Why Choose Combi Wear Parts?
Ian Jinks, National BDM Mining Products, talks about why Tutt Bryant Equipment has chosen to distribute Combi Wear Parts above other products on the market for optimum wear protection, in the June 2021 edition of The Australian Mining Review magazine.
Wear parts are on the front line at mine sites to extract, excavate and move material, they also need to protect the primary asset being used for material handling. Lower quality wear parts lead to more resistance, and therefore lost productivity, when extracting and moving materials. Substandard wear parts may be cheaper initially, but the carousel of costs from constant replacement quickly adds up in the long term.
The Swedish Difference
Combi Wear Parts (CWP) develops ground-engaging tools (GET) for the construction, mining and dredging industries from a custom-built foundry in Ljungby, Sweden.
The global company is an industry leader in the development of patented wear parts systems for excavators and loader buckets, as well as cutter heads. Outstanding craftmanship in steel manufacturing is an important part of Swedish history and culture, as it is at CWP, which has produced high quality wear parts since the 1930s.
Ian said CWP has total control over the production process by producing the parts at the purpose-built foundry, from using the highest quality steels to the casting method, which has been continually improved over almost two decades.
“The quality of their alloy is a lot better than other parts of the world—it is less diluted,” Ian said.
“Every batch is tested and if it is determined that the quality of material going into the casting is of inferior quality, it doesn’t get cast and gets re-done.”
“The important thing with GET is the tight tolerances between the adaptor nose and the tooth and the amount of contact it has on those faces.”
“When you have got a low tolerance and a good contact area, there is no slop, which is what causes wear on the adaptor nose.”
“The advantage with Combi is less wear means more teeth per adaptor, which means the adaptor life is longer, which lower maintenance costs.”
C-REX
The C-REX wear part system represents the latest in teeth and adaptor technology and has been designed for excavators up to 120t and wheel loaders up to 150t. The system has been proven to lower operating costs while making mounting and dismounting easier than ever before.
The circlip locking system requires a casting process that achieves a tight tolerance. The lock consists of only one loose part—a locking pin that can be reused throughout the lifetime of the system.
The precise fit and large contact surfaces also help to extend the life of the system with more teeth per adaptor, which leads to lower maintenance costs.
The other benefit with the system is the longer tooth to give it more wear surface area, utilising 70% of the tooth, as opposed to 50-60% for other systems.
“The shape of the tooth also means it stays sharper for longer, which means better penetration, which leads to less fuel consumption, less tyre wear and more loads per shift,” Ian said.
The C-REX system can be used in a range of applications from direct on-front, basted rock/ore, loading after crushing, digging in water, trenching or ripping and is suitable for use in a range of materials from gold to copper, iron and granite.
The advantages to operators are endless with over 15% more lifetime, a reduction in wear part cost and downtime, higher efficiency and higher productivity gained.
ProClaws
The ProClaws are the predecessor to the C-REX and have had enormous success in extremely abrasive environments like South Africa, Norway and Russia. While they have been used in quarries in Australia, the ProClaws have not yet been introduced into the Australian mining market – until now.
Designed for excavators and face shovels up to 250 tonnes and the largest wheel loaders, ProClaws offer a wide variety of benefits including better penetration and less stress on the machine while maintaining maximum sharpness throughout their lifetime.
ProClaws also come with reusable and user-friendly mechanical lock, which is easy to mount and dismount, and is well protected while in use.
The ProClaws and the new C-REX adaptors both come with a wear indicator.
“The tooth will have a little wear mark or groove and once you can see that, it is time to change it,” Ian said.
“You will always know when it is time to replace the tooth so you can get the optimum wear life out of it.”
Environmentally Friendly
Combi Wear Parts products are manufactured using electricity from renewable sources such as wind and water. Independent studies show Sweden has lower CO2 emissions compared to other countries when it comes to producing steel castings.
Combi Wear Parts also combats climate change by using recycled steel scrap from steel manufacturing in Sweden.
Customers are also allowed to return and recycle consumed wear parts—allowing recycling at both ends.
Global Network
Combi Wear Parts are distributed to more than 100 countries through a network of exclusive partners, strategically placed around the world.
C-REX and ProClaws continue to find new markets with their annual turnover in 2020 growing by 36% and 33% respectively.
Tutt Bryant Equipment offers a national distribution network with a presence in all major cities and has just opened a branch in Karratha WA. The site will double as a heavy lift and shift, crane and equipment site, with the personnel and stock to offer support in the key WA mining region.
“An important question in the mining industry is always what the support network is,” Ian said.
“We only distribute the highest quality products and we don’t stop there. We are willing to be creative on how we go about working with clients, depending on their individual needs.”
Tutt Bryant also offer free adaptors to clients changing from another system.
Click here to learn more about our Combi Wear Parts range.
For more information contact:
Ian Jinks
National BDM Mining Products
(07) 3373 6400
0437 164 424
ian.jinks@tuttbryant.com.au
