Conical Pick Production Process

Abstract One of the basic methods of mechanical rock mining is cutting, which faces increasingly difficult working conditions. Despite the rapid development of machines used in underground and opencast mining as well as in tunnel building, construction industry and road engineering, the problem of insufficient durability of mining tools remains unsolved. In addition to drilling and, to a lesser extent, planing, cutting provides a huge market for tools. Currently, the process of cutting is mainly based on conical picks. The cutterheads of cutting machines are equipped with several dozen, and frequently – more than one hundred conical picks, which, due to their workability and abrasiveness, sometimes work only a few hours. There is a market demand for over two hundred models of conical picks. This is due to the huge variety of shapes and sizes of picks as well as the methods of their mounting in the holder. The article briefly presents various solutions of conical picks, their construction, methods of protection, dimensions and materials used. Next, based on materials produced by ZWM Carbonex, the classic method of their manufacture using the turning technology has been described. The authors have also presented briefly the use of die forging for the large-scale production of picks, applied by Górnicza Fabryka Narzędzi Sp. z o.o.