Abrasion-resistant steel, also called wear-resistant steel, has increased hardness and toughness compared to conventional high-strength steel, lasting up to 4 times longer — where hardness is the ability to withstand rubbing or scraping and toughness is resilience against fracturing.
Carbon is a key alloy for increasing the hardness of abrasion-resistant steels – but too much carbon reduces its tensile strength and toughness, making it brittle and vulnerable to cracking. Additional AR steel alloys include manganese, chrome, nickel, and boron in different proportions based on specific end-use goals of the wear-resistant grade.
Wear-resistant steels can be made a few different ways, including furnace-heating followed by quenching, or rolling followed by direct quenching. Quenching alters the steel’s molecular structure, increasing its hardness.
As hardness increases in traditional AR steels, their formability and weldability decrease, limiting their applications. But the toughness of Raex abrasion-resistant steels lets fabricators bend, form, and weld without losing its properties, making it suitable for more challenging applications.
Because it’s tougher and harder than conventional high-strength steel, wear-resistant steel can last up to 400% longer. Long-term savings from using AR steel include reduced material costs, lower maintenance costs and, most importantly, avoiding downtime.
Rather than trying to fight wear and tear with thicker layers of mild steel, AR steels can be used for higher abrasion-protection in thinner gauges. And thinner gauge components are lighter, in turn increasing the load capacities – of 10% to 20% or more – of the equipment they’re used on.
Raex abrasion-resistant steel is exceptionally clean, making it easier to weld and cut. Its consistent thickness and excellent flatness enable precision cutting and bending – resulting in nice, even bends.
Suitable steel grades
Bottom dumb truck: body Raex® 400, 450 and 500, thicknesses 15 mm and higher, sidewalls Raex® 400, thicknesses 8-16 mm.
Buckets: Raex® 400, 450 and 500, thicknesses from 10 to 80 mm.
Underground hauling equipment: body Raex® 400 or 450, thicknesses 15 to 25 mm, sidewalls Raex® 400 and 450, 10 to 16 mm.
With Raex® Smart, you just choose your AR grade, type (plate or sheet), and dimensions to get instant results for tolerances and recommended parameters for bending and welding.
With its extremely consistent quality and reliable performance, Raex AR steel delivers high value for a wide range of wear applications. Available in thicknesses of 2 to 80 mm and hardnesses from 300 to 500 HB.
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