How to cut > How to avoid softening with thermal cutting

Critical cutting temperatures

The resistance of the steel to softening depends on its chemistry, microstructure and how it was processed. If the temperature of the steel becomes too high, the hardness of the steel will be reduced.

Surface hardness vs. tempering temperature.

Therefore, the maximum preheating temperatures are crucial to consider during cutting operations to ensure the integrity and performance of the materials. Maximum allowable temperatures for SSAB steels can be found in this table.

Grade
Grade
 Hardox® HiAce
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 225 (437)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® HiTemp
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 500 (932)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® HiTuf
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 300 (572)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® 400
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 225 (437)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® 450
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 225 (437)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® 500 Tuf
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 225 (437)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® 500
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 225 (437)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® 550
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 200 (392)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® 600
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 180 (3556)
Grade
Grade
 Hardox® Extreme
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 100 (212)
Grade
Grade
 Strenx® 700
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 300 (572)
Grade
Grade
 Strenx® 900
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 300 (572)
Grade
Grade
 Strenx® 960
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 300 (572)
Grade
Grade
 Strenx® 1100
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 150 (302)
Grade
Grade
 Strenx® 1300
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 150 (302)
Grade
Grade
 Armox® 370 T
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 400 (752)
Grade
Grade
 Armox® 440 T
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 200 (392)
Grade
Grade
 Armox® 500 T
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 200 (392)
Grade
Grade
 Armox® 600 T
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 180 (356)
Grade
Grade
 Armox® Advance
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 150 (302)
Grade
Grade
 Toolox® 33
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 580
Grade
Grade
 Toolox® 44
Maximum Preheating Temperature as °C (°F)
 580

Maximum Allowable Preheating Temperatures for Hardox®, Strenx®, Toolox®, and Armox®

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The information in this report is only applicable to SSAB’s products and should not be applied to any other products than original SSAB products. 


This report provides general results and recommendations for SSAB steel products. This report is subject to SSAB’s Terms of Use. It shall be the user's responsibility to verify that the information contained herein is correct and is suitable to be used for the particular purpose and application of the user. The report is intended to be used by professional users only who possess adequate expertise, qualification and knowledge for the safe and correct use of the results and recommendations in this report. This report is provided “as is”. The use of the report is at user’s own discretion and risk and that users will be solely responsible for any use of this report. SSAB disclaims any liability for the content or potential errors of this report, including but not limited to warranties and condition of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or suitability for individual applications. SSAB shall not be liable for any kind of direct or indirect damages and/or costs related to or arising therefrom, whether special, incidental, consequential or directly or indirectly related to the use of, or the inability to use, the report or the content, information or results included therein.