Are your loader shovel teeth always wearing out prematurely? Are you using these three maintenance tips correctly?

The details of daily inspections are most easily overlooked. Before each operation, carefully check the bolts connecting the shovel teeth to the bucket for looseness—a common blind spot for many operators. If the bolts are undertorqued, the shovel teeth will generate high-frequency vibrations during loading, accelerating fatigue fracture at the tooth roots. It is recommended to tighten using a torque wrench to 350 N·m.

Inspect at least twice a week. Also, observe the spacing between the teeth. If the gap between adjacent teeth exceeds 10 mm, adjust the position promptly to avoid excessive stress on a single tooth.

The proper installation directly determines service life. Different working conditions require different types of shovel teeth: For mining operations, choose the "heavy-duty" type with reinforced ribs. Its high-manganese steel has a carbon content of 1.2% and offers 30% higher impact resistance than standard types. For loading loose materials in municipal engineering projects, the "standard" type is sufficient, as its lightweight design reduces fuel consumption. During installation, pay attention to the fit between the shovel teeth and the bucket. If there is a gap of more than 1 mm, insert metal shims to eliminate the gap. Otherwise, stress concentration points will form, leading to premature cracking. A quarry neglected this issue, resulting in the average lifespan of a batch of shovel teeth shortening from 25 days to 12 days.

Adjusting working habits can also reduce wear. When loading, avoid impacting the shovel teeth perpendicularly against hard ground. The correct approach is to maintain a 15° angle between the bucket and the ground and slowly cut into the material. When encountering large rocks, do not pry them with the shovel teeth; use a breaker hammer to remove them before loading. Additionally, after each operation, clean any remaining mud and sand between the teeth. This material expands during nighttime due to temperature fluctuations, accelerating metal corrosion. By standardizing operations, a construction site in Jiangsu Province reduced the frequency of shovel tooth replacement from three times a month to once, saving nearly 20,000 yuan in spare parts costs annually.

Regular professional maintenance is equally important. It is recommended to conduct a thorough inspection of the shovel teeth every two months, inspect them for internal cracks using an ultrasonic flaw detector, and repair any minor wear on the cutting edges with a hardfacing weld. Use D212 wear-resistant welding rods for overlay welding. Tempering at 300°C after welding can restore 80% of the wear resistance. Remember, effective maintenance not only reduces costs but also reduces downtime caused by tooth failure, indirectly improving construction efficiency.