We have already seen a few blogs on choosing Cast Iron. This blog will serve as a primer in this topic. Before we go further into it, we list several characteristics that help differentiate cast iron from other metals such as cast steel including carbon content, castability, melting point and capability, ease of machining or machinability, vibration damping, compressive strength, impact resistance, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, among others. We have also seen in our previous blogs how these factors play a vital role in employing cast iron for several industrial applications in a number of working conditions.  Let us see how to select Cast Iron, though it is no different in terms of chemical content and raw materials for cast iron.  Whether it is cast iron or cast steel, it has its own advantages and disadvantages. The selection should be based on their physical properties and applications.

1. If the ductile iron or grey iron can meet your specific requirements as for the physical and mechanical properties of the products, then cast steel is not recommended.
2. If you want the perfect dimensional control and surface quality, you can go for steel castings made by silica sol investment casting process, though its price will be comparatively higher.
3. If your demand is high, exceeding your full capacity, you may have to consider cast iron made by shell moulding or automatic process. 
4. If you don’t have any specific need as to their mechanical properties, go for gray cast iron instead. This is because in terms of cost, cast iron is lower than cast steel and ductile iron.

Thus, we can see that there are clear differences between cast iron and cast steel. VR Foundries is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of Cast Iron, and we’d like to get in touch with you for all enquiries related to Grey and SG (Ductile) iron castings for various industrial applications.