Drum City
LHD bucket upgrade recommendations
Dan Forsström
Wear Technology Specialist
Ricardo de Villiers
Technical Development manager
Current LHD bucket operating at platinum mine
Current Bucket Refurbished Bucket
2
Current Bucket – criteria for upgrade project
• Sandvik LHD Bucket
• 3m³ capacity
• Current material grade : Mildsteel and Bennox
• Bucket material: Mild steel
• Cutting edge: Bennox
• Wear kit: Bennox and casted material
• Current servicelife: 2000 hours
• Operation conditions: platinum Mine, Zimbabwe
• Conditions: corrosion and wear
• Customer expectations: increase in servicelife
to(6000 h) and 25% reduction in weight
Refurbished Bucket: Upgrade project
3
Current Bucket – material grade and thicknesses
• Wrapper plate : 10mm mild steel
• Wear plate : Flat bar 150mm * 10mm mild steel
• Lip: 30mm hardened steel Bennox
• Side plate : 10mm mild steel
• Side cutter : 16mm hardened steel Bennox
• Half arrows as wear material
• Heel shrouds
• Corner protection
Refurbished Bucket: Upgrade project
4
Upgrade of LHD bucket to Hardox
Original design Estimate upgrade weights
➢ Weight: +/-1800 kg ➢ Weight: +/-1500kg
➢ Current material thicknesses ➢ Upgrade material thicknesses
➢ Cutting edge and side cutter material
thicknesses remain the same
➢ Reduction in production cost 10%
➢ Weight saving: 300Kg (17%)
➢ Increase in servicelife up 2.7 times
from mild steel
Refurbished Bucket: example for Upgrade project
Estimate calculations based on similar type of
bucket dimensions.
current
5
Production comparisons
Assumptions for
calculation:
➢ Material Price ( estimate for calculations
only )
➢ >10 % saving in Production
(as a first rough approach)
➢ 17% weight saving on material
current vs upgrade concept
6
Estimate calculations
Wearcalc calculations: platinum ore as wear material
+3,4 longer service life
A wear calc simulation is performed using sliding wear (that
is the wear mode we will see in a bucket) and using the 200 BHN +3,0 longer service life
mineral composition we find in a platinum ore as showed
below.
7
Background to SSAB drum test
− Room for 34 samples
− 2 samples of each grade, AWJ cut and machined
− Run time around 5days (90h)
− Run-in before test
− Test is done wet, change abrasive 2 times/day
− Weight loss is measured
− Re-calculated to relative service life
Drum test results: Platinum ore
Relative Service Life
6.00
This was done using platinum/gold
ore. Results shows that compared to 5.03
5.00 4.81
a mild steel the Hardox®500Tuf have
3,5 times the service life. This is 4.11
aligned with the wear calc calculation 4.00 3.79
Rel. service life
3.55
we performed.
3.00
2.54
2.12
2.00
1.00
1.00
0.00
S355 Hardox 400 Hardox 450 Hardox Hardox 500 Hardox 550 Hardox 600 Hardox
500Tuf Extreme
9
Field test of LHD bucket
Cutting edge produced in
Hardox® 500 material.
10 March 20, 2025
Current status – NORMAL Hardox® 500 material
Current status – NORMAL Hardox®500 material
74h 248h 343h
493h 611h 738h
Wear over period
Current status – REINFORCED Hardox®500
Current status – REINFORCED Hardox®500
18h 119h 203h
310h 456h
Wear over period
Current status - Overview
Normal cutting edge Left Reinforced cutting edge Left Estimation
Distance from edge to side plate [mm] 250
200
150
100
50
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Operation hours
Prediction Reinforced: 950 - 1100h
Current status - Overview
+ 35% life
750h → ~1000h
+ 1%
weight
566 kg → 574 kg
Upgrade recommendations
Recommended material grades for upgrading:
• Wrap sheet: Hardox® 500Tuf x 8mm
• Wear plate: Hardox® 500Tuf x 8mm
• Lip: Hardox® 500 x 30mm
• Side plate: Hardox® 500Tuf x 8mm
• Side cutter: Hardox® 500Tuf x 16mm
Illustration only Abovementioned upgrade material in Hardox 500 and Hardox 500 Tuf will
give +2.7 times the service life and a weight reduction up to 20% on the
bucket shell.
17
Material recommendations
Current bucket material grades: Recommended material grades for upgrading:
WRAP SHEET : 2500 * 1200 * 10mm mild steel Wrap sheet: Hardox®500Tuf in 8mm
Wear plate : Flat bar 150mm * 10mm mild steel Wear plate: Hardox®500Tuf 8mm
Lip: 2700 * 800 * 30mm hardened steel bennox Lip: Hardox®500 x 30mm
Side plate : 2500 * 1200 * 10mm mild steel Side plate: Hardox®500Tuf 8mm
Side cutter : 300 * 300 * 16mm hardened steel bennox Side cutter: Hardox®500Tuf 16mm
Recommend to continue with same material thickness on the cutting edge and side cutters. This
recommendation will give extra service life and a weight reduction on the bucket to meet the expectations.
In this case it will be ~6000h for the bucket, and the cutting edge ~1500h all other wear protection plates
required to be upgrade to Hardox 500 Tuf material grade.
18
Introducing the new wear plate
for acidic and corrosive environments
19 12 juni 2025
DEFINITION OF THE PRODUCT –
SAME GOOD PROPERTIES AS HARDOX® 450
• Thickness
• Plate 3-100 mm
• Hardness 450 HBW
• 425-475 HBW
• CVT 27 J at -20 °C
• Typical is 50J at -20 °C
• Product information sheet available
Wear calc: Platinum ore
− If the bucket is working in a environment that is corrosive and are subjected to wear and corrosion, it could be
beneficial to use Hardox® HiAce, this is a material that has been developed for this kind of working environment.
− The Hardox® HiAce will if the corrosive part is not so substantial will perform same as Hardox® 450 material..
− If the environment is of the corrosive type the relative service life will be longer.
x2,6
21
Upgrade example
Illustration only
22
Material recommendations and Summary
Current bucket material grades: Recommended material grades for upgrading:
WRAP SHEET : 2500 * 1200 * 10mm mild steel Wrap sheet: Hardox® 500Tuf in 8mm
Wear plate : Flat bar 150mm * 10mm mild steel Wear plate: Hardox® 500Tuf 8mm
Lip: 2700 * 800 * 30mm hardened steel bennox Lip: Hardox® 500 x 30mm
Side plate : 2500 * 1200 * 10mm mild steel Side plate: Hardox® 500Tuf 8mm
Side cutter : 300 * 300 * 16mm hardened steel bennox Side cutter: Hardox® 500Tuf 16mm
Recommend to continue with same material thickness on the cutting edge and side cutters. This recommendation will
give extra service life and a weight reduction on the bucket to meet the expectations. In this case it will be ~6000h for the
bucket, and the cutting edge ~1500h all other wear protection plates required to be upgrade to Hardox 500 Tuf material
grade.
23
Welding advantages with
Hardox® and Strenx®
− Strenx® and Hardox® grades are designed for favourable
mechanical properties in the joint
− Hardox® and Strenx ® are extremely clean steels due to
state-of-the-art manufacturing processes used by SSAB
− Can be welded towards other weldable steels
− No special workshop equipment is necessary
− Upgrading to thinner dimensions of Hardox® and Strenx®
saves time in welding and uses less consumables
− Can be welded with all common welding methods
− The possibility to use thinner plates significantly reduces the
volume of welding needed
24
Benefits from using steel with
t = 10 mm t = 7 mm t = 5 mm
higher strength S355 Strenx® 700 Strenx® 1100
− Optimal use of high strength steel allows for lighter
constructions
− Thinner steel gauges require less weld consumables
− Reduced number of passes
− Weld at higher speed a = 10 mm a = 7 mm a = 5 mm
Area = 100 mm2 Area = 50 mm2 Area = 25 mm2
− Less steel used
− Get the job done faster 1
1/2
1/4
25
Guide to welding Hardox®
and Strenx®
− The welding joint region must be clean, free from oxides,
water, oil, grease and other contaminants
− Select the correct heat input range
− If required, select a suitable preheat temperature
− Follow the filler metal manufacture recommendation regarding
storage and handling
− Follow the filler metal manufacture recommendation regarding
shielding gas
26
Guide to welding Hardox®
and Strenx®
− When welding Hardox® use filler metals of 70 or 80 ksi
(< 550 MPa)
− When welding Strenx®, if possible, use filler metals of 70 or 80
ksi (< 550 MPa) and only use matching filler metals when it is
necessary
− Always work with low hydrogen filler metal (H5)
− Follow SSAB preheat and interpass and maximum
temperature recommendations
− If you can’t preheat, use stainless filler metals 307 or 309
27
Welding on primer
− You can weld directly on the primer used on Hardox® and
Strenx ® thanks to its low zinc content
− The primer can be easily brushed or ground away in the area
around the joint
− Removing primer prior to welding can be beneficial, since
it can minimize the porosity in the weld and can facilitate
out-of-position welding
− It is important to maintain normally ventilated manufacturing
premises to avoid the harmful effect the primer could have on
the welder and surroundings
28 12 juni 2025
GUARANTEES
Thickness guarantee Flatness guarantee Bending guarantee
Tight and guaranteed Hardox® is guaranteed to Hardox® steel has excellent
thickness tolerances make be flatter than common forming properties, with
weight calculations more standards. Flat plates are tight and guaranteed
accurate and the safety easy to weld to each other. bending radiuses.
margins more exact. Equipment with large
surfaces look great when
painted.
Simplify your welding with SSAB WeldCalc
30 12 juni 2025
Hardox® wear steel and Strenx® performance steel apps
WeldCalc BendCalc CutCalc Hardox® WearCalc SSAB EcoUpgraded
Calculates and presents welding Based on steel characteristics, die Cutting machine setup and cutting Calculate the increased service Calculate how much the
recommendations Based on the and tool symmetry, final bend quality troubleshooting for SSAB life and payload when upgrading upgrading to high-strength steels
welding method, the welding joint, shape and friction conditions steels. to Hardox® wear plate. reduces the weight of equipment,
steel grades and thicknesses. improves fuel economy and
increases product lifetime.
31 TDM presentation 12 juni 2025
Confidentiality and responsibility writing
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be used for any other purpose whatsoever, (ii) not disclose any proprietary information to any third party without first obtaining
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information of SSAB including any copies and reproductions made thereof, and (v) protect proprietary information received from SSAB
with the same care and diligence used to preserve and protect your own proprietary information. Moreover, you as receiver of the
presentation shall only disclose proprietary information to those employees who have a need to know such information and who are
bound by confidentiality obligations.
►SSAB does not provide any warranty, representation or guarantee in connection with this presentation whatsoever, whether
express, implied, or statutory, including, but not limited to, any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or any
warranty that the contents of the presentation will be correct, complete or error-free. In no respect shall SSAB incur any liability for
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acknowledge that any reliance upon any materials shall be at their sole risk. SSAB recommends practical tests in order to validate the
results presented in this presentation .
32 March 20, 2025
