Reliability Engineering
Training for Tracked Machines: TrackTreads’ Response to Changing Market Needs
The trainers getting field experience
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Managing Undercarriage is more costly than Tires
Tires are high-pressure vessels on which the wear is measured typically by measuring the depth of available tread with at least 3 points being taken across the face of the tire to provide a reasonable average. The overall condition of the tire will be inspected to identify any visible faults Read more…
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Great Products should be flaunted with Testimonial Data
In this day and competitive environment, if you have a great product, flaunt it with a convincing argument! Demonstrate your argument with a testimonial of performance. This can be done in the following steps Investment in placing product in the field Monitoring performance of the product in the field through Read more…
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Using Propel Hours to Forecast Residual Undercarriage Life on Shovels
Excavators, Hydraulic Shovels and Rope Shovels spend most of their time digging and loading. They are only required to move short distances to reposition themselves or to move to a new area of excavation. In the mining environment, most undercarriage inspections will utilize the machine hours to forecast the Read more…
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Ensure Chain is Installed in correct Direction to avoid quick destruction
Undercarriage Chain is built to operate in a specific direction of motion, this is the forward direction in which the machine operates under load. When the chain is installed in the incorrect direction, the reverse direction, will cause wear at 3 times the rate of the forward direction. It Read more…
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Undercarriage Idler Failure can be detected to avoid further Damage and Expense
The Front and Rear Idlers on an elevated sprocket machine are effectively the spreaders for the track chain. The idlers keep the chain reasonably tensioned and guides the chain as it rotates. The track chain is essentially a rail that is laid down and picked up again in a continuous Read more…
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Bush Turn Budgets ensure Turning of the Undercarriage Bushes are not Missed
On the non-rotating sleeveless bushes, the wear on the bush is typically on only 180% of the bush as shown in the following diagram. Bush Life before Turning The speed of wear on the bush will be determined by various factors Read more…
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Independent Undercarriage and Asset Wear Monitoring Systems
Technology is everywhere today, being used to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Undercarriage Management is no different and any customer operating tracked machines is using Undercarriage Management and Asset Wear Monitoring Systems to track the condition and performance of their components and plan maintenance activities. OEM’s or Manufacturers and their Read more…
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Failed Undercarriage Frame components can seriously impact the costs of your undercarriage
Failed Undercarriage Frame components can cause untold damage to the undercarriage, reducing their life expectancy substantially. Any reduction in expected life increases the cost per hour. Looking at our first example in a series on frame components, is Major Bogie Pin failure or collapse. The bogie carries 2 track rollers Read more…
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Scalloping of Undercarriage Links causes significant downstream costs
Scalloping is a dangerous condition leading to significant downstream costs if not identified early. So what is scalloping? Scalloping of the links is where the midsection of the link becomes hollowed out. As the hollowed-out link /rail passes over each roller and idler, it creates vibration. The larger the scalloping, Read more…