Coal Machine Track Shoes Forging Process Design And Optimization

Coal Machine Track Shoes Forging Process Design And Optimization

Coal machine track shoes are some of the most crucial components of coal loading machines. Therefore, their quality and precision elements are crucial for them to perform as expected. There are many forming techniques used for the making of coal machine track shoes but forging is increasingly growing popular.

The improvement of the level of mining machinery technology is rendering most of the traditional coal machine track shoes making techniques obsolete. They cannot produce the required mechanical performance for the advanced machines. But the use of coal machine track shoes forging is one of the advancements addressing these limitations.

In this post, we are looking at a study done by a team on the process of designing and optimising coal machine track shoe forgings. We start with the problems they noted and the solutions they provided.

 

Difficult Analysis and Solutions Of Forging Process Technology

1. Lack Of Pre-Forged Process Discharge

One of the biggest difficulties with coal machine track shoe forgings, as per the team was, was the lack of pre-forged process discharge. Once the heated material has been put into the pre-forged chamber, its cylindrical shapes keep it rolling left and right, making it difficult to locate. That’s why discharge is not possible during this process.

The solution to this problem was to make the blanks a bit flat instead of the rods. This will help to reduce the movement in the chamber.

2. Can’t rely on forgings.

Though the simulation analysis can produce the desired size such as thickness and tolerance, the actual size of the forging is not easy to get. That’s why it is not easy to rely on the forgings.

The solution to this problem according to the team was to increase the height of the bridge both for the pre-forge and final phase. Reducing the thickness of the forging also help to get the right thickness for the coal machine track shoe forgings.

3. Filling ground ribs was a problem.

The filling of the coal machine track shoe ground ribs was a big problem as per the team. With a large coefficient of the forging, one side of the forging may have biased ground ribs making it uneasy for the metal to flow and fill.

To meet the filling effect of the ground ribs, the solution is adding a damping wall on the pre-forged and final forging molds. This will force the blanks to flow in the direction of hard-forming ground ribs.

4. Uneven thickness between in boss

The perforated boss pin on both ends of the forging can cause difficulties in getting the right coal machine track shoes. Make the perforated boss can get stretched and deformed resulting in uneven thickness. So, it might be difficult to bind other machine additions.

The solution to this problem was adding the cutting edge compensation amount at both ends of the boss pin. This makes up for the defects of the deformation to meet the simulation requirements.

 

Process And Forging Process Development

The coal machine track shoe production includes a number of steps or phases like all other forging processes. There is the selection of the material and preheating to reduce deformation resistance. There are other processes up to heat treatment. Here is the correct process:

1. Calculating Specs

The first step should the calculation of the specifications including the size of the material, compression force and so on. You must also get the right forging temperature for the coal machine track shoes.

2. Heating

Make sure the material heats to its crystallization temperature. So, it should reach the molten form.

3. Flatting

To reduce the rolling of the rods in the pre-forge chamber, flatten the material

4. Pre- and final Forging.

The material is put between the mold, and pressed to form the required shapes. Maintain the temperature of the material.

5. Cutting edges

The cutting edges are the finishing process that removes the awkward shapes of the forged coal machine track shoes.

6. Heat Treatment

The team emphasised the need for thorough heat treatment. The coal machine track shoes need to be hard and strong enough to withstand rough mining conditions. That’s why heat treatment is a very crucial stage for the forging process. Check the material specs for the correct heat-treatment process.

 

Conclusion

According to the study, the forging process and parameters of the coal machine track shoes were found reasonable. It is a process that guarantees and quality and highly effective products. The forgings quality, mechanical performance, dimensional accuracy must meet the design standards.