Volvo machinery parts are renowned for their long lifespan, even under tough conditions. For instance, Volvo wheel loader parts are made from 500 Brinell steel which lasts 70% longer than 400 Brinell steel. You can trust in Volvo machinery spare parts to go the distance, whether you’re running a fleet of construction equipment or a single machine.
The bucket of a Volvo wheel loader part can last from seven thousand all the way up to a staggering ten thousand hours of operation, depending on how well the operator can minimise the stress the bucket is under during use. Using Volvo bucket teeth and similar wear components can help your bucket reach its full potential lifetime. That means making use of the correct bucket teeth for the correct circumstances.
For instance, Volvo offers the general-purpose bucket teeth which can be used in all the standard cases of loading softer materials, as well as lasting a decent time with more abrasive material. But if you want to use all of the potential you can get from your machine, try out the abrasive materials bucket teeth. And if your machine will be loading rocks, which could take a serious toll on your bucket, check out the rock bucket teeth specifically designed by Volvo for that purpose.
While rock bucket teeth are designed not to snap off like longer bucket teeth under pressure, there are other ways you can also protect your machine from wear if it’s loading rocks or other highly abrasive and destructive materials. These include the bucket segments, which are plates of metal which fit between the bucket teeth, protecting the leading edge of the bucket from serious damage.
Another important component to deal with the high impact forces of tough materials are the wear caps for the bucket teeth adaptors. The wear caps are fitted onto the adaptors and take the brunt of the force, protecting the important component underneath. Bucket teeth adaptors are the components which are the link between the bucket and the teeth. They are fixed more permanently onto the bucket, forming a solid connection, while the teeth connect to the adaptors with a pin, making them easier to affix or remove. If the adaptors get broken or damaged, the teeth no longer are solidly connected to the bucket and can break off entirely, leaving pins and bucket teeth polluting the material being hauled.
Volvo have designed a hammerless system to connect bucket teeth to the adaptors. Using a simple quarter turn to lock the pins in place, securing the teeth firmly to the adaptors, the Volvo system is easy and fast. A hammerless system is ideal and forestalls the inevitable problem of that one pin that just won’t hammer out. Rather than spending hours attempting to hammer out a stubborn pin, the Volvo system simply needs that easy quarter turn and the teeth can be removed and replaced with ease.
But how frequently should you replace your bucket teeth? The answer depends entirely on the use case you are facing. If you are loading up soft and loamy soil, then your bucket teeth could theoretically last you for decades. If you are digging into rocks or other incredibly abrasive materials then your bucket teeth could last as little as a few days before needing to be replaced, which is the case in some Western Australian mines. This is why it’s important to change your bucket teeth depending on what they are hauling as rock bucket teeth will last the longest when dealing with rocks and give you the most out of your bucket teeth.
The key thing is to make bucket teeth inspections part of the routine and make sure that operators periodically check for missing teeth. This can be done even as they operate the machine, assuming the machine design allows for a direct line of sight from the cab to the teeth. Making a careful inspection of your bucket teeth for wear patterns will give you an insight into how the teeth are wearing away. Then you can assess their performance and decide whether to swap out for other teeth with more support on the wear areas or other teeth designs more suited to the task.
For instance, Volvo wheel loader parts, the bucket teeth are designed to take more abrasive force on their base, as this is where most of the stress is endured as the bucket scoops its load. On the other hand, excavators are used for penetrating and digging into tough materials such as compact dirt or abrasive materials like dirt. As such, the teeth are made to withstand higher penetrative forces that they will undergo in these operations.
It’s important that you consider all of your options when looking into the lifespan of Volvo bucket teeth. The right choice will depend on what your use case scenarios are. This will also affect how much time you can expect to get out of your bucket teeth before they wear away too much for continued use. Using worn away teeth will reduce productivity and increase fuel consumption. It’s important to make use of the careful design considerations that Volvo put into creating their Volvo machinery spare parts.
