Most of the small excavators now use rubber tracks, but they also use steel tracks. The rubber track has the same structure as the rigid track and consists of a guide wheel, a drive wheel and a walking frame. The difference between the two is the rubber track. It is made of rubber molded, with thorns on the outside and transmission parts on the inner side, and the steel transmission parts are embedded in the vulcanized rubber belt. The main parameters are pitch, number of sections, pattern pattern or embedded metal part style. Etc., the small rubber track has the characteristics of light weight, low vibration, low noise, large adhesion, good ground adaptability, and no damage to the road surface; it is especially suitable for urban construction.
The basic structure of rubber crawler and steel crawler is the same, and usually consists of guide wheel, supporting wheel, driving wheel, supporting wheel, crawler and walking frame.
The main differences and characteristics of rubber crawler and rigid crawler of small excavator：
(1) The rubber crawler is a whole continuous crawler made of rubber moulding. The core is reinforced with fabric and a plurality of steel wire ropes. The steel transmission parts are embedded in the vulcanized rubber belt. The main parameters of the rubber track are the pitch, the number of sections, the width of the track, the pattern style, the style of the embedded metal parts, etc., as shown in the figure.
(2) The driving wheel is installed on the travel reducer, which is used to wind the crawler to ensure the operation of the machine. The drive wheel for the rubber track adopts a convex tooth profile with a pitch of 128mm. There is bending stress in the working process of the crawler, which will cause fatigue damage of the crawler, so the diameter of the driving wheel is not easy to be too small.
(3) The rollers, supporting rollers and guide rollers ride on both sides of the track teeth respectively and press on the rubber plane. In order to prevent the wheel rim from being cut and severely squeezed from the rubber, the wheel rim is wider: because the track teeth are relatively High, so the wheel body is larger.
5 maintenance suggestions for rubber tracks of small excavators
(1) There must be suitable tension. If the tension is too small, the track will fall off easily; if the tension is too large, the life of the track will be reduced. When checking and adjusting, the walking system should be lifted unilaterally, and its height should be 10-20mm, as shown in Figure 3. When the tensioning force is small, it can be readjusted by the tensioning cylinder.
(2) During the walking process of the machine, sharp objects should be avoided to avoid scratching the track; it should be avoided to turn too fast on the commercial concrete road with high friction coefficient to avoid tearing of the rubber. Under normal circumstances, it is also necessary to avoid turning too fast and too sharply, and try not to use unilateral crawler steering when turning.
(3) Do not make the crawler stick with corrosive substances such as oil. Once found, it should be wiped off immediately.
(4) When stored for a long time, it should be placed indoors to avoid the sun and rain. Before storage, the track should be cleaned to prolong its service life.
(5) Once the drive wheel is worn, it should be replaced in time.
