Keeping urban transportation networks open during severe blizzards requires round-the-clock snow plow truck operations. City plowing presents unique challenges compared to open highways, including frequent contact with manhole covers, curb edges, and sharp street corners. Today, we look at how cities maintain fleet uptime and how hardfacing high-wear truck components prevents emergency breakdowns during major storms.
Urban Wear Hazards for City Fleets
Urban snow clearing subjects plow attachments to severe multidirectional wear:
- Curb Impact and Corner Abrasion: Scraping tight city corners drags the outer edges of plow blades directly against concrete curbs, causing uneven end-wear.
- Manhole and Utility Obstacles: Striking raised utility castings places sudden shocks on moldboard assemblies and mounting hardware.
- High-Frequency Turning: Constant maneuvers accelerate wear on peripheral attachments like wing plows and side shoe supports.
Beyond the Cutting Edge: Whole-Truck Hardfacing Protection
To maintain continuous fleet availability in urban zones, municipal repair shops look beyond primary cutting edges and protect all high-abrasion truck attachments using hardfacing technology:
- Hardfaced Curb Guards: Welding tungsten carbide grit overlays onto front-facing curb guards shields the outer corners of the plow from concrete grinding.
- Reinforced Plow Shoes & Runners: Applying chromium carbide or carbide grit hardfacing to cast iron shoes extends shoe ground-life, maintaining consistent scraping clearance over rough asphalt.
- Wing Blade Hardfacing: Protecting side wing plow edges with welded wear strips prevents secondary steel carrier erosion during snowbank widening operations.
Protecting secondary wear zones with specialized hardfacing materials ensures that your entire plow assembly lasts through the storm without requiring mid-shift emergency welding repairs.
Keep Your City Moving with MCT
City fleets require reliable wear parts engineered to handle tough urban infrastructure.
At MCT, we manufacture premium carbide snow plow blades alongside specialized hardfacing materials. Contact our technical team today to optimize your snowplow’s performance!
