How are wear plates manufactured: drawings, materials and turnaround time
Wear plates protect expensive machinery and parts against high impact and abrasive applications, however to do their job well they must be both fit-for-purpose and the perfect fit.
Given the large range of assets that wear plates protect in both fixed plant and mobile earthmoving – from chutes, bins and hoppers in flat, curved and conical shapes – customised wear plate solutions will help deliver the best protection.
Customising your wear plate:
The standard wear plate sheet size is 2.5m x 2m in a variety of thicknesses, and it is these standard plates that are customised to suit specific requirements of shape, size and strength.
Once these requirements have been determined, a detailed drawing is required (both two dimensional and three dimensional can be used) to outline sizes, tolerances and required customisation.
This drawing will also outline any threaded studs that are required to be welded on, any holes and inserts cut into them to allow them to be bolted in place, or slots cut into them to allow them to be welded in place.
Customised solutions often also include the application of chromium carbide or tungsten chromium carbide wear plate overlays in high wear areas due to their lighter weight and better wear and abrasion resistant characteristics.
In this case, a chromium carbide or tungsten chromium carbide overlay is attached to the steel backing plate using a submerged arc welding process. The resulting wear plate will outlast a quench and tempered steel wear plate by up to 12 times, and a white iron wear plate by up to four times, on average depending on the application and conditions.
Wear plate manufacturing process:
Once the specifications are determined and the drawing finalised, the wear plate is then formed or rolled based on the drawings and specific requirements of the machine it is being installed on. If a wear plate is for a mobile plant it will need to be pressed to sit neatly inside an internal bucket radius. If it is a fixed plant wear plate it might be for a conical, curved or flat chute. Complex installations often require the development of a fabricated structure.
If the wear plate drawings and specifications cannot be provided by your onsite engineers, Cutting Edge’s inhouse engineering team can attend your site to measure up and help develop these drawings, as well as help you determine where there are opportunities to improve your wear plate solutions and processes.
Wear Plate Manufacturing Turnaround Time:
The general lead times for standard wear plate supply is five to ten days however this will vary depending on the order volume and level of customisation required. Additional rolling, welding, forming, joining or stud welding all add to the lead time, as do specific tolerances or non-standard sizes.
Cutting Edges Difference:
Cutting Edges’ unique ability to develop and manufacture customised and more cost-effective wear plate solutions comes from a large production line and inhouse rolling, pressing, cutting and welding machines.
Streamlined communication processes also see engineering and manufacturing teams working closely with clients to develop fit-for-purpose wear plate solutions based on abrasion and impact ratings and change out schedules, along with accurate drawings to ensure the best possible fit.
Cutting Edges Wear Plate Solutions
At Cutting Edges, the majority of our wear plates are designed and built to-order, tailored to specific industrial requirements and exacting tolerances as required.
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