MetalTek

Bearium In Steel Mills

Bushings used in Steel Mill applications provide a unique combination of performance demands. The environment is abrasive and bushings operate in a pivoting low-speed loading. Lubrication is difficult to maintain because of the high temperature. To address this environment, maintenance management at a large steel mill selected the proprietary high wear alloy Bearium B-10 from MetalTek. To verify that the Bearium was effective in this application, a comparison was done to alternate alloys used in the same application. The Bearium bushing demonstrated significantly less wear than other alloys. Lubrication grooves in the non-Bearium part were completely worn away, while those grooves in the Bearium were intact. Bearium’s ability to operate with very low lubrication addressed that problem, and the customer eliminated a significant maintenance headache.