Manufacturing of
Industrial Guides
Materials and hardness
The steel used for the production of the industrial guides is part of the tool steel family. This family is represented by highly alloyed steels that, due to their characteristics, lend themselves well to different heat treatments and have characteristics of wear resistance and high hardness. The guides are manufactured with steels specially indicated to guarantee:
- Low slip resistance (low friction force).
- High wear resistance.
- Long life of the guides.
- Resistance to rolling friction.
- Surface hardness.
Hardness and mechanical resistance: Steels 1.2379, 1.2842, C45 and Toolox® are high-strength steels that offer an excellent combination of hardness and toughness. These steels are ideal for applications where the guides must support heavy loads and resist wear and abrasion during operation, thus ensuring greater structural rigidity in the guides.
Workability and machinability: 1.2379, 1.2842, C45 and Toolox® steels can be easily worked and machined, which facilitates their forming into different shapes and sizes required for the manufacture of industrial guides. This enables efficient production of guide components with complex geometries and tight tolerances.
Good response to heat treatments: 1.2379, 1.2842 and C45 steels respond well to heat treatments, such as quenching and tempering, which allows their mechanical properties to be adjusted according to the specific needs of the guides. This is especially important to improve the hardness and wear resistance of the sliding surfaces of the guides.
Cost-effectiveness: C45 steel offers a good relationship between cost and performance, making it an ideal option for the manufacture of industrial guides. Its availability and relatively low price make it an attractive option for companies seeking to maintain controlled production costs without compromising the quality and performance of their products.
1.2379, 1.2842, C45 and Toolox® steels are very logical and efficient choices for the manufacture of industrial guides due to their excellent combination of hardness, mechanical resistance, workability, responsiveness to heat treatments and cost-effectiveness.
1.2379, 1.2842, C45 and Toolox® steels make the guides capable of supporting heavy loads, resisting wear and maintaining accuracy and reliability in a variety of demanding industrial applications.
Practical cases
For guides of 5,300 or 6,000 mm in length, we use Toolox® because with these lengths it is difficult to harden the material. Toolox® steel, being pre-treated, perfectly meets the mechanical requirements of industrial guides.
C45 steel is very common in industrial guides, due to its cost and ease of work. Its limitation is that in the tempering process, only 3mm of the surface is hardened. If hardness is necessary to the core of the material, it is better to choose steels such as 1.2379 or 1.2842.