Hydraulic Mining Shovel Track Pad Geometry for Lower Material Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing track pads for heavy equipment, such as hydraulic mining shovels, require substantial material to ensure robustness, leading to increased costs and manufacturing challenges like voids and porosity, which can result in premature maintenance.
Innovation Solution
The design of a track pad with a shoe member and link members that include specific geometries like lateral and vertical directions, lug members, side cavities, and ribs, which reduce material usage while maintaining structural integrity through optimized geometry and void placement, allowing for easier manufacturing and reduced likelihood of defects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If thick sections are used to ensure robustness and support heavy loads, then strength and load-bearing capacity are improved, but manufacturing difficulty increases and defects such as voids and porosity occur more frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The track pad is divided into multiple sections with varying thicknesses. Thinner sections are used where full strength is not required, while thicker sections are strategically placed only where structural support is needed. This segmentation allows the track pad to achieve necessary strength while reducing overall material usage and manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the track pad are designed with different thicknesses and material properties according to their specific functional requirements. The design applies material only where needed, creating local variations in quality and thickness that optimize both strength and manufacturability.
2Strength
If substantial material is used to create robust track pads, then load-bearing capacity is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Unnecessary material is removed from the track pad design. By analyzing the actual load paths and structural requirements, the design extracts only the essential material needed for strength, eliminating excess material that would increase cost without providing proportional benefit.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter is varied throughout the track pad structure rather than maintaining a uniform thickness. This parameter change allows optimization of material usage by providing thickness only where structurally necessary.
3Strength
If thick sections are used to ensure robustness, then strength is improved, but manufacturing time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The track pad is segmented into zones of different thickness, allowing faster manufacturing in thinner sections while maintaining necessary strength in critical thicker sections. This reduces overall manufacturing time compared to producing a uniformly thick pad.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the thickness parameter spatially across the track pad, the manufacturing process can be optimized for each region, reducing total manufacturing time while preserving structural integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
Track pad includes a first link member that extends upwardly from the shoe member including a first lug member extending from the first link member in a first direction, as well as a second lug member and a third lug member both extending from the first link member in a second direction opposite of the first direction. The track pad also defines a first side cavity that extends from the first lateral end toward the second lateral end, jogging from the front end toward the rear end along the track chain traveling direction, and downwardly toward the ground engaging surface.