Our hammers are made in austenitic manganese steel and proprietary low-alloy steel. SHANVIM also makes a differentially-hardened, low alloy steel hammer that is extremely hard on the bottom and possesses a softer material around the pin to keep the pin from wearing out. In essence, we are able to right-size the metallurgy of the casting to the particular application, resulting in the most wear-resistant part available.
Why Manganese Steel?
Manganese steel shredder hammers “self-polish” in the pin holes, which minimizes wear on the pin shafts. In contrast, low alloy steel hammers, which some shredders use, don’t have this characteristic and can cause rapid wear on the pins.
Manganese steel also has a very high resistance to crack propagation. If operating conditions cause the yield strength in a region to be exceeded and a crack forms, the crack tends to grow very slowly. In contrast, cracks in low alloy steel castings tend to grow rapidly, which can lead to quick failure and the need for replacement.