Case studies

Tested against the coating it replaces.

Field and test results for TripleHard®, including a hydraulic rod with no rust at 34 months in mine service where Cr(VI) hard chrome rusted at 2 months.

Each case states what was compared, for how long, and what happened.

Mining

Hydraulic cylinder rods: no rust after 34 months

≥17×service life: 34 months without rust, against 2 months on the same steel

Three rods went into the same Australian mine. Cr(VI) hard chrome rusted at 2 months on ordinary steel and at 4 months on stainless steel. TripleHard® on the same ordinary steel showed no rust at 34 months.

Read the mining rod case study

TripleHard® coated cylinder rod on a mining machine after 34 months, bright and free of rust — TripleHard® on 20MnV6 steel, 34 months

Hard chrome coated cylinder rod after 2 months, pitted with rust — Cr(VI) hard chrome on the same steel, 2 months

The full case study

Application

Hydraulic cylinder rods in an Australian mine, in a field case with a global mining equipment OEM. Salt, high temperature and continuous exposure to mine water. Corrosion is the failure mode.

What was compared

Rods of the same kind in the same service: two with conventional hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), hard chrome, one on ordinary 20MnV6 steel and one on AISI 329 stainless steel, and one with TripleHard® on 20MnV6.

Green, corroded hard chrome rods next to bright TripleHard® rods after five days of mine water spraying — Comparison rods after 5 days of mine water spraying: commercial Cr(VI) coatings, TripleHard® rods bright

Rod	Base material	Coating	In service	Condition
1	20MnV6 (normal steel)	Cr(VI) hard chrome	2 months	Heavy rust. Cylinder replacement necessary
2	AISI 329 (stainless steel)	Cr(VI) hard chrome	4 months	Rust, even on the stainless base material
3	20MnV6 (normal steel)	TripleHard®	34 months	No rust

Result

On the same steel, the TripleHard® rod showed no rust after 34 months, where the hard-chrome rod had to be replaced at 2 months: at least 17 times the service life in this case. 34 months is the latest documented inspection; the coating remained in service after that. A separate spray test with 1 m, 60 mm rods in mine water showed the same difference in five days. This is one of the mining field cases on three continents (Canada, Australia and Poland), 2020–2026.

A rod that lasts at least 17 times longer is also a rod that is made, coated, shipped and fitted at least 17 times less often. Over a year of service the switch is estimated to cut CO₂ emissions by about 94 % per application. This is a calculated estimate for this one field case, from a university thesis; it is not a measured life-cycle assessment.

Source for the CO₂ estimate: Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, thesis on the field case (Theseus)

Mining case study (PDF) — available on request

Shock absorbers

Shock absorber rods: a quarter of the wear

¼of the sliding wear of hard chrome at 15 µm

Two induction-hardened rods, both coated at 15 µm, one with TripleHard® and one with Cr(VI) hard chrome. Same wear test. The TripleHard® rod was harder and wore a quarter as much.

Read the shock absorber case study

Two TripleHard® coated shock absorber rods lying side by side on a dark surface, threaded ends to the right — TripleHard® coated shock absorber rods, photographed in Kuopio

The full case study

Application

A customer looked for an alternative to hard chrome on a shock absorber plating line. Hardness and sliding wear decide the choice on this part.

What was compared

Two induction-hardened shock absorber rods, one coated with TripleHard® and one with hard chrome, both at 15 µm coating thickness.

Property	Test	TripleHard® against hard chrome
Sliding wear	6 mm Al₂O₃ ball, 500 g, 300 rpm, 20 min	One quarter of the wear depth of hard chrome

Result

At the same thickness TripleHard® was harder than hard chrome and wore a quarter as much in the sliding wear test. Damping and seal behaviour are verified in the customer's own damper.

Less wear on the rod at the same coating thickness, measured side by side with Cr(VI) hard chrome.

Shock absorber case study (PDF) — available on request

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