Komatsu has released Dual Bushing Track for large dozer undercarriages to double track life.
The new track has been designed for high abrasion, low impact applications, and eliminate the need for pin and bush turns and associated new sprockets.
According to John Mortimer, Komatsu
Australia’s BDM for undercarriages, the first
application of dual bushing track in Australia – on a D275A-5 dozer – achieved
more than 3000 hours of operation with no issues, compared to average track life of around 1000 hours, including a pin and bush turn at 500 hours, on conventional undercarriages.
“In this application, a large sand
mining site, we actually effectively tripled the life of the undercarriage –
and it would have gone longer if the dozer had not been redeployed elsewhere,” Mortimer
said.
“By the time the dozer finished on
the site, the track was approximately half worn, so we believe it had the
potential to run to 4000 or even 5000 hours. Seal life would have ultimately
determined the longevity of the track before the bushes went.
“In that 3000 hours, there were
absolutely no issues,” he said.
“There were no dry or hot pins, and
the system avoided three pin-and-bush turns, which would have required a week’s
downtime to take off and put back on.”
However Mortimer added that it can not be used in high impact applications such as ripping or hard rock work.
“Having said that, it is ideal for
sand, bauxite and other high-abrasion applications where you have large
stockpiles to be moved around, with no ripping,” he said.