Heavy-section ductile iron castings cool slowly and can magnify problems with graphite degeneration, trace elements and treatment fade. Nodulizer selection therefore needs to begin with the foundry process rather than a generic alloy name.
Rare-earth additions can help neutralize anti-spheroidizing elements when the charge contains troublesome residuals. However, more rare earth is not automatically better. Clean charge materials and some thick-section applications may need a low-rare-earth or rare-earth-free approach to avoid chunky graphite and other structure problems.
Information to confirm before purchasing
- Base iron sulfur and residual-element range
- Treatment method, ladle size and target residual magnesium
- Maximum casting section and required nodularity
- Magnesium, calcium, rare-earth and particle-size limits
Foundries should validate the selected alloy through controlled trials and metallographic checks. For a quotation, send the target chemistry, size, packing and expected monthly quantity to the Hyborton export desk.