Metal Casting Zone Info Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Strength’

Spring City’s Ductile Iron Lampposts

Ductile iron, also called ductile cast iron or nodular cast iron, is a kind of cast iron invented in 1942. Ductile iron is composed of spherical graphite instead of flakes which is visible in grey iron and is made by treating molten iron with magnesium. While most varieties of cast iron are brittle, ductile iron is much more ductile.

This is attained through multifaceted metallurgy and foundry process control. Ductile Iron has been successful as it offers a blend of versatility and properties not available in any of its rivals. Its cast ability, mach inability, dampening properties, and economy of production are almost equal to those for which Gray Iron is famous, but its mechanical properties – strength, wear resistance, fatigue strength, toughness and ductility are competitive with many casts, forged and fabricated steel components.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are the nationally recognized standards organization for the analysis of lighting structures. They allow the bending strength of ductile iron to be 3 to 4 times that of cast aluminum and grey iron.

Spring City is self-assured that their ductile iron lamppost will last the lifetime of our project. Their ductile iron products are practically durable and have been known to endure some of the most extreme moments in American history. If we choose to buy Spring City’s ductile iron lamppost for steel shafts, we will be investing our money in a value product that will look new for many years to come! This wide-ranging warranty covers the products to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and operation for twenty-five years.

The Benefits of Choosing a Ductile Iron Lamppost

• 25 Year Warranty Available

• Quickly replacing cast steel in structural applications

• Stronger than cast iron and cast aluminum

• High impact strength

• Does not become brittle unlike aluminum

• Excellent dampening qualities – Perfect for bridge applications

• Service life is 3 times as long as that of cast aluminum

Ductile Iron Application

The scope of ductile iron application can be divided into four fields: First, pressure pipes and fittings. Second, the automobile industry. Third, agriculture, road and construction applications. Fourth, general engineering.

1. Pressure pipes and fittings

Ductile iron pipe has been used to transport water and other liquids, which testifies to the ball better than gray cast iron pipe. Because cast iron has excellent strength and toughness. These physical characteristics make the pipeline withstand the high operating pressure, and can withstand the excavation near pipelines and municipal construction and transportation requirements.

2. Automotive applications

The automotive industry is the second largest ductile iron casting application fields. Ductile iron has been used in cars in the three main areas: first, the car engine parts, second, gears and bushings, third, suspension, brakes and steering. Almost all crankshafts of the Ford Motor Company have been manufactured by ductile iron. Most of the worldwide cars are fitted with ductile iron crankshaft, instead of forged steel crankshaft.

3. Agriculture, road and construction applications

Modern agriculture requires a reliable and long service life of agricultural machinery. The entire agricultural industry are widely using ductile iron castings including tractor parts, plows, brackets, clamps and pulleys. For other types of agricultural machinery including bulldozers, moved into machines, cranes and compressors, ductile iron castings in these areas have a very wide range of applications.

4. General engineering applications

The machine tool industry is using the excellent engineering performance of the ductile iron to design complex machine parts. Ductile iron has high tensile strength and yield strength, and good mechanical processing properties, thus allowing production of lighter castings to keep a good rigidity. Similarly, the strength and toughness of ductile iron has made it to be widely used in all kinds of hand tools such as wrenches, clamps and gauges etc.

Paper manufacturing industry is using the high strength and high elastic modulus of ductile iron. These properties can reduce the weight of the pressure drum and drying drum.

Therefore, ductile iron castings have been widely used in many industrial areas worldwide. With the continuous development of metal founding, the application of ductile iron must be wider in the future.

This article was from Dandong Foundry Blog.

Do you ever mind how ductile pipes are made which we often see them in underground drainage’s. Watch this video.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Related Ductile Iron Castings Articles