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Wear parts

Contractor's Choice

Superior Engineered Elastomers' Gregg Blair says the company's polyurethane transition sleeve costs about $100 but will add years of life to steel transition and hopper tubes that cost upwards of $800.

Barry Stoughton says replacement parts' manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to reduce the wear on wear items. Three years ago, a chemist in his company discovered a different type of polyurethane, one that demonstrated even more wear-resistant characteristics when used in track pads. "We have since discovered that track pads made with the new material last from 15 to 30 percent longer than their predecessors," Stoughton says. "We colored them blue to distinguish them from our traditional black pads and now market them as Tufpads Blues."

Inexpensive steel cutters will work on most jobs, but they won't last long. Cutters with carbide tips last longer, cut down on changeover time, and are better suited for working on hard surfaces.

"You can tell a lot about a shoe by its appearance," Sharplin says. "Ones with a smooth finish will likely wear longer than ones with rough edges. The carbide also needs to be brazed in properly, without cracking or otherwise injuring the carbide inserts."

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By Rod Dickens
Contributing Writer

All equipment comes with parts that wear; that's the nature of the beast. In the pavement maintenance market, when some applications can get tough indeed, these wear parts take a higher profile as does the what, when and why of replacing them. Failing to replace wear items in a timely manner with the right part for the right application will likely result in unprofitable downtime, and that's something few contractors can afford.

Tracking pad wear
Polyurethane track pads were first used on pavers 20 years ago to replace rubber pads that were chunking and tearing off. Since then, polyurethane pads have become equally popular on asphalt milling machines. Barry Stoughton, BLS Enterprises president, gives several reasons why the market has shifted away from rubber to polyurethane. Located in Itasca, IL, BLS manufactures both rubber and polyurethane track pads for construction-related applications.

"Polyurethane is far more durable and tougher than rubber," says Stoughton. "It wears like it is being sanded down as opposed to chunking or tearing. In other words, it wears evenly. Compared to a rubber track pad, polyurethane pads last a lot longer, two to three times longer than rubber pads on pavers and milling machines, and they provide much better traction than steel pads offer on milling machines."

Some contractors may not need the durability that polyurethane offers, he adds. For them, using rubber track pads on pavers is still very acceptable. But if they're concerned about wear and the downtime and labor costs associated with replacing wear items, then the switch to polyurethane would be appropriate.

Concern about downtime and labor were two reasons why over the last few years milling machine operators have asked BLS Enterprises for an easier way to change track pads. The company's response was a new bolt-on pad that can be changed right in the field.

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