Gray cast iron is one of the leading versatile metals, and manufacturers make best practices to achieve engineered quality for their gray iron castings products. In this post, we will share all those golden rules that offer opportunity to foundries to make a difference with their quality range of products.
1. Casting Visualization
Engineers may find it tough to follow all section changes and designs from a blueprint. By developing 3D drawing or making a model, they can determine the flowability of metal, solidification process, and feeding of material to assure casting soundness.
2. Design To Attain Soundness Quality
Shrinkage can be seen in most metals when they solidify. Hence, engineers design the components and work on dimensions to get less shrinkage castings.
3. Avoid Sharp Corners And Angles
Solidification of liquid metal is always started from the mold. Engineers can perform uniform cooling to avoid sharp corners and angles in the castings.
4. Lowering The Sections Numbers
A precision gray iron casting has minimum amount of sections. While forming castings, engineers need to limit the section numbers to reduce distortion and make casting stronger.
5. Use And Employ Uniform Sections
When the casting walls are thicker, it will slowly cools down- that means engineers will feed solidifying thinner walls. The major objective of the team is to design uniform sections that cool down and solidify evenly. In case it is difficult to achieve, heavy sections should be available to feeding via risers.
6. Fillets All Sharp Angles
Fillets are rounded corners that have three uses-
- To lower the stress concentration in the casting during service
- To avoid tears, cracks, and draws at re-entry angles
- To make corners flexible by eliminating hot spots