PLANT & WORKWEAR 69 Why less is more in buckets made with Hardox® 500 Tuf
German manufacturer Kaiser showcases its new bucket design made entirely of Hardox® 500 Tuf. Pictured from left to right: Company owner Manfred Kaiser with his sons Lutz and Christian Kaiser.
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on’t let looks deceive you. Building a bucket entirely with Hardox® 500 Tuf wear plate results in enhanced wear
performance, less need for maintenance and less fuel consumption due to reduced bucket weight. By going all-in with Hardox® 500 Tuf you get a bucket that outperforms traditional buckets in many ways. Using Hardox® 500 Tuf in buckets brings the
following benefi ts to bucket design: • The absence of wear strips inside of the bucket creates a clean shell structure, resulting in a lighter bucket and preventing material from sticking. By eliminating the need for welding wear strips inside the bucket, you don’t compromise the material properties by causing heat-aff ected zones.
• Outside wear protection strips are not required, as the bucket shell is made of a 50 HBW harder material in an optimized thickness.
• A thicker side plate of Hardox® 500 Tuf stands up to wear and impact with less hassle. Wing shrouds are not needed, saving time on installation and replacement on site. These updates reduce digging forces, making excavation easier.
•
It’s not necessary to weld or bolt on extra heel shrouds. A 20 mm strip of Hardox® 500 Tuf provides reliable corner protection.
HOW IS THIS IMPROVED DESIGN POSSIBLE? Dan Forsström is a senior wear specialist at SSAB’s Knowledge Service Center who has been developing and testing this design in real life. “What makes Hardox® 500 Tuf special is that
it’s a wear plate with structural capabilities. Thanks to the steel’s high hardness, strength and toughness we can ensure the entire bucket’s wear resistance and long-term durability. A conventional design with outer wear strips on an AR 450 bucket is replaced with a harder and stronger shell in Hardox® 500 Tuf. The same goes for other parts of the bucket. The hardness of Hardox® 500 Tuf in combination with impact toughness similar to Hardox® 450 makes it an all-purpose solution for a new generation of excavator buckets,” Forsström says. As with all Hardox® wear plates, Hardox®
500 Tuf is through-thickness hardened; the through-thickness hardness of Hardox® 500 Tuf is also guaranteed through the entire thickness of the plate. This ensures reliable wear resistance during the buckets’ entire lifespan.
HARDOX® 500 TUF SIMPLIFIES MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS ON SITE Replacing several wear steel grades in a bucket with only one – Hardox® 500 Tuf – ensures a predictable and long service life in the harshest operating environments. When the time comes to repair or rebuild the bucket to its original performance, you only need to keep one grade of wear plate in stock for maintenance and repairs.
BUCKET MANUFACTURER KAISER IN GERMANY WENT ALL-IN WITH HARDOX® 500 TUF Maschinenbau Manfred Kaiser GmbH is a manufacturer of construction machinery and other special equipment for manufacturers and dealers worldwide.
“The advantages for bucket end-users
are obvious. We have hardly noticed any diff erence in the workshop properties of Hardox® 500 Tuf compared to Hardox® 450, which is very important to us,” says Manfred Kaiser and adds, “We’ve been able to reduce the dead weight of the excavator bucket by around 10%, compared to the previous model through design changes. The thinner wear plates need less heat input during welding and thus help to ensure the steel’s high wear resistance remains. The fact that only Hardox® 500 Tuf plate is used in this model also makes it easier to rebuild the excavator bucket, whenever necessary.”
ESTIMATED PRODUCTIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS The new bucket design with Hardox® 500 Tuf outperforms a conventional bucket in the same class:* • 14% average service life increase • 30% service life increase for the cutting edge
• 10% reduced bucket weight
*The numbers are based on general use cases. Results may diff er for individual applications.
For further information, please contact: Ursula Egenhofer, Brand Manager Hardox® wear plate, SSAB Special Steels
Ursula.egenhofer@
ssab.com, phone: +1 412 680 0080
ssabuk@ssab.com
www.ssab.com/en
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
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