Rotor Shaft Reconditioning

Whilst we are unable to "raise the dead" we do have many years experience of reconditioning rotor shafts back to a professional level. Rotor shafts returned undergo straightness, sensitive dimension and balance checks. In addition to this customers can expect the satisfaction of knowing that all parts used are original and backed by the Bomford warranty scheme. Many of the forged flails are even guaranteed unbreakable. In the event of an accident involving flails how many insurance companies would accept third party claims where non original parts were fitted? Vibration must be viewed as a VICIOUS GREMLIN and will totally destroy a cutting head. The first signs apart from the noise are characteristic cracks radiating from the corners of the cowl or from stitch welds. If this is not attended to at these early signs then total destruction will ensue. Vibration may be caused by a number of reasons the most common being a bent centre core the second through worn bearings. It should be noted at this stage that vibration from a bent rotor will inevitably cause bearings to fail. In the early stages of vibration a simple check to determine which component is causing the vibration is to run the rotor horizontally and then vertically. If the vibration varies significantly then it is more likely to be bearings at the route of the problem. However if the vibration remains constant then the rotor will be the likely cause. Other points to look for which can create vibration are lost balance weights and uneven knife and or component replacement. This is another reason why it is important to buy original parts. All original parts are made to stringent weight constraints. When replacing flails it is prudent to replace the correspondingly opposite flail. The removed flail can be reused at a later date with an other matched worn flail. It must be appreciated that once a rotor shaft has been bent and hence deformed the bearing journals then it is just about impossible to get the journals back onto the same axis. Our straightening process will ensure that these journals are brought back as close into alignment as possible. If this is not done then the self aligning part of the bearing will become continually flexed. This leads to premature wear and failure.

What Do I Do Next ?

Remove the rotor from your cutting head and place it in the hands of your Bomford distributor. He will obtain a job number and return the rotor to us. Everything else is then down to us. The next operation you will be doing is fitting the repaired rotor back into your cutting head. The time taken for us to do our part will be about ten days, although this is subject to seasonal demand.

WHAT WE CAN EXPECT YOU TO RETURN TO US. (OR WORSE)

Without placing the rotor between it's centres it will not be all that easy to detect any bend. The rule of thumb is that by removing flails from the centre of the rotor, mounted between bearings, and if any deflection can be measured then the rotor must be considered bent.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT RETURNED TO ME?

A rotor shaft, complete with new components that is ready to fit straight into your cutting head as shown above. It is however recommended that this reconditioned rotor shaft is mounted onto new bearings. These bearings are not supplied.

WHAT COST CAN I EXPECT?

This is not that easy to accurately predict as the total cost will depend on what we have to do to the shaft and which flails are fitted. However as a guide we can predict that it will cost between a third and half the cost of a new replacement rotor. If there are any concerns over this we will gladly produce a quotation once we have had a chance to inspected the rotor prior to us starting work.

REGRETFULLY WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO RECONDITION BOMFORD TURNER ROTOR SHAFTS.

In addition to this rotor shaft service we are also able to recondition complete cutting heads. The cutting head is the work horse of any machine so naturally gets the brunt of the damage. In many cases the cutting heads can look many years older than the base it is working on. Examples of our work can be seen in the photograph below. These three cutting heads are a recent example of three heads from the South Cambridgeshire DC, Oakington, Cambridgeshire as part of an out of season repair programme on their long reach mowing machines. South Cambridgeshire DC are unique in as much that they are one of only a handful of District Councils who are responsible for land drainage maintenance within their Council district. Cost involved are again not all that easy to predict but we would expect half to three quarters the cost of new prices. As with the rotor shafts the customers would have the benefit of original parts used and assembled by specialist Bomford Service personnel.

THE ANSWER IS ALL THREE ARE

Included in this service we would expect to change all the consumable parts, belts, bearings, flexible guards as well as giving the roller and rotor shaft a thorough reconditioning. This is then finished off with a coat of powder coat paint along with the standard head decals as seen. The condition of the motor in this case was assessed previously when the head was fitted to the base machine, along with the pump.