bucket teeth, opting for better performance and productivity. However, if your bucket teeth are too small you will lose or break teeth, and break adaptors. And if your bucket teeth are too big, they will struggle to dig as there will simply be too much metal for the bucket to penetrate and effectively move the dirt.

Once you have decided on a tooth size and profile, you can then decide on a system and associated adaptor. Consider also that the adaptor must match the machine, whether a loader bucket or an excavator bucket.

5) Match your adaptor with bucket teeth supply:

When you choose an adaptor system, ensure that the supplier has enough stock of the necessary bucket teeth and manufacturing capabilities to meet your projected medium to long-term demand.

There have been many cases where large and small Australian mining companies have installed bucket tooth adaptor systems that they cannot source matching teeth for, resulting in idle machines waiting for parts.

This is largely due to Australia being a smaller market with remote sites and low demand, compared with huge and more accessible global sites such as those in Indonesia, however COVID-19 has exacerbated this issue.

If you face this issue, the option is to either wait for your wear parts to arrive or remove the adaptors and replace them with new ones. Both solutions will damage productivity and profit, highlighting the importance of choosing the right adaptor from the start.

Cutting Edges is committed to only providing bucket teeth adaptor systems that can be backed up with long-term bucket teeth supply. Contact us for complimentary consultation to ensure your bucket teeth are suitable for your machine and the operating conditions.