In the construction and the mining industries motor graders, tractors, and bulldozers are used regularly. Grader blades and cutting edge blades are used for purposes such as; excavation, smoothing out a road’s surface, or creating a pathway through rough terrain to enable other mining or construction vehicles to drive on-site.
Choosing the appropriate grader blade makes a big difference in the grader’s productivity and performance. Ensuring you have the right grader blade for the correct application results in fewer blade replacements, less downtime, and less money. Grader blades come in several options, which include:
- Flat grader blades: these blades are commonly used for road maintenance, as opposed to a complete reshaping of the road. Flat grader blades come in varying widths, lengths, and thicknesses.
- Carbide grader blades: These grader blades enable better flow of materials when used on underbody plows and motor graders owing to their curved shape. Curved grader blades also come in different widths, lengths, and thicknesses.
- Serrated grader blades: These blades are used when there is a need for ground penetration for more surface materials. Serrated grader blades can penetrate snow and ice better than conventional blades.
- Sharq edges system: The BluSteel Sharq Edges Quick grader blade system can convert any grader to an ultimate and complete toolbox. This system has edges for all conditions, enhances safety, and saves money and time.
- Carbide grader blades: these blades are an ideal option for any little impact, high cutting application. The Insert, shielded by carbide Impregnation, substantially increases the life of the blade when used where face wear is an issue.
Keep the Blade Sharp
As said earlier, the grader’s performance of the grader mainly depends on the blade, and the effectiveness of the grader blade depends on its sharpness. The blade, being the costliest component of the grader to replace, should be sharp enough to offer a high level of performance over a relatively long period.
If the blade is worn out, it can create a lot of problems such as excessive shock, which may put the other grader parts under stress. This reduces the life of the parts and the grader in general. Furthermore, you will require more power to move a worn-out blade through every cut, causing higher fuel costs. This would ultimately increase operational costs.
Change the grader blade when appropriate
Even with the most experienced grader operators, the grader blade eventually wears out. You should inspect the blade occasionally, and if you notice signs of major wear, bending, or missing bolts, replace it. The appropriate replacement grader blade depends on the kind of project you are undertaking.
Positioning the Blade correctly
You might be tempted to keep the mouldboard leaning forward to ensure the cutting edge is visible. However, this might prematurely blunt the cutting edge making trimming and cutting more challenging.
Thus, you should maintain the blade just slightly forward of the edge. You will require to incline the blade forward only when it is necessary to cut. When you maintain the mouldboard forward, wear would be along the front of the cutting edge. If you tilt the mouldboard back periodically while mixing, spreading, carrying, and combing material, wear would be across the edge, making it sharper.
Ripping or scarifying the surface can also assist in keeping the blade sharper, preventing the cutting edge from getting rounded along one side. Preferably, you should purpose to use the whole length of the mouldboard, to prevent uneven wear.
Operate it in the appropriate manner
As a grader operator, you should not hurry things. Operating your grader smoothly and slowly is an ideal way to prevent the wear of your grader; The ideal speed should be 10km/h to 16 km/h. It would help if you avoid jerky motions as it would help reduce stress on the grader blade. This prevents shock loads which can damage the machine.
Follow the right procedure
When engaging a motor grader operator, you need to hire one who has experience. A professional operator can substantially minimize the wear by following the appropriate procedures. For instance, if you wish to keep the mouldboard sharp, you should keep the mold board’s position right and use the suitable speed and avoid jerky movements.
