I have plans for this winter to fabricate a frost tooth for the CAT E120B excavator. The steel I can acquire at a reasonable cost 48 inches x 10 wide x 3 thick = $350.00. that's for the shank. Will hard face the bottom half of the shank sides and run three or four lines up the front edge. The steel is A36 Minimum tensile strength (ksi) 58-80 Minimal Yield strength (0.2%,ksi) 36 Hardness B76 Now I do not know what the above numbers mean can some one explain them to me? The E120B has a maxmium stick force of 14,550 lb and a maximum bucket force of 17,416 lb Maximum hydraulic pressure is 3,983 psi. What do you think; would the A36 steel hold up to the E120B excavator with out failing? not the welds failing, the steel failing snapping, cracking,breaking. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Basically, yeild and tensile strength describe the flexibility of the material. Any force/pressure/stress beyond that rating and the material will be permanently deformed. A36 is mild steel. ksi (unit), kilopound per square inch, a unit of stress or pressure
Here is a 30 inch by 9 inch by 3 inch this ripper of some random crazy design ( i just drew up what i thought it might look like) I assigned the material to be mild steel and put a force of 14,550 lbs on the concave surface with imaginary pins fixing the part. Red means bad, so you might want to thicken the material a bit there. I guess my answer... take it for what it is (some random guy on a forum) would be that A36 should be sufficient with the proper shape accounting for the stresses. The hardfacing will be used primarily to reduce wear on the part.
BTW, you should totally make it a dinosaur tooth shape or shark tooth shape. or:
Cool information. When I try to make stuff I just look around for what I have on hand and go to town. If it breaks or doesn't work out I either weld it back together or bring it to a scrap yard and cash it in.
Huntoon that is great software you have. My plan is to weld the shank to a steel plate that mounts to the excavator via pins showed by the "+". the two sides 1.0 inch thick that have holes drilled through them are welded on the bottom to a steel plate 1.0 inch thick and then the shank is welded to the center of the bottom plate. The shank is 10.0 wide and 3.0 thick; half way from top 24.0 inches the shank is cut as a curve into the front down to the tip, like you have, the curve will be 6.0 inches thick. This drawing will no work it moves when posted on the page. ...................... : + + : :....................: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
So.... no shark tooth? bummer... Let me know if you need help with a drawing or something.