Durable FB1000 – FB Ketju’s Premium Steel Upgraded
FB Ketju’s proprietary FB1000 steel has been upgraded to be even more durable through cooperation with Ovako AB. The renewed premium-grade material offers improved wear resistance, longer lifetime and clear savings in customer’ total life-cycle costs.
When FB Ketju developed FB1000 steel in 2015 together with the steel industry group Ovako AB and Tampere University of Technology, the goal was to meet the specific needs of demanding customers. FB1000 is the company’s registered trademark and a premium-grade material that delivers longer service life and significant cost savings for FB conveyor chains.
FB Ketju’s innovative operating culture is reflected in its continuous design development — even the best is always improved further. FB Ketju and Ovako took FB1000 steel one step further by enhancing its properties to make it even harder and more durable.
“Previously, production machinery was not capable of machining material this hard, but thanks to the machine investments we have made in recent years, we are now able to process the new, harder material. The upgraded FB1000 steel has been in use for a while, and now customers receive even higher quality at the same cost,” says Mika Suomi, CEO of FB Ketju.
FB1000 steel is used as side plate material in most chains, which significantly improves their wear resistance.
Development Work Focused on Maximizing Customer Value
Active development and the desire to improve already high and reliable quality guide FB Ketju’s daily operations. FB1000 is an example of a working model where the objective is to always offer customers the best possible solutions. Together with Ovako, changes were made to raw material compositions to achieve new performance characteristics.
“Compared to S355 steel, for example, the old FB1000 is about 40% harder and this new version is about 50% harder. The hardness of FB1000 steel has now been increased by about 10%. In addition, FB1000 steel can be further hardened if necessary, which further improves wear resistance”, Suomi explains.
“FB1000 steel fully supports the idea that a slightly more expensive but more durable product delivers a longer service life, life-cycle cost savings, and thereby also supports sustainability goals.”
FB1000 steel is used as side plate material in most chains, which significantly improves their wear resistance. The material offers extremely high breaking load and excellent weldability.
“The tensile strength of S355 steel is approximately 430-550 MPa, while that of FB1000 steel is almost double.”
Feedback and Testing Support Each Other
Production has now practically fully transitioned to the upgraded FB1000 steel, and it is automatically used in all customer chains that utilize this material. FB1000 steel is one of the key factors behind FB Ketju’s strong reputation both in Finland and internationally, also among new customers.
“We have received very positive feedback from customers based on real-life operating experience with the upgrade. Our own wear tests also confirm excellent results. Wear resistance is even better, which extends service life and reduces our customers’ total life-cycle costs,” Suomi says.
