Hardox® 500 Tuf wear steel lightens every load for dump truck body manufacturer IWS

By using Hardox® 500 Tuf wear plate in a thinner dimension, the new generation of Colt-brand dump truck bodies delivers 14% less tare weight with one and a half times the service life as the previous generation. This allows for an increase of payload capacity by 14% at the same total weight.

“The first four of my dump bodies made of Hardox® 500 Tuf went to a long-time customer of ours in Denver, CO. Operating in the construction sector, every trip counts, and now with the added payload capacity, drivers can haul more in fewer trips. When you think about it, that means they also consume less fuel,” Stone explains.

Truck fleet owners are keenly aware of rising fuel costs and beginning to scrutinize environmental concerns. They also focus heavily on safety. With less material in each truck, an upgrade to Hardox® 500 Tuf positively impacts all of those factors.

“Many of my customers are dealers of the major brands including, Kenworth, Peterbuilt, Mack, Freightliner and International. These companies demand the highest quality, and every component of our trucks is selected to be the best of its kind – even down to using flexible automotive paints,” Stone explains. “Hardox® 500 Tuf is the next generation of premium wear steel, and we’re excited to fully adopt it and introduce the first box of its kind to the US market.”

When it comes to comparing weldability and bendability of Hardox® 500 Tuf with Hardox® 450, the properties are nearly identical, except that Hardox® 500 Tuf performs equally well at thinner dimensions. According to Phil Raffaeli, IWS Production Manager/Sales, it can be fabricated with the same equipment used for Hardox® 450 . For the six master welders, who have a combined 100 years’ experience, and the World War II era rolling bending press at IWS, Hardox® 500 Tuf was easy to incorporate into production.

“We use the same rolling equipment for Hardox® 500 Tuf as we did for Hardox® 450. The chimes rolled for our elliptical box designs can be slightly shorter and overall thinner going from 0.188” (4.8 mm) to 0.157” (4 mm). Our guys were able to adjust quickly and transitioned smoothly between the two grades,” Raffaeli says.

Even though Colt trucks find their way outside of Colorado, many of the 200 bodies produced annually by dump body manufacturer IWS are guaranteed to face cold conditions during their service lives. To tackle bitter conditions, Hardox® 500 Tuf has a guaranteed impact energy of 27 J at -20°C (20 ft-lb at 4°F) and, for 20 mm plate, a typical value of 45 J at -40°C (33 ft-lb at 40°F). It also features an unusually narrow hardness window of 475-505 HBW.

According to SSAB’s wear calculation app, WearCalc, the estimated relative service life for Hardox® 500 Tuf is 27% longer than for Hardox® 450 based on sliding wear with sand. For more details, refer to the graphic showing the calculation results, which also can be generated from within the WearCalc app . Upgrading material selections also boosts the bottom line. Using SSAB’s EcoUpgraded app , IWS calculated an annual profit increase of $2,450 because of switching to Hardox® 500 Tuf.

In the 1920’s, blacksmiths fashioned and hammered out parts for the railcars that rumbled along the back side of IWS’ first building on Front Street. Today, Stone, who is completely committed to quality, not only carries on the tradition of turning out only the best, but continues to evolve with innovative upgrades to serve customers in agriculture, oil and gas, trucking, trailers and tanks.

This elliptical style dump body featuring Hardox® 500 Tuf allows end users in North America to experience Hardox® wear plate’s innovative evolution in advanced wear steels.

“Over the past few years, I’ve watched the trucking industry’s demand rapidly grow for an even harder, tougher material,” says Tobias Appelkvist, Regional Sales Manager, SSAB Special Steels. “We fully support efforts by our Hardox® In My Body certified member , IWS, as they work to meet their customers’ needs.”

Stone and Raffaeli are impressed not just by the quality of the new steel grade, but also by SSAB’s steady commitment to support and service.

“I fully appreciate the expertise of SSAB’s technical services team to partner in testing new ideas and applications,” Stone explains. “It’s one of the many reasons partnering with them puts my business ahead of the curve. We also count on the market-leading quality of their special steel products knowing they will perform as promised. I look forward to our next test of new materials as we broaden our offerings.”

Find out what upgrading to Hardox® 500 Tuf can do for your equipment and your operations. We’ll be happy to meet you and find out about your specific wear environment and needs to find the best and most cost-effective solution for your business.

“The increased abrasion resistance of Hardox® 500 Tuf allows us to use a thinner plate and keep the same excellent service life. Not only that, thinner steel reduces the body weight, which allows for higher payload.”

In addition to the increased service life, Hardox® 500 Tuf has allowed Zetterberg to reduce the tare weight by 20% or 650 kg (1,433 lbs.).

”Since we upgraded the steel to Hardox® 500 Tuf wear-resistant steel, we have increased the useful life of our dumpers by at least 40 percent.”