Cromax® is the collective brand name for Ovako’s programme of hard-chrome plated bars and tubes. The principal application area for Cromax products is as piston rods for hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders.
Ovako’s Cromax product programme covers every conceivable application within the hydraulic or pneumatic segment, irrespective of whether the application requirements are focused on base-steel characteristics, on heat-treatment such as induction hardening or on the coating properties, e.g. surface finish or corrosion characteristics.
Different kinds of Cromax®
Cromax 280X
Cromax 280X is based on proprietary low-carbon, micro-alloyed steel with high strength combined with excellent low-temperature toughness and good weldability and machinability.
Cromax C35E
Cromax C35E is based on traditional medium-carbon steel with well-defined properties.
Cromax IH 482
Cromax IH 482 is an induction-hardened product with excellent resistance to damage from external impact. This product has a high-strength, medium-carbon, micro-alloyed steel as base.
Cromax IH 280X
Cromax IH 280X is the induction-hardened version of Cromax 280X. Apart from improved resistance to damage from external impact, this product offers increased buckling strength enabling for many applications downsizing of piston rods thereby reducing both cost and weight.
Cromax 42CrMo4
Cromax 42CrMo4 is based on the well-established quenched-and-tempered grade. This product can also be supplied in an induction-hardened execution.
Cromax Tube
Cromax Tube is a product for hollow piston rods, based on 20MnV6 micro-alloyed steel.
Coatings
All of the above base steels/executions can be combined with any one of the following coatings:
Standard Cromax with a single chrome layer and good corrosion resistance suitable for the majority of applications within hydraulics/pneumatics.
Cromax C characterised by a duplex layer of chrome and thereby improved corrosion resistance over standard Cromax.
NiKrom® combines an inner layer of corrosion-resistant nickel and an outer hard-chrome layer and provides outstanding corrosion resistance for the most demanding applications in aggressive environments.
More information
To download pdf brochures with more information on Cromax materials, go to or downloads page and choose "Product information" and then "Cromax" in the drop down menus. Choose your preferred language on each document to download it.