Tips to Extend Cold Planer Cutting Tools Replacement intervals

Road milling is one of the most demanding road construction works. Most of the milling equipment wear parts are subjected to extremely high levels of strain and stress and thus the high rate of wear. In fact, one of the major challenges that most operators struggle with is the high rate of wear down on the wear parts. The most affected are the cutting tools. A lot of repairs and replacements is done which can be extremely expensive with time. But there are ways that you can reduce this cost, especially replacements.

One of the best tricks of curbing the runaway cost of replacement is by extending the intervals at which they occur. However, you have to learn these tricks to get the best out of your milling equipment. Here are tips that can help you maintain you road milling machine bits:

Quality Cutting Tools

One of the critical things that you must consider carefully is the quality of the milling teeth you are investing in. But the quality is only determined by the type of the material that has been used in their construction. For all your pavement milling activities, you must get the highest grade materials. The shank of the teeth “must” be made from tungsten carbide material. The body of the teeth should be constructed from alloys of steel or forged steel. Milling bits made from such grade of materials are resistant to wear, and abrasion and thus will last for long. Therefore, it will take you a longer interval to think about making replacements.

Maintain the Tools on Regular Basis

Maintenance is critical to the lifespan of the machine. Even if you have the best quality teeth, without proper maintenance, you will still have the same problem. You need to check the condition of the cutting bit before starting with milling and after milling. That is the best way to identify the problem early before it becomes unmanageable. However, most people do not take regular maintenance with the seriousness that it deserves. Don’t wait for the time recommended by the manufacturer since it is not effective.

Proper Cooling System

Pavement milling generates a lot of heat at the tip of the teeth. If the produced heat is not controlled, it will increase the rate of wear and abrasion. The result will be an increased rate of wear and thus replacements now and then. Make sure that the road milling machine is supplied with adequate water for the cooling purposes.