Hardox® 400

Hardox^® 400 is a trusted steel in the Hardox^® wear plate family, with a heritage of hardness and toughness going all the way back to 1974, when Hardox^® was launched as the world’s first bendable wear steel. This allowed for reliable performance both in the workshop and in operation. Plates in Hardox^® 400 come in thicknesses from 2 to 130 mm (0.079 to 5.118”). This grade is also available as pipes or tubes and round bars.

Mild steel just doesn’t cut it in today’s equipment. It’s not strong enough, or hard enough to deliver the productivity or service life you expect. When you upgrade from steels such as S255, S355, A36, grade 50 or A514, SS400 or S45C to Hardox^® 400, you can look forward to stronger and lighter equipment with higher capacity and less maintenance. And you can cut, weld and machine Hardox^® 400 using standard techniques and tools. All in all, Hardox^® 400 outperforms mild steel, every time.

Hardox^® 400 is as easy for fabricators to work as any mild steel. There are several reasons: The steel is very clean and has consistent properties, meaning it behaves in a predictable way every time. It also has a lean chemical composition, which gives it excellent welding properties.

Hardox^® 400 can be bent with tight bending radiuses, which sets Hardox^® steel apart from other AR steels.

Welding of Hardox^® 400 is performed with similar welding consumables as for mild steel, without any specific requirements. There is no need for preheating for thicknesses up to 20 mm (0.787”), and any standard welding technique can be used. You can download our welding brochure for more information.

Any type of machining can be performed with ordinary workshop equipment, such as the common radial drilling machine for drilling and countersinking of Hardox^® 400. As always, you can get technical support and advice from our local technical development managers. We also have a brochure on best practices when machining Hardox^® wear plate.

As you probably know there are successors to Hardox^® 400 in the Hardox^® range. After all, it’s been around for well over 40 years. However, you may not be aware of how much you can gain by upgrading to a newer model of Hardox^® wear plate. The numbers are impressive.

Calculations with the Hardox^® WearCalc app show:

• A 30-40% increase in wear life when using Hardox^® 450 with 50 extra HBW compared to Hardox^® 400.
• A 80-100% increase in wear life when using Hardox^® 500 Tuf with 100 HBW higher hardness compared to Hardox^® 400.

When comparing AR steels, just looking at the hardness doesn’t tell the full story – far from it. Hardox^® 400 has a guaranteed through-thickness hardness, a result of the carefully controlled quenching and tempering process at the steel mill. Your benefit? You get reliable and predictable wear performance over the steel’s service life.

Hardox^® 400 is also covered by guarantees for thickness, flatness and bending performance. The consistency of these properties ensures predictable processing in the workshop. Every plate you get will behave as the previous one. No surprises, and that’s a good thing for every production manager.

MB Crusher from Italy makes its crusher buckets in Hardox^® 400 and gains both productivity and reliability in the toughest crushing operations with concrete and rocks.

Stetter in Germany uses Hardox^® 400 and Hardox^® 500 to reduce weight in its concrete mixer drums and make room for more concrete.

Hardox^® 400 wear steel has local availability on a worldwide scale. The most common Hardox^® grades and dimensions can be delivered to you directly from an SSAB mill or from nearby SSAB stocks in less than 48 hours. Hardox^® Wearparts, our worldwide network of wear service centers, can make your wear parts for you in Hardox^® 400 or other Hardox^® grades.