Fastener system for fixing hardened plates

1. A method of manufacturing one or more wear plates comprising the steps of:

providing a large plate of material with a Brinell hardness of at least 300 HB, the large plate having opposite planar first and second surfaces and being dimensioned to have a surface area equal to or larger than a surface area of the one or more wear plates being manufactured;

providing a computer controlled plasma cutter;

entering desired hole locations of holes required in the one or more wear plates in the computer controlled plasma cutter;

operating the plasma cutter to cut holes in the large plate at the desired locations, each hole having a frusto-conical configuration with a small diameter end and a large diameter end, and each small diameter end opening onto the first planar surface of the large plate and each large diameter end opening onto the second planar surface of the large plate; and

operating the plasma cutter to cut the large plate into the one or more wear plates,

wherein each wear plate includes at least one of the holes or at least a part of one of the holes.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of operating the plasma cutter to cut the holes comprises operating the plasma cutter to cut the holes in a direction from the first planar surface to the second planar surface.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of operating the plasma cutter to cut the large plate into one or more wear plates comprises operating the plasma cutter to cut the large plate in a plane inclined to normal of the large plate to create complimentary beveled edges on the wear plates.

4. A method of protecting a surface of a structure from abrasive wear comprising the steps of:

providing a large plate of material with a Brinell hardness of at least 300 HB, the large plate having opposite planar first and second surfaces and being dimensioned to have a surface area equal to or larger than a surface area of one or more wear plates;

providing a computer controlled plasma cutter;

entering desired hole locations of holes required in the one or more wear plates in the computer controlled plasma cutter;

operating the plasma cutter to cut holes in the large plate at the desired locations, each hole having a frusto-conical configuration with a small diameter end and a large diameter end, and each small diameter end opening onto the first planar surface of the large plate and each large diameter end opening onto the second planar surface of the large plate;

operating the plasma cutter to cut the large plate into the one or more wear plates, each of the one or more wear plates including at least one of the holes or at least a part of one of the holes;

providing one or more fasteners, each fastener having a head of a frusto-conical shape capable of seating in respective holes in the one or more wear plates, the head being configured so that, when the head is seated in a hole, a lower end of the head is adjacent the small diameter end of the hole and an upper end of the head is adjacent the large diameter end of the hole and substantially flush with a surface of the one or more wear plates onto which the large diameter end of the hole opens;

placing the wear plate on the surface of the structure to be protected from abrasive wear;

inserting the one or more fasteners into respective holes in the one or more wear plates and corresponding registering holes formed in the structure to be protected; and

utilizing the fastener to fasten the one or more wear plates to the structure.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the step of operating the plasma cutter to cut the holes comprises operating the plasma cutter to cut the holes in a direction from the first planar surface to the second planar surface.

6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the step of operating the plasma cutter to cut the large plate into one or more wear plates comprises operating the plasma cutter to cut the large plate in a plane inclined to normal of the large plate to create complimentary beveled edges on the one or more wear plates.

7. A wear plate system comprising:

one or more wear plates, each wear plate having a planar upper surface and a planar lower surface and being formed with frusto-conical through holes configured to receive respective fasteners, the upper and lower surfaces being parallel to each other over an entirety of the one or more wear plates, and the frusto-conical through holes having a large diameter end opening onto the upper surface and a small diameter end opening onto the lower surface; and

one or more fasteners for each of the one or more wear plates, each fastener having a head of a frusto-conical shape configured to seat in one of the frusto-conical holes in the one or more wear plates such that, when the head is seated in one of the frusto-conical holes, a lower end of the head is adjacent the small diameter end of the hole and an opposite upper end of the head is adjacent the large diameter end of the hole and substantially flush with the upper surface of the respective wear plate.

8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein each wear plate is cut from a larger plate using a plasma cutter.

9. The system according to claim 7 , wherein each frusto-conical through hole is formed by cutting of the hole through the wear plate using a plasma cutter.

10. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the head of each fastener has a hardness comparable to the hardness of its respective wear plate.