by Diana Barnum
Correspondent
What can you do if your
undercarriage shows signs of wear? Generally, companies opt to replace it,
take it to a service center for repairs, or have someone repair it onsite.
However, there is another option available. You can take the undercarriage
off the machine and ship it to one of a few places in the United States
that houses a huge 200- to 360-ton track press.
“Actually the secret is
owning the equipment,” said Tom Truck, branch manager of Southeastern
Equipment Company, Inc. in Dublin, Ohio. “The track press turns the pins
and bushings. It pops pins out, turns them, and pops them back in. This
extends life a season or two.”
Southeastern Equipment sells, rents and
services new and used construction equipment in over a dozen locations
throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. They do not have one of the huge
track presses, though. Therefore, service operators ship their
undercarriages to Tractor Service and Supply, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio for
repairs.
“Our Trackmaster is one of only three large track presses in
town and of only about a half dozen in the entire state, “said Rex
McDermitt, president of Tractor Service.
Tractor Service, established
in 1967, has a Trackmaster 200-ton track press that was purchased used
about two years ago. Their best advertising is word-of-mouth and some
print ads that they track with keyed wording and 800-numbers. Lots of work
comes in from neighboring states.
The top two concerns of their
call-in customers are:
• Cost of transport.
• Turnaround
time.
Staff assures them that all work is scheduled. Small tracks
generally take a day; larger tracks take 2-3 days.
They also sell and
ship new track replacement parts and track by D.C.F.; sprockets, sprocket
rims and segment groups, chains, rollers, idlers, grousers and other
hardware like track bolts, nuts, pin and bushing sets. Trek is a Division
of Letts Industries, Inc. Tractor Service and Supply also performs other
service work; running take out engines, transmissions, final drive parts
and assemblies, cylinder heads, crankshafts, engine blocks, bearings and
piston and sleeve assemblies.
Friend to the environment, Tractor
Service and Supply, Inc. collects old pins and brushings for regular pick
up by recycling company I.H. Schlezinger, Inc., formerly known as Columbus
Scrap. Once there, the materials are either sheared, baled or cut with
torches, then shipped off by truck or rail to be reused elsewhere.
Service Tip
Frequent client of Tractor Service, the service manager
of Southeastern Equipment Company, Inc. in Dublin, Ohio shared this
undercarriage tip:
Pay attention to the wear pattern. Most
manufacturers have gauges to measure wear and specs to compare your
measurements with to see when the pins and bushings need to be fine-tuned.
If you turn them at a good time, you can extend your equipment life by up
to 75%. -Dave Adams, service manager
The Trackmaster 200-ton track
press is no longer available since the consolidation of Trackmaster into
WTC Machinery Corporation. WTC Machinery Corporation now offers three new
track press models: the WS200, WTC-250sf and WTC-360sf Track Presses. The
WS200 is a 200-ton track press with retractable jaw recommended for D3-D9
tracks; the 250sf is a 250-ton with 12-inch piston diameter cylinders,
recommended for D3-D10 tracks. The 360sf is a 360-ton with 14-inch piston
diameter cylinders, recommended for D3-D12 tracks.
Here are some of the
basic features and operations on the new larger press:
• A hydraulic
hold down clamp locks track link in position.
• A large, low-pressure
cylinder makes connection with cylinder rod and tooling ram block.
• An
auto-retract and cylinder positioning system. This feature can increase
your production speed by reducing the cylinders retract distance and
eliminates the need for the operator to hold controls during the cylinder
retracting process.
“Trackmaster is the “T” in WTC, “explained Rick
Baas, VP of sales operations at WTC Machinery. “The Trackmaster Company
was purchased in 1985 from Owatonna Tool Corporation by Centurion
Industries. The Trackmaster track press was the preferred product of the
John Deere Corporation for 20+ years.”
For more information about
extending undercarriage life, contact Tractor Service & Supply, Inc.,
2024 Refugee Road, Columbus, OH 43207. Call: (800) 848-9456; or fax
inquiries to: (614) 443-0146. Visit them online at: www.crawlerparts.com
or email info@crawlerparts.com . For more WTC history and product
information, visit them online at www.wtcmachinery.com .WTC Machinery
Corporation is located at 45 Capitol Dr. Oconomowoc, WI 53066. Call: (800)
248-8405 or fax: (262) 569-4850. |