Top Reasons for Using HARDOX® Wearplate
HARDOX® Wearplate is a highly abrasion-resistant (AR) steel prized for its exceptional strength and durability. Developed by Swedish steel company SSAB in 1974, it is widely used for the fabrication of metal components for a range of applications and industries, including agriculture, mining, construction, energy, and metalworking. HARDOX® is superior to traditional AR steel plate in both hardness and wear resistance, ultimately providing more durable, long-lasting components.
As one of the premier national fabricators of precision metal component parts, G.E. Mathis Company has extensive experience manufacturing HARDOX® components. We are pleased to be a member of the HARDOX® Wearparts network, which consists of a global consortium of metalworking experts qualified by SSAB in the use of HARDOX® materials. HARDOX® Wearparts members gain access to high-level material knowledge to support the safe and efficient production of the highest quality HARDOX® products.
Top Reasons to Use HARDOX® Over Alternatives
HARDOX® is an exceptionally hard steel alloy from the surface of the material through its core, which provides extended service life and enhanced productivity in even the most demanding environments. Some of the primary benefits afforded by HARDOX® include:
Greater Strength and Durability
HARDOX® exhibits exceptional hardness and toughness, allowing it to better endure the extensive wear and extreme pressures common in heavy industrial environments. Due to its unique level of toughness, HARDOX® withstands heavy impacts, wear, and abrasion without cracking, denting, bending, or warping.
Enhanced Precision
HARDOX® wear plate and components retain their shape even in extremely harsh environments, which ensures predictable and reliable performance and facilitates extremely tight tolerances for thickness, flatness, and bending. HARDOX® plate offers tolerance guarantees, so you can feel comfortable relying on HARDOX® for precision manufacturing and other complex applications.
Improved Performance and Extended Service Life
HARDOX® wear plate is specifically designed to bear heavy loads, thereby reducing the pressure on other machine components and improving equipment performance. Using HARDOX® components in your equipment helps to protect both machinery and workpieces from undue wear and tear, thereby extending the service life of your equipment as much as 10 times the norm in some applications. HARDOX® is easy to repair and maintain, saving time and money in repairs, maintenance, and downtime for applications such as:
- Barges
- Containers
- Conveyors
- Crushers
- Demolition
- Excavators
- Fragmentizers
- Front-wheel loaders
- Mining trucks
- Mixers
- Sieves
- Tipper bodies
Increased Efficiency
HARDOX® is highly machinable, which makes it ideal for the creation of thin, light components that resist wear and abrasion. HARDOX® wear plate’s unique qualities ensure that it retains its shape, hardness, and durability while greatly reducing the overall weight of the equipment.
Easily Formed and Finished
HARDOX® wear plate is more easily formed and finished than the traditional AR steel plate, which makes finishing processes easier. HARDOX® wear plate comes directly from the mill with a factory-applied primer coating, which lends itself well to painting or coating downstream in the fabrication process.
G.E. Mathis Company Solutions
G.E. Mathis Company’s highly knowledgeable and experienced craftsmen specialize in the manufacture of HARDOX® components and offer a wide range of services from small-scale prototype and marketing batches to large-scale production. Our dedication and collaboration have made us a global leader in precision metal fabrication for 119 years. We also provide many other metal fabrication services, including, Precision Laser Processing, Hi-Definition Plasma Cutting, Press Brake Forming, and Precision Welding.
We work in collaboration with a variety of trusted suppliers—including SSAB, the steel mill that produces HARDOX® wear plate. We are pleased to offer HARDOX® in both sheet and plate form, in thicknesses ranging from 0.125 inches up to 2 inches.
In addition to being an ISO 9001:2015-certified manufacturer, G.E. Mathis Company can provide the following services:
- PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) – All Levels
- FAIR (First Article Inspection Report)
- Capability Studies (Statistical Process Control)
- CMRT (Conflict Minerals Reporting Template)
To learn more about the benefits of HARDOX® in your manufacturing processes, download our eBook “Fabricating Tougher Components With HARDOX®”. For more information about G.E. Mathis Company’s superior metalworking products and services, please contact us or request a quote.
Choosing the Right Material for Your Fabrication Needs
During the initial planning phase of fabrication, there are many things to consider. One of the most important of these considerations is material selection—what’s the absolute best choice for your part?
In industries and applications where the metal will be coming into contact with other hard materials that can wear it out due to abrasion, a good choice is an abrasion resistant (AR) plate. AR plates are designed for use in harsh environments.
Of course, there’s more than one type of AR plate. We recommend using HARDOX® Wearplate, which is chemically engineered to provide abrasion resistance throughout the entire thickness of the material, not just the surface. Many other AR plates only offer the abrasion resistance on the surfaces of the material, becoming softer towards the center of the material. Specific benefits of HARDOX® Wearplate include:
HARDOX® Wearplate is generally more formable.- Readily weldable without pre- or post- heating (whereas pre- and post-heat may be necessary to prevent stress fractures in the material and the weld itself when using regular AR plates, no heat treatment is needed for HARDOX® Wearplate up to 2 inches).
- Longer part life as a result of even abrasion resistance throughout the thickness of the plate.
- HARDOX® Wearplate is blasted and primer coated at the mill, which results in material that better resists rusting and scaling.
HARDOX® Wearplate is generally more formable.While different machining processes and specific environments can affect material choice, as a general rule, when an AR plate is right for the job, HARDOX® Wearplate can be highly advantageous. In mining, construction, and other industries, it’s been known to save time, money, and worry. As an official HARDOX® Wearparts member, (one of only a handful in the country audited and authorized by SSAB, the maker of HARDOX® Wearplate), G.E. Mathis Company has a great deal of experience using it, and therefore is well aware of its benefits. When selecting abrasion-resistant material, put your confidence in a fabricator with a proven track record.
