Julián David Montes, Sebastián Mera, Juan Manuel Pineda, Esteban Rosero and Nicolás Gil
Cenicaña, Colombia; jdmontes@cenicana.org
The cane shredder is one of the most maintenance-intensive and costly machines in the preparation and milling process, requiring hammer replacements every 15-25 days, taking approximately 2-4 hours for that work and causing up to 20 annual stoppages. Hammer wear impacts machine balance, potentially accelerating maintenance, but also affects cane preparation quality and sucrose extraction efficiency. Up to 12 t of welding material is consumed annually for hammer recovery and hardfacing. The study was conducted to enhance the performance and useful life of cane shredder hammers in the sugar industry by characterizing hardfacing´s abrasion and impact resistance and exploring predictive maintenance strategies. Chromium white cast iron weldings were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy to estimate carbide volume fractions and sizes, while abrasion and impact resistance were tested according to ASTM G65 and E23 standards. Data from 43 machine runs over 20 months were collected, cleaned, and used to develop a machine learning-based predictive maintenance model using machine signals such as vibration, current, and others. Carbide volume fractions between 3.7% and 36.7%, with wear losses ranging from 0.2 to 1.9 g, indicating a strong inverse correlation between carbide fraction and wear. Impact resistance varied from 4.4 to 65.4 J. Base materials being highly influential and determinant. The predictive maintenance model achieved over 60% accuracy, providing an advance notice of 1–5 days for hammer replacement. The study concluded that higher carbide fractions improve abrasion resistance, while impact resistance is largely influenced by the base material and carbide distribution, with smaller and more homogeneous carbides offering better impact resistance. Chromium-manganese-based welds provided superior impact resistance compared to carbon-steel coatings, highlighting the importance of base material selection and carbide characteristics in hardfacing performance. Industry 4.0 technologies offer practical solutions for optimizing hammer maintenance, allowing timely hammer replacements, and enhancing efficiency and cost-effectiveness in sugar mills.