When operating in harsh, abrasive environments, the cutting edge of your excavator bucket takes a beating. It's essential to protect this key component to optimize your excavation and digging operations. One effective way to do this is by fitting a bolt-on cutting edge. Often overlooked, this addition can significantly enhance your bucket's performance and durability. Here are the top five reasons why fitting a bolt-on cutting edge to your excavator bucket is a smart decision.
The primary purpose of a bolt-on cutting edge is to shield your bucket edge from wear. Over time, friction from digging and grading can erode the bucket edge, exposing the integral welds that connect the side plates and bucket shell. If these welds are not protected, they can snap, buckle, or crack, rendering your bucket unusable. By adding a bolt-on cutting edge, you protect these critical welds, ensuring the longevity and functionality of your bucket.
In the past, repairing a worn bucket edge involved cutting out the lip plate and welding a new edge, a time-consuming process that could sideline your bucket for days. A bolt-on cutting edge simplifies this process. It attaches to the underside of your bucket edge with plow bolts, allowing for quick and easy replacement. This means less downtime and more productivity, as fitting a new cutting edge can often be completed in under an hour.
Most cutting edges are double-edged to maximize efficiency. When one side wears down, you can simply unbolt, flip, and reattach the cutting edge, effectively doubling its lifespan. Without a cutting edge, you'd need to remove and reweld a new edge twice as often, costing more time and money. Additionally, sourcing the right parts and hiring a skilled welder can be expensive, especially if extensive wear necessitates replacing the entire bucket.
A bolt-on cutting edge helps maintain a level bucket edge, crucial for achieving a perfect finish in profiling and digging tasks. Without this reinforcement, the bucket edge can warp and distort, making it difficult to finish surfaces or dig neat trenches. The cutting edge keeps the bucket lip plate flat and level, which is essential for tasks like grading or ditch cleaning, where a smooth finish is required.
While the increase is marginal, fitting a bolt-on cutting edge to your excavator bucket can slightly extend the bucket's length and capacity. This added capacity allows you to transport more material in each load, improving efficiency when moving bulk materials. Additionally, the extended length can enhance your excavator’s reach, making trench digging and other tasks easier and faster, especially under tight deadlines.
Fitting a bolt-on cutting edge to your excavator bucket is a wise investment that can extend the life of your bucket, reduce maintenance downtime, enhance job quality, and increase productivity. By protecting integral welds, eliminating the need for frequent rewelding, doubling the lifespan of the bucket edge, maintaining a level edge for better finishes, and slightly increasing bucket capacity, a bolt-on cutting edge proves to be a cost-effective and efficient solution for any excavation project.