Specifically designed for use in harsh, demanding applications, HARDOX® Wear Plate provides an unmatched combination of hardness and toughness, allowing for extended service life and cost savings. This unique material is used across a wide range of industries to provide optimal reliability and wear resistance.
Why Is HARDOX® So Tough?
HARDOX® Wear Plate is a wear-resistant sheet steel developed by the Swedish company SSAB in 1974. This steel wears slowly, allowing the equipment used in abrasive applications and aggressive-wear environments to last longer, thereby reducing maintenance needs and costs.
HARDOX® offers a unique combination of hardness, strength, and toughness. The material’s high strength enables thinner metal sheets to be used, meaning products can be made to be simpler and lighter while still carrying high payloads. HARDOX® Wear Plate also has good impact resistance, even at low temperatures.
HARDOX® sheets and plates provide ideal welding and machining properties, simplifying production and repair work. To provide this excellent weldability, HARDOX® Wear Plate steel is manufactured to have a highly accurate chemical composition. Advanced hardening and post-treatment processes also help imbue it with its unique properties. The combination of high payloads, low maintenance costs, good availability, and long service life allows for overall cost savings while ensuring optimal reliability.
Finally, HARDOX® provides superior wear performance, crack safety, and deformation resistance provide defense against wear, dents, and cracks. To evaluate these properties, HARDOX® and ordinary high strength structural plates have been compared through comprehensive drop tests; in one test, weights varied between 330 and 1,800 pounds and were dropped from heights of up to 10 feet. The HARDOX® steel plate showed only moderate deformation, while the structural steel alternative couldn’t withstand the impact.
Advantages of HARDOX®
Extremely versatile, HARDOX® provides critical benefits for various industries. Below are some of the key features discussed above.
- Superior hardness — Offering excellent wear resistance, HARDOX® features all-around hardness that doesn’t impact structural performance.
- Excellent toughness — HARDOX® is able to resist cracks if subjected to deformation and can withstand heavy blows, allowing it to be easily bent, formed, and welded. Combined with its high yield strength, this durability also allows for the creation of lightweight designs.
- Consistency — HARDOX® retains its properties and strength even in severe, harsh conditions — and also during precision bending and forming, as well as precision welding and MIG welding — allowing for predictable, reliable results.
- Long service life — HARDOX® can double, or even triple, equipment wear plate service life, optimizing performance while minimizing the risk of damage.
Common HARDOX® Applications
HARDOX® unique properties make it well suited to a wide range of industries and applications, such as:
- Construction and demolition — HARDOX® can be used in various types of construction equipment, from evacuators and demolition tools to fragmentizers, all of which require high reliability and longevity to withstand heavy use and ensure worker safety.
- Mining — In this safety-critical industry, worker’s equipment — such as mining trucks — must be able to stand up to harsh conditions while maintaining a long lifespan; HARDOX® provides this reliability, cutting down on repair costs and delays.
- Military — HARDOX® Wear Plate provides the protective strength and reliability required in the military industry and is commonly used in the manufacture of armored vehicles.
STRENX® (Domex® ): High Performance, High Strength Steel
What Is STRENX®?
STRENX® is a High Strength, hot-rolled steel sheet also offered by SSAB; the steel is low-alloy and cold-formed. Previously called Domex, this unique material has been rebranded as STRENX.
The Advantages of STRENX®
Extremely versatile, STRENX® provides critical advantages for various industries. Some of its unique qualities and benefits include:
- Excellent versatility — This steel has excellent formability and good weldability, meaning it can undergo various manufacturing processes.
- Reduced production costs — Strenx allows for the manufacture of stronger, higher-quality products that require less steel and welding. This also allows for a lighter-weight product less susceptible to damage, saving money on repair and replacement costs in the long run.
Common STRENX® (Domex) Applications
The unique properties of STRENX® make it well-suited to a wide range of industries and applications, such as:
- Automotive — Designers like to keep structural weight low but strength-handling levels high. With Strenx, products made can be simpler and lighter while still carrying higher payloads.
- Construction and demolition — Strenx can be used in cranes and booms, both of which require high reliability and longevity to withstand heavy use and ensure optimal worker safety.
Learn More
For over a century, G.E. Mathis Company has been providing top-quality metal fabrication services, from CNC plasma cutting to plate rolling and welding. Through our partnership with SSAB, we’re proud to offer HARDOX® fabrication services; we supply Hardox in both sheet and plate form and will work with you to meet your specific project needs.
To learn more about the uses and unique properties of HARDOX® — which is ideal for a wide range of fabrication methods, including welding, cutting, bending, and bending — download our free eBook, “Fabricating Tougher Components with HARDOX® Wearparts.”
