Iron Alloy Casting,Ductile Iron Casting,Grey Iron Casting,Iron Casting Manufacturers

Iron is hard, brittle, fairly fusible, and is used to produce other alloys, including steel. The following table provides all the features of iron as a material.

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Iron is a metal extracted from iron ore using blast furnace, and is almost never found in the free elemental state.

The Blast Furnace

Cast iron
The molten iron from the bottom of the furnace can be used as cast iron.

Cast iron is very runny when it is molten and doesn't shrink much when it solidifies. It is therefore ideal for making castings - hence its name. However, it is very impure, containing about 4% of carbon. This carbon makes it very hard, but also very brittle. If you hit it hard, it tends to shatter rather than bend or dent.

Cast iron is used for things like manhole covers, guttering and drainpipes, cylinder blocks in car engines, Aga-type cookers, and very expensive and very heavy cookware.

Cast Iron

Cast iron has already been mentioned above. This section deals with the types of iron and steel which are produced as a result of the steel-making process.

Wrought iron

If all the carbon is removed from the iron to give high purity iron, it is known as wrought iron. Wrought iron is quite soft and easily worked and has little structural strength. It was once used to make decorative gates and railings, but these days mild steel is normally used instead.

Steel, manganese steel, stainless steel and titanium steel are the most popular and widely used alloys of iron.

Steel

Steel is a mixture of iron and carbon. The amount of carbon may range from 0·1% to 1·5% giving steels of different properties. The exact composition of the steel can be monitored by atomic emission spectroscopy during production.

Low Carbon Steel

Low carbon steel (less than 0·25% carbon) is called mild steel. Mild steel is cheap, strong and easily shaped. It is the main metal for construction and is used to make bridges, buildings, ships and vehicles.

	Iron mixed withtext	Special properties	Uses include
Stainless steel	Chromium and nickel	Resists corrosion	Cutlery, cooking utensils, kitchen sinks, industrial equipment for food and drink processing
Titanium steel	Titanium	Withstands high temperatures	Gas turbines, spacecraft
Manganese steel	Manganese	Very hard	Rock-breaking machinery, some railway track (e.g. points), military helmets

High carbon Steel

High carbon steel (more than 0·5% carbon) is stronger than mild steel but it is more brittle. High carbon steel is used to make tools and cutters.

Steel has the disadvantage of needing a protective coating (for example paint) or it will react with oxygen in the air and rust. Rusting is the reverse of the process in the blast furnace - see rusting.

Manganese Steel

Manganese steel is an alloy of iron (84%), manganese (15%) and carbon (1%). Manganese steel is extremely hard and is used for railway points and dredging equipment.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is an alloy of iron (80%), chromium (15%), nickel (4%) and carbon (0·5 to 1%). Stainless steel is strong and hard, with a very high resistance to corrosion (due to chromium). It is used for cookware, cutlery and industrial chemical plant.

Titanium Steel

Titanium steel alloy may contain 0·5 to 2% titanium with varying amounts of other metals including chromium, nickel and vanadium. Titanium steel is very hard and finds uses in aircraft and armour plating.