What are the characteristics of TBM cutting tools

High strength and high wear resistance: TBM cutting tools need to work under extremely high thrust and friction conditions, and must have excellent compressive strength and wear resistance to cope with ultra hard rock layers such as granite and quartzite.

Good impact resistance: Especially in uneven or composite formations, cutting tools are prone to sudden impact loads, so the material needs to balance toughness to prevent blade breakage or fracture.

High purity and organizational density: Modern high-end knife rings adopt the process of "electric arc furnace+LF refining+vacuum degassing+gas shielded electroslag remelting", which significantly reduces the content of gas and inclusions, improves material uniformity and service life.

Good thermal stability: During long-term high load excavation, the tool temperature rises significantly, and high-quality tool ring materials (such as H13 mold steel) have good red hardness and thermal fatigue resistance.

Modular replaceable design: Mainstream TBM cutting tools (such as disc cutters) adopt an interference fit structure between the cutting ring and the cutting body, which is easy to replace on site and reduces downtime for maintenance.

Diverse types, suitable for different geological conditions:

Smooth rolling cutter: suitable for homogeneous hard rocks such as granite and sandstone.

Inlaid hard alloy rolling cutters: used in highly abrasive formations (such as rock layers rich in quartz) to enhance wear resistance through spherical or wedge-shaped alloy teeth.

New structures such as saddle shaped toothed rolling cutters, gradient hardness rolling cutters, and laser cladding cutting rings are used to further optimize the adaptability to complex geological formations.

Accurate geometric parameter control: Parameters such as blade width, penetration, and blade spacing are optimized through geological adaptation, directly affecting rock breaking efficiency and energy consumption.

Mature localization and import substitution: Since 2021, China has achieved large-scale production of ultra hard rock wear-resistant rolling cutter rings, with performance comparable to or even better than imported products, widely used in major projects such as Rongjiang Water Diversion and Pearl River Delta Water Diversion.

Full lifecycle intelligent management: Leading enterprises (such as China Railway Equipment) establish tool databases, combine AI algorithms for wear prediction, configuration recommendation, and remote diagnosis, and improve operation and maintenance efficiency.

Strong on-site adaptability: The cutting tool needs to operate stably in extreme environments such as high temperature, high pressure, rich water, and high abrasion, such as the ultra-high pressure rolling cutter with a pressure exceeding 20 bar in the Shenzhen Shantou Railway project