For Hydraulic Directional Control Valves with body made of 45# steel, why is AAK more durable than its peers?

China [CN]

Kadin is from Turkey. They have many stores selling hydraulic cartridge valves in Turkey, and the market competition is very fierce. At the beginning of last year, Kadin needed to purchase a batch of hydraulic directional control valves benchmarking SUN. AAK also received his inquiry, but we gave up because the target price was too low. Kadin placed the order with another manufacturer of hydraulic directional control valves in Ningbo. 9 months later, a customer complained of severe wear on the valve body edges and leakage from the hydraulic directional control valve. Per the original hydraulic directional control valve manufacturer, he uses industry standard 45 steel to produce valve bodies, which can be guaranteed to be wear-resistant for more than 1 year. If the usage frequency is too high, it can only last for 9 months. Kadin was very helpless. He contacted more than 10 other hydraulic valve manufacturers in China. They all stated that the 45 steel valve bodies cannot guarantee a service life of more than 1 year under high-frequency operating conditions. If using other stronger materials, the price is much higher, which is not suitable for the Turkey market. 

Kadin asked what type of steel is the body material of AAK hydraulic directional control valve? After communication, it was learned that he encountered the problem about the valve body not being wear-resistant. I told him that using 45# steel to produce valve bodies is indeed an industry standard, unless there are special requirements on the materials. But the 45# steel valve body can also guarantee a service life of more than 1 year under high-frequency working conditions. Most hydraulic valve manufacturers in China directly use 45 steel to machine and produce valve bodies, while AAK needs to make an action before production to strengthen wear resistance. Although the cost is a bit higher, AAK has always done so. Kadin accepted my original quotation and asked AAK to produce a small batch of hydraulic directional control valves. After 45 days, we delivered 100 pcs of hydraulic directional control valves.

Last week, Kadin placed a re-peat order of 1,000 hydraulic directional control valves, hoping that I could help with the price to better adapt to the competition in the Turkey market. I gave a 5% discount. Why is the AAK valve body made of 45 steel wear-resistant?

AAK uses 45 steel to produce valve bodies, which are first forged and then machined. We use forging machinery to apply pressure on the 45 # steel billet, causing plastic deformation and obtaining certain mechanical properties. After forging, the crystal structure of the steel piece increases by at least 30%, and the existing segregation, porosity, air hole, slag inclusion etc. in the steel ingot are compacted and welded together. The plasticity and mechanical properties of the steel is increased by more than 50%. On the surface, the valve bodies are all made of 45 steel. By comparison, we can see why the AAK hydraulic directional control valve is durable. This is our trick.

AAK hydraulic directional control valve, more durable than its peers, not only material, you can also give it a try!

AAK HYDRAULIC VALVES (600) 2023-06-06

https://www.aakindustry.com/info-detail/directional-control-valves-aak600