VR Foundries is popular all over as one of the leading grey iron casting manufacturers. Though we have discussed the history of Grey Iron Castings appreciably in our previous blogs, we’ll throw some light more on the modern history of Grey Iron Casting and Grey Iron foundry. 

So, how is Grey Iron Castings made?
Cast Iron or grey iron is an iron alloy that is made by iron ore reduction in a blast furnace. The process involves pouring the liquid iron which is hardened into ingots known as pigs. Next, these pigs are subject to remelting with scrap and different alloying elements in a cupola furnace, and then recast in the form of molds to create products like our drainage hole! 

Early history of Cast Iron Crafting

Grey Iron Casting were produced as early as 6000 BCE in China, which later spread throughout several parts of Europe by the 1300’s. Iron casting surfaced in England around 1500 CE, and later in the US, grey iron casting first emerged on the River James in Virginia in the year 1619.

Between the 18th and 19 centuries, cast iron proved to be popular as it was considered cheaper as an engineering material compared to wrought iron. There wasn’t any hammer work or intensive refining involved in the making of Cast Iron. Cast Iron also characterizes excellent load-bearing abilities that it turned out to be an important structural metal, and it was used to construct some of the first megastructures and skyscrapers in the west.

Modern History of Cast Iron

Most cast iron is known as white iron or grey iron, which is nothing but the colours reflected by fracture. Grey iron has more silicon composition but it’s more machinable compared to white iron. Malleable cast iron was first created by a process of continuous heat treatment, developed in the 18th century in France. Ductile cast iron was produced in Britain and in the UK in 1948. Ductile Cast Iron now forms a large family of metals applicable for cars, gears and other machine equipment, parts and components, with the most common application being making table legs. 

Whilst cast iron slowly lost relevancy in the civil construction area, the artistry involved in the process of casting is still effective and in usage. Any material more appropriate for table leg than cast iron? Cast Iron comes with excellent wear resistance and will withstand under all sorts of weather conditions. It has a compression strength greater than that of the steel, comes with good anti-vibration properties and can withstand heavy loads, which means with VR Foundries, a major grey iron casting company, investment in iron castings can fetch excellent outcome.