How to Choose the Right Crawler Crane Undercarriage Parts| OEM & Supplier Guide

Crawler cranes play an indispensable role in the construction industry. They perform a vital function in construction, mining, and infrastructure engineering. The crawler crane undercarriage parts are the key factors of the equipment. They are responsible for carrying the overall weight of the crawler crane and ensuring its smooth operation.

What are the Crawler Crane Undercarriage Parts?

A crawler crane undercarriage mainly consists of the following key parts.

1 Crane Track Shoes

Track shoes are an important part of tracks. It forms the track assembly together with pins, nuts, and bolts. Track shoes transmit power to allow the crawler crane to travel smoothly on the ground. Meanwhile, they disperse the crane’s ground pressure, reduce ground load, and prevent the equipment from sinking or slipping.

2 Crane Track Rollers

Five parts make up the bottom rollers of a crawler crane undercarriage. They are the wheel body, shaft, copper bushing, end cover, and oil seal system (floating oil seal and O-ring). Its main function is to support the whole machine’s weight, transfer the weight of the crane and lifted loads to the ground. Bottom rollers also serve to constrain the track and prevent lateral displacement.

The position of the bottom roller is usually above the lower track and connected to the track shoes

3 Crane carrier Rollers

The overall structure of the crane carrier roller is the same as that of the bottom roller. Its main function is to support the upper track and prevent excessive track sagging. Carrier rollers are installed on both sides of the upper track. Most crawler cranes have four carrier rollers; some have six or eight, and a few models have none at all.

4 Idlers

The idler is a driven wheel that guides and supports the track, and adjusts the tightness of the track together with the tensioning device. The idler and drive wheel each lie at one end of the bottom and guide the direction.

5 Driving Wheel

The driving wheel is the wheel that drives the track shoes to travel. Through the meshing of gears and tracks, the power transmitted from the motor to the reducer is transferred to the track, thereby driving the crane to move forward.

Key Factors of Choosing Crawler Crane Undercarriage Parts

1 Accuracy of installation dimensions is critical.

It is important to ensure that the new parts match the old ones when replacing the undercarriage parts. Mismatched new parts often cause installation failure and abnormal wear of undercarriage parts. This will seriously affect the normal operation and service life of the crawler crane.

Crawler crane undercarriage parts that meet the OEM standards are the best choice. You can confirm the OEM standards of your crawler crane undercarriage parts by identifying the crane model and checking its nameplate.Dismantling the old crawler crane undercarriage parts for measurement is also a reliable way.

You should pay attention to the following dimensions of each part

2 Select materials and strength according to working conditions

Due to differences in the weight of the entire machine to be supported and the weight of the operation, the material selection for the crane undercarriage parts is also different. The correct material selection can not only effectively improve the operational efficiency of crawler cranes, but also achieve high cost-effectiveness.

Crane Track Shoes	25t-100t	35SiMn
	25t-100t	31Mn2Si
	100t-300t	28CrMnMo
	100t-300t	31Mn2SiMo
	Over 300 tons	28CrMnMoNi
Crane Track Rollers	Small tonnage	Carbon Steel 45
	Medium tonnage	40Mn2 Alloy Steel
	large tonnage	42CrMo Alloy Steel
Crane Top Rollers	Small tonnage	50Mn
	medium and large-sized tonnage	40Mn2
Idlers & Sprockets	medium and large-sized tonnage	35SiMn

3 Quality is the core key factor

• Using appropriate high-quality raw materials is the first step to achieving good quality. The factory needs to conduct chemical composition testing, hardness testing, and magnetic particle inspection on raw materials. To ensure that the raw materials meet the production conditions for the crane undercarriage parts.
• Quenching and tempering are key steps in the production process of crawler crane undercarriage parts. First, heat the parts at high temperature, and then rapidly cool them down with oil or water. Reenter the furnace and heat it to a high temperature of 500-650 ℃ for sufficient insulation time. Remove from the furnace and cool to room temperature. This process can significantly improve the toughness, strength, and tensile resistance of the crawler crane undercarriage parts.
• And after tempering & quenching, surface hardening treatment is also required for the crane undercarriage parts. This will significantly improve the surface wear resistance of the crawler crane undercarriage parts. Significantly extend the service life of the crawler crane.
• A strict testing system before leaving the factory is the guarantee of product quality. After production is completed, the crawler crane undercarriage parts need to undergo multiple inspections. Including size inspection, hardness testing, magnetic particle inspection, tensile testing, etc.

Conclusion

The selection of crawler crane undercarriage parts should consider various factors, including adaptability, construction conditions, service life, cost-effectiveness, etc. When choosing crawler crane undercarriage parts, quality should be our first consideration. Because this not only relates to the service life of the crawler crane, but also to the operational safety of the crawler crane.