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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY: MATEX
Trenching machines and more precisely excavating chains have to undergo very severe mechanical requirements; mainly abrasive wear due to the materials of the land where they must work and to the effect that stones have on the different components of the chain of the trenching machine that can lead to their premature fracture. Apart from the issues of wear and premature fracture there is another difficulty that has been detected nowadays in the projects of public work, where we find an upward tendency in the use of large-diameter conduits. This has been observed especially in the works that refer to the opening of trenches for water supply, irrigation and gas conducts. For this reason, companies must adapt their machines to the new demanded diameter.
For all these reasons, during the execution of the project MATEX a trenching machine that will make it possible to widen the trenching width up to 142 cm has been redesigned, adapted and manufactured so as to meet the new market demands. In order to try and minimise the premature fracture of the chain components the project has studied the application of different kinds of materials and thermal treatments as well as the new design of the different components of the chain. The final objective is to obtain more resistant and durable trenching chains and to make them suitable for each kind of land. In other words, depending on the area and kind of land where the trenching machine works, we should use different kinds of materials for the manufacturing of the excavating chain. This way we would provide a single Spanish company manufacturer of trenching machines with the necessary know-how for continuing to be the leader in this sector.
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