3 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN INSTALLING CHROME CARBIDE WEAR PLATE
Chrome Carbide Overlay (CCO) Wear Plate, made by machine welding hard facing on a mild steel base plate, is normally the best choice for combating abrasion applications.
Have you previously had difficulty using CCO wear plate?
Evaluating our customer/client comments over many years, we know most issues can be traced back to three (3) common installation mistakes.
Most CCO wear plates are welded into place and welders, in general, use the following two (2) types of welds:
- Joining Welds – which retain the CCO plate to the base plate of the equipment. Joining welds are not as hard as the Chrome Carbide, and abrasion can rapidly wear away the joining weld deposit.
- Hardfacing Welds – these join nothing. The only purpose of a hardfacing weld is to cover or ‘Cap’ the joining weld. This protects the weld from wear in the same way as a hat protects your head from the rain.
It doesn’t matter if you are using stick or wire feed welding, the process is still the same.
This photo above shows two (2) of the primary causes of CCO wear plate failure.
THE 3 MOST COMMON MISTAKES
Mistake # 1: Not hardfacing a cap over the joining welds.
The ‘A’ shows how the joining weld has worn away. This was caused by not hardfacing a cap over the joining welds. This issue will result in premature failure and unplanned downtime.
The ‘B’ shows what happens when the edge of the CCO plate is exposed to the abrasive elements. The mild steel backing plate is not hard and will quickly wear away. Without the base for support, the carbide surface falls away; leaving no abrasion protection, resulting in premature failure and unplanned downtime.
Mistake # 2: Not hardfacing or capping the structural welds retaining the overlay plate.
Not hardfacing or capping the structural welds retaining the overlay plate. This is the primary cause of most CCO failures. It is important to understand joining welds are NOT HARD LIKE THE OVERLAY surface. This means the weld joint does not have the same abrasion resistance as the CCO deposit. The abrasion material flow is now able to get behind the wear plate and create a hole through the equipment structure.
DO THIS for a successful installation:
After all welds have secured the wear plate, apply a hardfacing alloy to cover all joining welds. This will protect the joining weld deposit keeping your steel plates in position.
Allowing the edge of CCO to be exposed. NEVER allow the edge of a CCO plate exposed to abrasive elements. The mild steel backing plate for the CCO deposit is not hard and wears away rapidly.
The Chrome Carbide Overlay is there only for wear resistance. This means the overlay has no structural integrity by itself. That is the overlay’s only job. When the softer mild steel base plate has worn away, there is no support for the overlay. Like a violent flood causes a river bank to fail; the carbide surface will tumble into the abrasive flow. This leaves you with zero protection, resulting in another premature failure and unplanned downtime.
For A Successful Installation YOU MUST DO THIS: More critical than the weld joints, ALL exposed CCO plate edges MUST be covered with a compatible hardfacing alloy. Preferably use the same deposit as the overlay; being certain to cover all edges of the CCO wear plate.=
Mistake # 3: Not Fully Supporting The CCO Plate. It is important to remember the overlay has no structural strength by itself.
If you are installing a ¾” thick CCO plate, this means the structural mild steel is 3/8” thick with another 3/8” of CCO deposit. As a result CCO cannot withstand being supported only by widely spaced support beams. Any flexing will result in failure of the mild steel base plate, leading to shear failure often seen as ‘chunking out’.
This piece of CCO was not adequately supported, allowing a large chunk to fall out of the plate.
DO THIS For A Successful CCO Installation: Have any CCO plate fully supported underneath. The best prevention against flexing is to secure the plate using enough plug welds.
Starting from the center of the plate, weld the holes to secure the wear plate in an expanding outward circle.
Use this chart to determine the proper size of your plug weld holes, based on the CCO thickness plate you are installing.
Have no distance greater than 18” between the plug welds or plate edges.
NOTE: Only after welding all the plug weld holes, do you begin to weld the edges of any wear plate.
These plug weld holes were not capped, and the joining weld wore away; allowing the welds retaining the CCO plate to flex until it failed. This unplanned breakdown required extensive repairs.
Remember to cap all the plug welds with hardsurfacing so they do not wear away, allowing the plate to flex; leading to failure.
JADCO Mfg., wants your investment in the finest wear resistant CCO material to last as long as possible. This is why we want you or your contractor to know exactly how to install these plates. Don’t expect the contractor has experience installing CCO wear plate.
For your unique applications, we have five different versions of CCO plates:
- Chromeweld 600 – Chrome Carbide; high carbide concentration for most applications
- Chromeweld Nb Plus – Chrome and Niobium Carbides; for fine particles and high velocity
- Chromeweld Ti – Chrome and Titanium Carbides; for abrasion with impact
- Chromeweld Complex – Chrome, Niobium and Vanadium Carbides for extremely demanding applications including high heat.
- Chromeweld W – Chrome and Tungsten Carbides; RECENTLY INTRODUCED BY REQUEST TO COMBAT YOUR most aggressive wear challenges.
Uncertain which CCO wear resistant plate is the best for your application? Listen as JADCO’s president Sam Anderson explains these four different CCO platesin this YouTube video; allowing you to make an informed decision which product is best for your unique application.
We Understand You Don’t Buy Wear Plate Because You Need Wear Plate…You Buy The Correct Wear Plate To Provide Longer Equipment Life For Your Unique Application.
JADCO sales professionals focus on delivering results FOR YOUR MOST CHALLENGING WEAR APPLICATIONS.
By focusing exclusively on delivering longer life and consistent value for our customers over the last 40 years; JADCO is able to deliver greater performance in your applications.
Allow us to help you by calling (724) 452-5252, or email sales@jadcomfg.com today. We will schedule a meeting with one of our local wear plate specialists at a time that best fits your schedule requirements.
