Cast Iron Housing
Cast iron housing means the iron castings such as tractor gear boxes, pump bodies and other casings just like a box or house shapes.
Ductile iron series housings weight 40% less in comparison with standard housings made with gray cast iron. Ductile iron series housings are approximately 30% stronger than standard housings made with gray cast iron. Therefore, ductile iron has been more widely used for cast iron housings.
Ductile cast iron housings are designed to be lighter and more compact than gray cast iron units. Since ductile cast iron is stronger, these compact castings can commonly replace standard castings. So, ductile cast iron parts will perform well in harsh environments. As with all housed units, before applying, please check the allowable load limit, bearing life and safety factors.
Housing Material
The material of cast iron housing basically includes ductile iron and grey iron.
The housing material for the current standard bearing units is gray cast iron (FC200). The FC200 material contains black lead and graphite distributed as show in photo 1. When heavy shock loads are applied to the housing, cracks spread along the black lead/graphite strands and the housing may fracture. In FCD450 material, the black lead and graphite nodules are distributed as shown photo 2. This black lead/graphite distribution can prevent the spreading of cracks. Also the shock resistance at low temperature, FCD450 is superior to that of FC200.
The following is the comparison for characteristics of ductile iron and gray iron for housing castings.
Production Process
Normally, the shell molding process will be the most suitable casting process for small housing products; however, it is more costly than green sand casting process. As for the large casting process, the resin sand casting process will be the most suitable one in order to keep the good surface quality and dimensions.
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