This is a short report from the Insane Hydraulics "Rexroth Open Circuit Bust'a'pump Challenge".
Introduction
There hardly is an oil hydraulics workshop in Europe
that doesn't know what a Rexroth A10VO pump is. Cheap and reliable,
this unit is an extremely wide spread pumping solution for medium
pressure/duty applications. Due to this fact, IH decides to hold the
first in the world "Rexroth Open Circuit Bust'a'pump Challenge".
Participants - three Bosh Rexroth A10VO45 series 31 open circuit hydraulic pumps.
Objectives - to achieve the maximum amount of
internal parts damage before the operator of the machine notices that
"something is wrong..." and shuts it down.
Hardware and conditions - mining equipment in copper
mine, total lack of preventive maintenance, sufficient cooling,
operator care or any other care whatsoever.
Evaluation criteria - condition of the swashplate, retainer, and pistons after the shut down.
Contest results
All the three participants managed to condition the
operation of the attached machinery by failing the pumping action.
However it was not difficult to distinguish between places. Here you can the parts used to define the 3d, the 2nd, and the 1st places.
The pump that got the 3d place did manage some damage of the swashplate, and did separate the brass piston heads from the pistons, however the retainer plate remained shamefully in one piece.
The 2nd place holder managed a far more distinct damage of the swashplate, and the retainer plate disintegration, however the separated piston heads maintained a somewhat recognizable shape.
The winner presented huge amount of swashplate damage,
the piston heads were crushed into perfectly unrecognizable debris, and
the remaining steel piston heads were either separated, or smashed down
to a beautiful tapered form. The depth of the groove the pistons' remains carved into the swashplate was considered to be compelling and symbolic.
