Abraservice UK go green with Quard

Steel specialist introduces new abrasion-resistant steel plate suitable for mining and quarrying applications

STEEL specialists Abraservice UK have introduced Quard, a new specialist steel plate that is said to provide excellent resistance to intensive abrasive wear coupled with other key qualities including flatness, surface quality and thickness tolerance.

Quard steel plate is currently available from stock in grades with typical hardness of 400 and 450 Brinell in thicknesses from 8mm to 20mm. Additions to the range, including hardness of 500 and 550 Brinell, and thicknesses from 3mm and up to 40mm, will be introduced in 2012.

All grades will be available from 1,500mm to 2,750mm in width, with a maximum length of 16m. Standard widths available from stock are 2,000mm and 2,500mm, depending on the thickness required.

The plate, which is supplied ready-coated with a green primer coat, is said to be easily processed by welding, bending, cutting or machining.

The Quard production process results in a structure of high hardness, strength and toughness, giving 100% through thickness hardening and a steel that offers three to four times the durability of commercial mild steel grades such as S275 and S355.

Thanks to their optimal combination of hardness, strength and ductility, Quard 400 and 450 are said to be particularly suitable for applications such as buckets, crushers, cutting edges, dumptruck bodies, skips, chutes and feeders.

Both versions are easy to bend, cut, machine and weld, and provide a surface finish within tight thickness tolerances, with a high-quality appearance and maximum fitting accuracy.

Quard 500 is intended for use in harsh applications where very high abrasion resistance is essential. This product offers a wear life of six to eight times that of mild steel grades.

When available next year, Quard 500 and 550 will combine the attributes of hardness and toughness with improved crack resistance and high durability to provide high strength with very good workability, especially in welding and cold forming. They will offer high wear resistance in applications exposed to increased wear from sliding abrasion and heavy impacts from crushing rocks, gravel, sand or other harsh abrasives.

‘This range of Quard steel plate brings exceptional material properties as well as outstanding tolerances and quality,’ said Nick Taylor, UK sales manager at Abraservice UK. ‘We will be stocking the whole range and offering our processing services to customers with specific application requirements.’