Difference Between Cast Iron and Cast Steel Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms from jiachuan's blog

One of the most popular ways to manufacture durable and high-quality components is through casting. Casting allows for a high level of detail, which results in no additional fabrication or assembly being required. While many different materials can be cast, steel and iron are two of the most popular due to their excellent mechanical properties for a wide range of applications.

Cast iron generally refers to gray cast iron, ductile iron and malleable cast iron. It is an iron casting with a carbon content higher than 2%.

Cast steel usually refers to ordinary carbon steel and alloy steel. It is a steel casting with a carbon content of less than 2%.

Therefore, the chemical composition and raw materials of cast iron and cast steel are not much different.

Corrosion resistance

In terms of corrosion, iron has better corrosion resistance than steel. But that doesn't mean that both are immune to corrosion. If left unprotected, both metals will oxidize in the presence of moisture. Eventually, they will break down completely. To prevent this, the coating is recommended for steel and iron castings.

cost

Cast iron is generally less expensive than cast steel because of the lower material costs, energy and labor required to produce the final product. Although raw steel is more expensive, prefabricated steel is also available. These include sheets, rods, rods, pipes and beams.

Castability

Cast iron is relatively easy to cast because it pours easily and doesn't shrink like steel. This fluidity makes cast iron an ideal metal for buildings or ornate ironwork structures such as fences and street furniture.

Advantages and disadvantages of cast iron

Good casting properties of gray cast iron are.. good vibration damping, good wear resistance, good machinability and low notch sensitivity. However, it has low tensile strength and elongation. Therefore, it can only produce some metal parts with low physical requirements. Protective cover, cover, oil pan, hand wheel, shelf, bottom plate, hammer, small handle, base, shelf, box, knife, bed, bearing seat, workbench, wheel, cover plate, pump, valve, pipe, Flywheel, motor block, etc. As for higher grades, gray cast iron can withstand greater loads and some degree of tightness or corrosion resistance. This allows for some of the more important castings such as cylinders, gears, bases, flywheels, beds, cylinder blocks, cylinder liners, pistons, gearboxes, brake wheels, coupling plates, medium pressure valves, etc.

Ductile iron and malleable iron have high strength, ductility and heat resistance and toughness. So it has a wider range of applications and, in some cases, can replace carbon steel. However, its production technology is high. The production process is more complicated. This makes the production cost higher than ordinary gray cast iron and cast steel. Therefore, the casting defects of ductile iron are more. There are many areas where ductile iron is used, such as pressure piping and fittings, automotive applications, agriculture, road and construction applications, and general engineering applications.

Advantages and disadvantages of cast steel

The main advantage of cast steel is design flexibility. Casting designers have the greatest freedom of design choice. This allows complex shapes and hollow section parts.

Cast steel offers the flexibility and greatest variability of metallurgical manufacturing. Different chemical compositions and controls can be selected to suit different requirements of different projects. This provides different heat treatment options across a greater range of mechanical properties and properties. Also provides good weldability and machinability.

Cast steel is an isotropic material that can be made into steel castings with high overall structural strength. This increases the reliability of the project. Combined with design and weight, advantages such as short lead times, price and economy give cast steel a competitive advantage.

Steel castings have a wider range of weights. The weight is extremely small, and precision castings with only a few tens of grams can be invested. The weight of large steel castings can reach several tons, tens of tons or hundreds of tons.

Steel castings can be used in a variety of working conditions. Its mechanical properties are superior to any other cast alloys, as well as various high-alloy steels for special purposes. To withstand high tensile stresses or dynamic loads on components, it is important to consider pressure vessel castings. In low temperature or high temperature, large and important part load key parts should be preferentially used steel castings.

However, the shock absorption, wear resistance and fluidity of cast steel are relatively poor. Compared with cast iron, casting performance is poor. In addition, the cost is higher than ordinary cast iron.

So, when it comes to cast iron and cast steel, they each have pros and cons. One of the two should be selected based on the application and its physical characteristics.