Why less is more in buckets made with Hardox® 500 Tuf

(caption) 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.

Using Hardox® 500 Tuf in buckets brings the following benefits 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-affected 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.

(caption) To the left, new design of a Class 12 bucket – 1400 mm / 1250 liters versus design of a comparable standard excavator bucket model

How is this improved design possible?

(caption) Dan Forsström is one of the wear specialists at the SSAB Knowledge Service Center developing and testing this design in real life.

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

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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 difference 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 differ for individual applications.

See Kaiser’s latest design at SSAB’s stand 439, hall A6 at Bauma 2025.