A hydraulic drive system uses pressurized hydraulic fluid to power hydraulic machinery and consists of three main parts: The hydraulic pump, the guide and control system, and the actuator. Ovako is an industry leading supplier to the hydraulics industry, with steels suited for all parts of the system.
Hydraulics companies are constantly in search of increased energy efficiency and reduced size of components, while increasing power output. They also need a high reliability of components, with high uptime and safety, and reduced maintenance. This points to a need for material with higher strength, hardness and fatigue, and also a higher surface performance, with regards to both wear and corrosion.
With Cromax and NiKrom hard chrome plated bars and tubes, Ovako is the technology leader in piston rod applications. They are available in different steel grades, heat-treated conditions and a broad range of sizes. Our M-Steel is ideally suited for cylinder heads/end-caps, pistons, rod eyes and flanges/trunnion mounts as well as valve spools and poppets. Ovako BQ-Steel and IQ-Steel offer superior fatigue resistance and are an excellent choice for pistons, shafts, valve drives and rotors.
In addition, Ovako offers mechanical tubing for cylinders.
Reducing global CO2 emissions demands smarter product solutions and requires rethinking on many levels: more performance benefits per kilogram of product, less raw materials, and substituting fossil fuel energy sources with primarily fossil-free electricity. Read more about Ovako’s path to carbon neutrality
Cylinders
Ovako has a long track-record in developing steel grades specifically for hydraulic cylinder applications, where they ensure the highest performance in even the harshest service conditions.
Manufacturers of hydraulic cylinders face an ever-increasing demand for designs that can withstand higher system pressure levels while maintaining high levels of reliability. That means they demand more from the steels they use in terms of properties and quality. Ovako has a long track-record in developing steel grades specifically for hydraulic cylinder applications, where they ensure the highest performance in even the harshest service conditions.
Valves
Modern compact hydraulic systems require complex valve parts with a high degree of machining. When machining time and tool wear is a major cost driver, Ovako offers extensive experience in designing steel grades for reduced tool wear and consistency of machining properties.
Valve housing
Valve housings in general, and cartridge valve blocks in particular, often require complex machining, with long thin drilling operations and perfect deburring. Ovako Hydax 15 and Hydax 25 is the perfect match for these demands. Both grades can be offered as square bars and are M-treated with a higher sulfur content to further improve machinability and chip breaking. The unparalleled chip breaking simplifies the deburring process, and therefore secures consistent quality. Compared to the commonly used ductile iron grades, Hydax 15 and Hydax 25 offers higher tensile strength and therefore a higher proof pressure for a given size, as well as better fatigue properties in critical areas such as cavity threads and no risk of porosity.
Spools and poppets
Ovako Green Cut steel has been developed to replace leaded free-cutting steels for customers seeking an environmentally friendly alternative. High sulfur content combined with M-treatment gives superior machinability with both carbide and HSS tools. Ovako Green Cut is available in both hot rolled and cold drawn versions.
Pumps and Motors
The advance of electrification is placing higher demands on efficiency and power density. This means that hydraulic rotary units are subject increasingly to high loads and consequently high cycle fatigue issues. Ovako has extensive experience as a supplier of high cleanness steel to the bearing, transmission and hydraulic industries, where these requirements are on the everyday agenda.
Shafts, pistons
Many rotary unit components are subject to high rotational speeds and high loads. To promote slim, compact component design and maximum reliability, Ovako IQ-steel offers interesting possibilities. IQ-Steel is a smart solution for designing reliable components that can withstand the strains associated with higher and more complex loads. This ultra clean steel is optimized for fatigue strength by the strict control of cleanness and offers uniform and excellent properties in all loading directions.
Cam ring/roller/lobe/star
In high load rolling or sliding contact applications, such as on a radial piston motor cam ring or roller, or gerotor unit lobe or star, Ovako BQ-steel comes into its own. Purity of production means that this material has significantly smaller inclusions compared to conventional steel and, as a result, its fatigue strength is increased dramatically.
Forged parts
In many cases, forging is used to produce gears for gear pumps and motors, gerotor stars, shafts and other rotary unit components. Ovako works closely with forging companies as part of a well-established supply chain for high performing end products.
Steel Navigator - Find the right steel for your application
Steel Navigator contains a selection of useful tools such as Material Data Sheets, Machining Cost Calculator, Heat Treatment Guide, Piston Rod Predictor and more.
