The Problem
The concrete is very abrasive and wears the feed auger aggressively. As the auger wears, the diameter decreases, increasing the clearance between the flights and the chute, and greatly diminishing the rate at which the concrete can be fed to the moulds. This has a dramatic effect on the productivity of the machine.
In an attempt to extend the operational life of augers, operators would manually apply hard facing at least twice, costing downtime and labour hours.
The Solution
Apply an extremely wear resistant layer by LaserBond® Cladding the outside diameter and faces of the flights, increasing the life of the auger between 4-15 times that of conventionally hard faced augers.
Augers with conventional hard facing would only transfer approximately 1000 – 3000 cubic meters of concrete, depending on the size of the aggregate. In contrast, the LaserBond® clad auger conveyed approximately 13000 – 15000 cubic meters without any decrease of the auger diameter and operating at peak efficiency.