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.

Downloads
- Technical Report: Piston rods in hydraulic cylinder
- Technical Report: Increasing the resistance to buckling of piston rods through induction hardening
- Technical Report: Understanding CO2 footprint of hot-rolled bar steel products
- Brochure: BQ-Steel and IQ-Steel - Purity creates design opportunities
- Brochure: Cromax - Hard chrome plated bars and tubes
- Brochure: M-steel - Machine less, make more
- Customer Case: Hydratech Industries - Pitch-perfect performance
- Customer Case: Ognibene - Steering with precision
- Article: Fluid Power Journal - Stronger steel stops piston-rod buckling under pressure
- Article: International Design Engineer - Preventing Piston Rod Buckling
Digital Support Tool - Steel Navigator
With Ovako’s Steel Navigator, finding the right clean steel has never been easier. Search by material properties, applications or end products. Compare with standard steels. And calculate machine settings to save time and increase tool life. Our digital Heat Treatment guide even helps you save time and money by predicting how a specific steel grade composition will perform after heat treatment. Whatever your application, our web-based steel selection tools let you explore hundreds of high quality steel products to find the right match for your specific needs.
Find out more at Steel Navigator
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