Locally Graded Steel Materials for Self-Sharpening Cutting Blades

Abstract

Abstract Cutting blades for harvesting applications are used in a variety of agricultural machines. These parts are in contact with highly abrasive lawn clippings and often wear out within hours which results in high expensive re-sharpening maintenance. This paper relates to locally graded steel materials as semi-finished products for self-sharpening cutting blades. As these materials comprise a layered structure consisting of a hard, wear resistant layer and a relatively softer layer which is lesser wear resistant. As the cutting blade is subjected to wear conditions, the less wear resistant layer wears faster than the relatively more wear resistant harder layer. As a result, the more wear resistant layer is always exposed at the tip of the blade and determines its geometry. As the hard layer’s thickness is almost the same within the part, the cutting edge remains unchanged and provides constant performance in service. This paper displays suitable designs for such cutting blades, test setups for its characterization and capable manufacturing techniques for making locally graded steel materials as semi-finished products.