What Thickness Wear Plate Should I Use?
The fast answer is it depends on your application, equipment limitations and how long your current thickness wear plate lasts.
All Steel Is Priced By The Pound
For conversation, let’s compare ½” to ¾” thick wear plate. With QT-PLUS ® being the same hardness throughout the thickness of the steel, the heavier plate will last longer.
An easy way to consider wear plate life is ¾” steel will give you an additional 50% life compared to ½” steel.
Important Note: This only applies to actual through hardened abrasion or impact wear resistant steel.
Many steel suppliers will claim their material is through hard, when in fact, it is not. Remember there is No Industry Standard for AR type steels.
You will be better off installing QT-PLUS ® through hardened steel than trying to save a few cents, using a thinner material.
Is the item formed to a specific shape? You will have greater expense with a formed part, than if you ordered flat plates and weld them together. Forming will have additional labor expense, but are preferred if you experience heavy wear in the weld area.
Will you use the same thickness wear plate as the original piece? Or would it be an improvement to use a ½” thick piece of QT-PLUS ® compared to the original 3/8” thick part?
From a cost standpoint you would add another 50% to the cost of the 3/8” material, going from 3/8” to ½”.
Understand we are comparing flat steel with no additional processing such as: forming, drilling, burning holes, machining counter bored holes or bevels. Every additional step adds labor, and increases the price.
Typically, labor used in forming either thickness is about the same.
Is Your Wear Resistant Steel Thru Hardened?
If your wear plate is through hardened, adding another 25% thickness will deliver at least 25% more life before it needs to be replaced.
But if your wear plate IS NOT through hardened, once you wear through the surface area, you will be shocked to discover how rapidly the center of the plate wears away.
If this photo looks like the wear you experience, it proves your Abrasion Resistant Steel is NOT the same hardness on the surface as it is in the center. You see this type of wear with inexpensive wear plate.
The bad news with this type of wear in your steel, is the heavier the wear resistant steel, the faster the center of the plate disappears.
Many Companies Claim They Sell Through Hardened Steel
The truth is very few plates actually are the same hardness in the center of the steel thickness, as it is on the surface.
JADCO has strengths where many people cannot see their own blind spots, from using the same wear plate material year after year.
Yet they wonder why they never see a wear life improvement.
What Is The Best Option? Using A Longer Lasting Steel Of The Same Thickness.
JADCO’s QT-PLUS ® delivers greater performance IN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING WEAR APPLICATIONS than the various AR type steel plates you have used previously.
Being able to create wear resistant steel having the same hardness through the entire thickness of the steel, demands you accurately control the alloying chemistry with precise heat treating.
Doesn’t Every Steel Company Make Their Wear Plate Last As Long As JADCO QT-PLUS?
The quick answer is No; although the attention to alloy content required at the steel mill is available to anyone. Yet most wear plate distributors choose to reduce the proper quantities and percentages of these essential alloying elements, to get a lower selling price.
When you cut back on these critical alloys, wear life drops, and it is always the customer who suffers.
For the last 45 years JADCO has focused exclusively on delivering consistent, longer equipment life for our customers.
We are able to deliver better results to our customers, because we think differently. How? By strictly focusing on improving your current results.
Allow us to help you today by emailing us at info@jadcomfg.com or calling (724) 452-5252.
We will schedule a meeting with one of our local wear plate specialists at a time that best fits your schedule.
Remember, the only thing you have to lose by not working with JADCO, are your profits.
When your flat back elbows give out, give JADCO a shout!
