“Durakuhn” technology and the special “Durakarb” steel are two solutions developed by Kuhn to enhance the durability of components that, across the company’s wide range of equipment, typically operate under particularly demanding wear conditions
In ancient Roman mythology—derived from Greek mythology—Vulcan was the god who forged the weapons of the other gods. In the heart of the Earth, amid flames and lava, he crafted creations whose secrets only he knew, capable of withstanding the fiercest clashes on the battlefield. Modern metallurgy has long since moved beyond such legends, developing increasingly advanced and resistant steels. Likewise, the challenges have shifted from battlefields to cultivated fields, where metal implements face perhaps less epic, yet equally demanding confrontations.
Consider the friction generated between soil and the furrow openers of seed drills, or the wear affecting ploughshares, coulters and harrow tines. Other stress points arise inside the hoppers of feed mixer wagons, whose augers must finely chop plant materials made tough by cellulose and lignin fibers. Not every part of a machine, however, needs to be forged to withstand the harshest physical and chemical stresses. To extend machine life and increase operational efficiency, it is sufficient to reinforce specific strategic points—those most exposed to wear.
With this in mind, Kuhn has developed two high-resistance materials, “Durakarb” and “Durakuhn,” each designed for specific applications.
“Durakarb” is used to manufacture the furrow openers of the “Kosma” and “Maxima” precision seed drills, contributing to both the robustness and the accuracy of these machines, even under the most challenging conditions. The furrow opener is the main wear component of a precision planter, as its function is to open the furrow behind the discs and precisely create the V-shaped profile required for correct seed placement.
The result of in-depth research into materials, design and agronomy, “Durakarb” plates owe their resistance to tungsten carbide, a material whose defining characteristic is hardness. This property stems from the fact that each tungsten atom is surrounded by six carbon atoms in a compact arrangement that scores 9.5 out of 10 on the Mohs scale, where 10 is assigned to diamond.
This high resistance to wear and deformation is also applied to plough components. Tungsten carbide reinforcements are featured on the point, the coulter and the landside—the part of the ploughshare that cuts horizontally through the soil, extending beneath the plough body to facilitate soil flow and turning. “Durakarb” technology is also used for protective plates on the mouldboard, the coulter and the skimmer, as well as for the tines of “Hr” series rotary harrows.
“Durakuhn,” whose trademark celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2025, serves a different purpose. It designates a technology based on powdered carbide used to increase the surface hardness of the components most exposed to wear, thereby extending their service life. This solution benefits, for example, the newly designed plough “triangles”—a term Kuhn uses to describe the geometric shape formed by the ploughshare and coulter.
Applying a carbide coating to the cutting area of these components enhances their resistance to wear while ensuring smoother and more uniform soil flow over the mouldboard. As a result, compared to a standard triangle, ploughs treated with “Durakuhn” technology offer twice the service life of conventional ploughs.
Title: Kuhn anti-wear technology: guaranteed component resistance
Translation with ChatGPT
