Some things are easily repaired or replaced on your final drive motor, but sometimes, the best approach is to make new components. And that’s where having an in-house machine shop with a skilled machinist pays off for everyone.

What is Machining

Machining is a metal removal process where a final component is manufactured by removing the metal that is not part of the final design. The metal is removed using cutting tools or grinding processes. Machining can be classified into turning, milling, and abrasive. The first two use specialized cutting tools, and the last (such as the lapping table shown below) uses abrasive grit.

What You Should Expect in a Hydraulic Machine Shop

At minimum, a good machine shop will have a milling machine (aka, mill), a lathe, a grinder, and a lapping table. It should also have ample storage for the billets and blanks, the raw materials needed to manufacture parts. In addition, the raw materials should be high quality -- no matter how good the machinist and expensive the equipment, poor quality materials will lead to poor quality parts.

CNC Capabilities

Modern machine shops need CNC capabilities for computerized control and automation of repetitive machining tasks or high accuracy, high precision tasks. This includes CAD/CAM software installed on a computer with sufficient processing power and a powerful graphics card for rendering. And it only makes sense to have a CNC-enabled milling machine and lathe.

Equipment Capacity

Another consideration in a machine shop for final drive motor repair and remanufacturing is the capacity of the equipment. This includes the size of the workpiece that the equipment can work with. If the raw material or component is too large to fit into the machines safely, then the work would have to be outsourced -- and at Final Drive Parts, we don’t believe in outsourcing.

Other factors include the power capabilities of the equipment, which can determine to a great extent the productivity of the equipment and the type of materials that can be machined with it. For example, the power of the machine can limit the cutting speed and depth of cut for certain materials, which means that it can take longer to manufacture certain parts.

Expert Machinist

However, a shop can have the highest quality, most powerful equipment that can handle the largest workpieces but without a good machinist it really doesn’t mean much. Perhaps the most important factor in any hydraulics machine shop is whether they have a machinist with a deep knowledge of machining and familiarity with various materials, tools, and equipment limitations.

How Machining is Used in the Reman Process at Final Drive Parts

At Texas Final Drive, machining has become vital to the repair and rebuild of your final drive motors. We regularly manufacturer our own lock rings and hubs, and use machining tools to restore the surface finish and flatness of critical final drive motor components.

Conclusion

At Texas Final Drive, we constantly look for the best ways to meet your final drive motor needs. That includes learning state-of-the-art machining technology and industry best practices to ensure your repaired/reman final drive motors are of the highest quality. We also ensure we have the right equipment to handle your travel motor needs.

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