Durable cutting edges with wear resistant wear indicator

Abstract

A cutting edge of a machine is fabricated by cutting one or more grooves within a base cutting edge and incorporating one or more hard tiles in the grooves. An edge groove may be cut into a ground-engaging edge of the cutting edge and hard tiles may be disposed therein. Additionally, a face groove may be cut into a corner of the cutting edge, within which hard tiles may be disposed. At the face of the cutting edge, distanced from the ground-engaging edge, a wear indicator groove may be cut and wear indicator tiles may be disposed therein. Furthermore, laser-clad abrasion resistant material may be provided on a face of the cutting edge to improve the wear resistance of the face. Further still, the corners of the cutting edge may be rounded at its end(s) to remove the sharp corners that wear faster than the rest of the cutting edge.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cutting edge, comprising:
 a ground-engaging edge;   an end edge;   a face extending up to the ground-engaging edge and the end edge;   a first wear indicator tile disposed within a first groove within the face, the first wear indicator tile at a predetermined distance from the ground-engaging edge; and   a second wear indicator tile disposed within the first groove proximal to the first wear indicator tile, wherein the first wear indicator tile and the second wear indicator tile comprise tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt (Co).   
     
     
         2 . The cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the second wear indicator tile displays inset writing when disposed within the first groove. 
     
     
         3 . The cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance corresponds to a level of wear where the cutting edge is to be replaced. 
     
     
         4 . The cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein a composition of the first wear indicator tile comprises Co concentration in a range of about 6% to about 13%. 
     
     
         5 . The cutting edge of  claim 4 , wherein the composition of the first wear indicator tile comprises the Co concentration in a range of about 10% to about 12%. 
     
     
         6 . The cutting edge of  claim 1 , further comprising a rounded corner between the ground-engaging edge and the end edge, wherein the rounded corner is at least one of a quarter circle, chamfered, or fillet. 
     
     
         7 . The cutting edge of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a third tile disposed within a second groove within the ground-engaging edge; and   a fourth tile disposed within a third groove at an interface of the ground engaging edge and the face, the fourth tile including a first facet and a second facet, wherein the third tile has a different composition than the fourth tile.   
     
     
         8 . The cutting edge of  claim 1 , further comprising a face wear protector on the face, the face wear protector comprising WC. 
     
     
         9 . A method of fabricating a cutting edge, comprising:
 forming a base cutting edge using steel, the base cutting edge including a ground-engaging edge, an end edge, and a face extending to the ground-engaging edge and the end edge;   cutting a first groove into the face at a predetermined distance from the ground-engaging edge;   providing a first wear indicator tile within the first groove; and   providing a second wear indicator tile within the first groove, wherein a composition of the second wear indicator tile comprises tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt (Co), the Co at a concentration in a range of about 10% to about 12%.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the second wear indicator tile displays inset writing when disposed within the first groove. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein providing the first wear indicator tile within the first groove comprises brazing the first wear indicator tile in place within the first groove. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 powder sintering the first wear indicator tile using WC powder and Co powder, such that the first wear indicator tile has a Co content in a range of about 6% to about 13%.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 cutting a second groove into the ground-engaging edge;   cutting a third groove into an interface between the ground-engaging edge and the face;   providing a first tile within the second groove; and   providing a second tile within the third groove.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 rounding a corner between the ground-engaging edge and the end edge to form a rounded corner, wherein the second groove and the third groove extend into the rounded corner;   providing a fourth tile within the second groove at the rounded corner; and   providing a fifth tile within the third groove at the rounded corner.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 laser cladding a face wear protector onto the face.   
     
     
         16 . A machine, comprising:
 a tool;   a cutting edge disposed on the tool, the cutting edge further comprising:
 a ground-engaging edge; 
 an end edge; 
 a face extending up to the ground-engaging edge and the end edge; 
 a first wear indicator tile disposed within a first groove within the face, the first groove a predetermined distance from the ground-engaging edge; and 
 a second wear indicator tile disposed within the first groove, wherein a composition of the second wear indicator tile comprises tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt (Co), the Co at a concentration in a range of about 6% to about 13%. 
   
     
     
         17 . The machine of  claim 16 , wherein the second wear indicator tile displays inset writing when disposed within the first groove. 
     
     
         18 . The machine of  claim 16 , wherein the cutting edge comprises a rounded corner between the ground-engaging edge and the end edge, wherein the rounded corner is at least one of a quarter circle, chamfered, or fillet. 
     
     
         19 . The machine of  claim 16 , further comprising a first tile disposed within a first groove within the ground-engaging edge. 
     
     
         20 . The machine of  claim 19 , further comprising a second tile disposed within a second groove at an interface of the ground engaging edge and the face, wherein the first tile is harder than the second tile.