Ductile Iron Castings

What is Ductile Cast Iron?

Ductile cast iron is a kind of high strength cast iron material with excellent mechanical properties which are close to that of carbon steel. Based on its properties, it has been successfully used to cast some parts with complex design and high requirements for strength, ductility and wear resistance.

Common Ductile Cast Iron Grades in Maple

Tip: In Chinese standard, QT500-7 refers to ductile iron with tensile strength≥500MPa and elongation ≥ 7%

Advantages of Ductile Iron Castings

Whether compared with steel or gray cast iron, ductile iron has some irreplaceable advantages:

1. It can cast any complex design with good machinability
2. The casting cost is lower than steel casting
3. The strength is higher than gray iron castings, even higher than that of some steels
4. Excellent wear resistance and shock absorption
5. About 10% lighter than steel
6. There is no residual stress and few defects during machining

Casting process of Ductile Cast Iron

Same as gray iron casting, ductile iron can be casted by sand casting and lost foam casting.

However, Maple can also cast ductile iron parts by precision casting, only few foundries can supply such service in China.

Ductile iron precision casting is mainly used to produce parts weighing less than 1kg, which are often used for door lock accessories.

Application of Ductile Cast Iron

Up to now, ductile iron materials have been mainly applied in the following fields:

1. Pressure pipes and accessories: These parts have to withstand nearby excavation, municipal engineering implementation, transportation and so on, so they should be able to support great pressure and have good ductility.
2. Auto: Mainly used in engine parts, power traditional system components, brake and steering components, etc
3. Agricultural industry: Modern agricultural machinery requires reliable and long service life cast parts. Ductile iron castings widely used in the whole agricultural industry include various tractor accessories, plough, bracket, clamp and pulley.
4. Construction machinery: In road laying and construction industry, all kinds of construction machinery and equipment are required, including bulldozer, driving machine, crane and compressor.