Materials Produced

Cast Iron Grey Iron

 

Grey Iron has been the most widely used form of Cast Iron over many decades; however it still has an important part to play in today’s engineering environment. Grey or Cast Iron is also known as Flake Graphite Iron. A micro structure of this material reveals that the graphite is in the form of flakes that run through the ferrite / pearlite matrix. This graphite structure offers very little ductility but the many benefits that this material has to offer are:-

 

Cost

Grey Cast Iron is the cheapest of the Cast Iron range to manufacture.

 

Fluidity

Although this material has a low melting temperature it retains a high degree of fluidity in the molten condition. This allows complex Grey Cast Iron casting shapes to be manufactured with thin wall sections.

 

Wear Properties

As a result of the material structure Grey Cast Iron has excellent wear characteristics.

 

Machinability

Grey Cast iron is a superb material to machine. Although there are many forms of Grey Cast Iron all will machine very easily. With the addition of various alloys the mechanical properties can be enhanced but the hardness figure on the highest grade will be below 275BHN.

 

Damping Properties

This material is the perfect choice for applications were damping properties is a priority.

 

Excellent Bearing Properties

The graphite within structure of Grey Cast Iron provides excellent lubrication properties.

 

Compressive Strength

Grey Cast Iron has compressive strength comparable to low and medium Carbon Steel.

 

Excellent Wear Characteristics

Grey Cast Iron is an ideal choice when wear rates can be encountered.

 

Resistance to Deformation

Casting applications subject to deformation should be specified as Grey Cast Iron.

Material Designation	Previous Standard - BS1452	Tensile Strength (min) - N/mm2	0.1% Proof Stress (min) information only %	Elongation (min) N/mm2	Compression Strength N/mm2	Brinell Hardness information only BHN	Predominant Strucutre
EN-GLJ-150	Grade 150	150 - 250	98 - 165	0.8 - 0.3	600	155 - 210	Ferrite/Pearlite
EN-GLJ-200	Grade 200	200 - 300	130 - 195	0.8 - 0.3	720	175 - 260	Pearlite
EN-GLJ-250	Grade 250	250 - 350	165 - 228	0.8 - 0.3	840	195 - 275	Pearlite
EN-GLJ-300	Grade 300	300 - 400	195 - 260	0.8 - 0.3	960	215 - 275	Pearlite
EN-GLJ-350	Grade 350	350 - 450	228 - 285	0.8 - 0.3	1080	235 - 275	Pearlite