Brick & Cement Industry

Clay Extraction and Brick Making

Industry: Brick, clay and tile making.

Problem: Tools are subject to severe abrasion resulting from the minerals contained in the clay (SiO₂, Al₂O₃).

Crushing Hammer

Equipment: The application with TufCote® G-N or G-A 6mm ⌀ (even 8mm) products concerns mainly the extraction to the pressing phases:

• Bucket wheel excavator, teeth of bucket, extraction conveyor.
• Disintegrator crusher knives.
• Extracting screws, screened feeders, screen gratings.
• Shredder knives, puller hooks, pug mill augers.

Moulding Screw

Principle of the Process: Extraction of earth, crushing and storage, pulverisation, screening, forming or pressing, cutting, coating or glazing, drying, firing.

Service Conditions:

• Ambient temperature ~20-50°C.
• Abrasives particles mixed with water.
• Medium shocks possible.
• Clay contains 7-30% water.

Coating Solution: Abrasion Resistant Coatings:

• TufCote® Grade N or A 6mm ⌀ - tungsten carbide with a metal matrix
• 3 to 5 mm thickness are required 

Benefits of TufCote®

• TufCote® extends the life time 3 times more than Cr cast iron.
• Simplicity, easy learning of the brazing procedure make it a possible application on site or in job shop.
• No capital investment is required to apply the TufCote®.
  brazing flexible cord (only a flame torch is required).
• Expensive steels are not required to manufacture the blades.
• Possibility to rebuilt on a coating previously welded.
• Coarse and angular tungsten carbide grains, for better.
  resistance to abrasion (TufCote® Grade A).

TufCote® GRADE A Product Specification

• Self fluxing alloy matrix : 32 to 40% in weight.
• Tungsten carbides: 60 to 68% in weight.
• Particle size: Grade N within 0.8 mm or grade A within 1.6 mm.
• Packaging: TufCote® is supplied as a continuous flexible cord, length depending on diameter and included in a protective plastic box. Available diameters are 4.75 or 6.35 or 8mm.

TufCote® Application Procedure

Preparation of the Piece

• Surface must be cleaned and free of surface contamination.
• All edges must be cut by grinding.

Preheating of the Area

• With oxy-acetylene torch, preheat the piece area to 450°C (840°F).

Prime Cote (if required)

When welding stainless steel with TufCote®, an under layer might be applied about 300µm thick on surface before apply TufCote®:

• To avoid any oxidation of surface
• To prevent chromium migration to the surface (black bulk)
• To increase adherence of TufCote®.

Hard-facing Operation with TufCote®

• The torch flame must form an angle of about 45° with the piece surface to be hard-faced, and TufCote® at a 45° angle to the same surface.
• The flame must swing from side to side of the weld deposit.
• TufCote® is then fed through the holder 4-6” at a time.
• The tip of the cord should not be lowered or lifted during the fusion process.
• The maximum speed of deposition is about 2Kg/hour (4.2 lbs/hour).