dfkrug
Super Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2004
- Messages
- 7,178
- Location
- Santa Cruz Mtns, CA
- Tractor
- 05 Kioti CK30HST w/ Prairie Dog backhoe, XN08 mini-X
To your earlier point - my question is: What is "correctly"?
WDCHYD has it right: it is the induced loads caused by the cylinder that is extending (curl cyl or thumb
cyl) that could get you into trouble.
To avoid the need to add a work-port RV in the big side of either cylinder, you should:
> use a thumb cyl of the same diameter as the one on the bkt
> calculate the worst-case (greatest) force that would push on the thumb or bucket. This
occurs at the point of maximum leverage at the hoe's main RV pressure setting. What is the
maximum leverage? Where the force-action point is farthest from the moment arm pivot. So-
called mechanical advantage can result in internal pressures inside the stationary cyl that
could exceed the hoe's RV pressure.
> therefore, use a decent cylinder that is rated for at least 3000psi, not some crappy
tierod cyl, which often are limited to 2500psi. There is not a lot of math here; most of it is common
sense.
> finally, use rods and pins of at least 1" diameter to resist these forces. In my first mechanical
thumbs, I used only a 3/4" pins for the upper dipper connection. I bent them. This hoe, and
others in its class uses bkt cyl rods that are 1", or sometimes 1.25". That should tell you something.
> oh, yeah, don't forget to do a very accurate job welding your cross-tubes to the new thumb
cyl. Even small mis-alignments will increase the chance of buckling rods at full extension under
max loads. This assumes you want a thumb cylinder of just the right length for your application,
rather than compromising with an off-the-shelf size.
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