WEAR COMPONENT FOR COMPACTOR WHEEL
A wear component includes a base portion and a tip portion. The tip portion includes a proximate end and a distal end. The proximate end is metallurgically bonded to the base portion at a base-tip interface, which may have a generally parabolic cross-sectional profile. The distal end defines an exterior surface of the wear component.
Latest Caterpillar Inc. Patents:
- SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REGULATING ENVIRONMENT WITHIN OPERATOR CABIN OF MACHINE
- SWITCHING FUEL RAIL FOR A DIESEL FUEL ENGINE
- Corner segment and corner shroud having a curved portion for a work implement
- Retention system for boltless cutting edges
- Detecting sprocket segment wear based on machine drivetrain data
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/809,018, filed Apr. 5, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates generally to wear components and, more particularly, to wear components for compactor wheels.
BACKGROUNDCompactors such as, for example, landfill compactors and soil compactors typically include steel wheels, which are fitted with teeth that extend radially outward from the wheels to engage and compact material over which the compactors are driven. Over time, the teeth wear down, and they eventually need to be replaced.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,632,045 to McCartney (“the '045 patent”) discloses an exemplary tooth. The tooth of the '045 patent is a two-part tooth that is adapted to be welded to a steel wheel. It includes a base constructed from a weldable material, and a cap constructed of a harder metal than the metal used for the base. According to the '045 patent, the tooth is manufactured by casting the base in a first mold, moving the base to a second mold, and casting the cap onto the base in the second mold. When casting the cap, molten metal flows into mating formations of the base, ensuring that the cap is firmly keyed to the base when the molten metal solidifies.
While the tooth of the '045 patent may be appropriate for certain applications, it may not be well-suited for others. For example, the tooth of the '045 patent may not be well-suited for applications in which its weight stresses drivetrain components of a compactor without meaningfully improving compaction. In such applications, the tooth might cause premature failure of the drivetrain components, thereby unnecessarily increasing maintenance costs associated with the compactor.
The various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward overcoming one or more deficiencies of the prior art.
SUMMARYIn an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wear component includes a base portion and a tip portion. The tip portion includes a proximate end and a distal end. The proximate end is metallurgically bonded to the base portion at a base-tip interface, which has a generally parabolic cross-sectional profile. The distal end defines an exterior surface of the wear component.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wear component includes a base portion and a tip portion. The tip portion includes a proximate end, a distal end, and an at least partially concave side surface extending from the distal end to the proximate end. The proximate end is metallurgically bonded to the base portion at a base-tip interface. The distal end defines an exterior surface of the wear component.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a wear component includes a base portion and a tip portion. The base portion includes a plurality of protrusions. The tip portion includes a proximate end and a distal end. The proximate end includes a plurality of recesses, and is metallurgically bonded to the base portion at a base-tip interface, where the plurality of protrusions extend into the plurality of recesses. The distal end defines an exterior surface of the wear component.
Tip portion 30 may have a distal end 50 defining an exterior surface of its wear component 20. As shown in
Referring to
Base portion 40 may be metallurgically bonded to tip portion 30. In particular, distal end 77 of base portion 40 may be metallurgically bonded to proximate end 70 of tip portion 30. As shown in
The shape of base-tip interface 100 (and thus distal end 77 and proximate end 70) may be non-planar, and may be related to the method by which wear component 20 is cast. For example, referring to
In another method of centrifugally casting wear component 20, tip portion 30 may be cast, forged, or machined from a first material before being positioned within mold 110. A molten second material may then be poured into mold 110 over tip portion 30 to form base portion 40, while mold 110 is rotated about axis 115. With this second method, proximate end 70 of tip portion 30 may begin with almost any shape. Proximate end 70's shape may change slightly during molding as a result of the metallurgical bonding process, but it should be understood that the shape of base-tip interface 100 may at least generally track the beginning shape of proximate end 70. For example, as shown in
The number, shape, and placement of any protrusions 160 extending into proximate end 70 of tip portion 30 at base-tip interface 100 may be affected by the beginning shape of proximate end 70. For example, rather than beginning with recesses 130 that are wider than they are deep (as illustrated in
Alternatively, as illustrated in
In yet another alternative embodiment, as shown in
The disclosed wear components may be fitted to steel components and may be particularly beneficial when fitted to steel wheels of landfill or soil compactors. The wear components may be cast such that they facilitate in-field (as opposed to in-maintenance facility) maintenance of the compactors and also minimize the amount of maintenance the compactors require. Exemplary methods of casting articles of manufacture, such as the disclosed wear components, will now be described.
Referring to
Next, the first material may be allowed to cool (step 1420). A molten second material may then be poured through funnel 120, into mold 110, over the first material (now tip portion 30) to form base portion 40 while mold 110 is rotated at a second speed, which may or may not be the same as the first speed (step 1430). The second material may have a carbon-equivalent (CE) value of less than 0.7, ensuring that base portion 40 can be welded to steel (e.g., steel wheel 10) using portable welding equipment in the field (as opposed to specialized welding procedures typically required to be performed in a maintenance facility). For example, as discussed above, the second material may be carbon steel, alloy steel, or stainless steel. While funnel 120 may be positioned such that the second material is poured at a fixed location relative to axis 115 (e.g., along axis 115), funnel 120 may alternatively be moved such that the second material is poured at a plurality of different locations relative to axis 115. Notably, the rotation of mold 110 may cause the second material to move radially outward along a surface of the first material when the second material impacts the first material, displacing any foreign materials (e.g., oxide films) on the surface of the first material. The second material may then metallurgically bond base portion 40 to tip portion 30. The rotation of mold 110 may also cause the second material to creep up the sides of mold 110, facilitating the formation of recess 80 in mounting end 75 of base portion 40. This recess 80 may, in turn, become a hollow cavity when wear component 20 is attached to wheel 10, thereby reducing the weight of wear component 20 relative to a similarly sized (but solid) wear component. Such weight reduction may minimize stresses on drivetrain components of compactors using wear components 20, thereby extending the life of the drivetrain components and reducing maintenance costs associated with the drivetrain components. Additionally, the weight reduction may minimize the amount of fuel required to operate the compactors, thereby reducing operating costs associated with the compactors.
In alternative embodiments and referring to
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the disclosed wear components without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Other embodiments of the disclosed components will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the components disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A wear component, comprising:
- a base portion; and
- a tip portion including: a proximate end metallurgically bonded to the base portion at a base-tip interface; and a distal end defining an exterior surface of the wear component,
- wherein the base-tip interface has a generally parabolic cross-sectional profile.
2. The wear component of claim 1, wherein:
- the base portion includes a side surface extending from the base-tip interface to a mounting end of the base portion; and
- the mounting end includes a recess.
3. The wear component of claim 1, wherein the tip portion includes an at least partially concave side surface extending from the distal end to the proximate end.
4. The wear component of claim 1, wherein:
- the base portion is formed from a first material with a carbon-equivalent (CE) value of less than 0.7; and
- the tip portion is formed from a second material with a hardness of at least 45 Rockwell C.
5. The wear component of claim 4, wherein:
- the first material is steel; and
- the second material is steel or iron.
6. The wear component of claim 5, wherein:
- the first material is carbon steel, alloy steel, or stainless steel; and
- the second material is high-chromium white iron or Ni-Hard.
7. A wear component, comprising:
- a base portion; and
- a tip portion including: a proximate end metallurgically bonded to the base portion at a base-tip interface; a distal end defining an exterior surface of the wear component; and an at least partially concave side surface extending from the distal end to the proximate end.
8. The wear component of claim 7, wherein:
- the base portion includes a side surface extending from the base-tip interface to a mounting end of the base portion; and
- the mounting end includes a recess.
9. The wear component of claim 7, wherein:
- the base portion is formed from a first material with a carbon-equivalent (CE) value of less than 0.7; and
- the tip portion is formed from a second material with a hardness of at least 45 Rockwell C.
10. The wear component of claim 9, wherein:
- the first material is steel; and
- the second material is steel or iron.
11. The wear component of claim 10, wherein:
- the first material is carbon steel, alloy steel, or stainless steel; and
- the second material is high-chromium white iron or Ni-Hard.
12. A wear component, comprising:
- a base portion including a plurality of protrusions; and
- a tip portion including: a proximate end metallurgically bonded to the base portion at a base-tip interface, and including a plurality of recesses; and a distal end defining an exterior surface of the wear component,
- wherein, at the base-tip interface, the plurality of protrusions extend into the plurality of recesses.
13. The wear component of claim 12, wherein the plurality of recesses extend from a first side of the tip portion to a second side of the tip portion opposite the first side.
14. The wear component of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of recesses is a rabbet in an outer edge of the tip portion.
15. The wear component of claim 12, wherein the proximate end includes two recesses.
16. The wear component of claim 12, wherein:
- the base portion includes a side surface extending from the base-tip interface to a mounting end of the base portion; and
- the mounting end includes a recess.
17. The wear component of claim 12, wherein the tip portion includes an at least partially concave side surface extending from the distal end to the proximate end.
18. The wear component of claim 12, wherein:
- the base portion is formed from a first material with a carbon-equivalent (CE) value of less than 0.7; and
- the tip portion is formed from a second material with a hardness of at least 45 Rockwell C.
19. The wear component of claim 18, wherein:
- the first material is steel; and
- the second material is steel or iron.
20. The wear component of claim 19, wherein:
- the first material is carbon steel, alloy steel, or stainless steel; and
- the second material is high-chromium white iron or Ni-Hard.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 2, 2014
Publication Date: Oct 9, 2014
Applicant: Caterpillar Inc. (Peoria, IL)
Inventors: Thomas John YANIAK (Washington, IL), Thomas Majewski (East Peoria, IL)
Application Number: 14/243,379
International Classification: E01C 21/00 (20060101);