The fracture of excavator support wheels will have a serious impact on the use of excavators, as follows:
In terms of walking stability
1. Body imbalance
The support wheel is a key component of the excavator chassis walking device, mainly used to support the weight of the excavator. When the supporting wheel breaks, the support force of the excavator in that area will suddenly disappear or weaken, causing the body to lose balance. Especially during walking, this imbalance may cause the excavator to tilt towards the side of the broken support wheel, increasing the risk of rollover.
For example, when working on a slope, if the support wheel breaks, the center of gravity of the excavator will shift more significantly, and it is likely to slide down the slope, causing serious safety accidents.
2. Walking with bumps and shaking
Under normal circumstances, the support wheels can ensure that the excavator chassis moves smoothly on the ground. Once the supporting wheel breaks, the support structure of the chassis is damaged, and the excavator will experience significant bumps and shaking while walking.
This not only affects the comfort of operation, but also interferes with the operator's control of the excavator's walking direction and speed. And this kind of shaking will cause additional impact force on other chassis components (such as tracks, sprockets, etc.), accelerating their wear and damage.
The impact on tracks and other chassis components
1. Abnormal wear and derailment risk of tracks
A broken support wheel can cause the track to lose normal support and guidance at that position. The track may sink at the location of the broken support wheel, changing its contact with the ground and causing excessive local force on the track, resulting in abnormal wear.
Meanwhile, due to the unstable support state of the tracks, the possibility of derailment greatly increases. When the track derails, it takes a lot of time and effort to reinstall it, and the derailment process may cause further damage to the track and other chassis components.
2. Damage to related components
Broken supporting wheel fragments may splash onto other chassis components, such as hitting the idler wheel, guide wheel, or walking motor, causing damage to these components. Moreover, the imbalance and shaking of the chassis caused by the breakage of the supporting wheels will subject other components to abnormal stress, shortening their service life. For example, the connecting bolts of the track shoes near the supporting wheels may loosen or break due to additional tension.
In terms of work efficiency
1. Reduce the efficiency of excavation operations
Due to the breakage of the supporting wheel, the movement speed of the excavator in the work site will slow down, and more caution is required during the movement process to prevent safety accidents. This will lead to a longer excavation cycle, for example, in projects that require frequent relocation for excavation, such as building foundation excavation or pipeline laying excavation, efficiency will be significantly reduced.
In addition, the shaking of the body can also affect the accuracy of excavation actions. When operators perform excavation, loading, and other operations, an unstable body can make it difficult to accurately control the position and force of the excavation arm and bucket, and may require multiple adjustments to complete an effective excavation action.
2. Increase maintenance time and cost
After the support wheel breaks, the excavator must be immediately stopped for maintenance. The repair process includes steps such as dismantling damaged support wheels, cleaning debris, and installing new support wheels. This not only requires the purchase of new support wheels, but also manual maintenance operations, which increases maintenance costs.
Moreover, during the maintenance period, if the excavator cannot work properly, it will cause delays in the project schedule. If it is in some emergency engineering projects, such as disaster relief projects or construction projects with tight schedules, such delays may bring more serious consequences.
