More often than not, machinery parts wear out faster than expected when they are not protected from abrasive elements. Machinery parts that come in contact with hard surfaces, substrates, materials, or grounds, are likely to wear out. For example, the bulldozer blades may engage hard, rock ground and if the blades are not protected, they could wear out within a short time. However, there are ways to prevent the abrasion from making the parts not useful. Carbide grit is considered one of the suitable materials for protecting the machinery parts.
Types of Abrasion
There are mainly three types of abrasion that cause compact equipment wear. These include low stress scratching, high stress grinding, and gouging abrasion. With low stress scratching, it is considered less severe and occurs when the base metal of an equipment begins to wear away from the rubbing action of substances like gravel and dirt. When the parts come in contact with these substances, they wear out. High stress grinding arises due to repeated crushing or grinding of substances against the machinery part. Gouging abrasion occurs when hard, large objects like rocks act against the equipment to create grooves.
How Hardfacing Protects the Equipment
Hardfacing not only provides a layer of protection but also helps build up a part that is worn. The process will give the parts of machinery a tough face to encounter the abrasion effects meaning they will not tear and wear off quickly. Again, the hardfacing material can be used to increase the size and dimension of the worn out machinery part. For instance, if a part of a blade or grinding teeth has developed grooves or it has reduced in size, by using the hardfacing technique, it can build up the part to its correct size.
Using the Right Hardfacing Materials
While there are various materials that can be used to hardface machinery, not all may perform the same. In fact, a great toughness does not necessarily mean that is the best hard resurfacing material. You may want to choose a material that offers excellent wear resistance and has a high hot hardness.
You can reduce abrasion on such parts by using carbide grit. Through hardfacing using this hard metal, you will get a metal surface finish that is highly resistant to wear and hot temperatures. It is a way of reducing the cost of repair and maintenance of equipment. You don’t have to replace the parts that wear out. You can rebuild old machinery parts to make them useful.
