Alloy Guide
Waupaca Foundry produces various grades of gray,
ductile and
compacted graphite iron castings. The difference in these types of iron is the characteristics of the
graphite used in the material.
Gray Iron
Gray iron is called that because when it is fractured, its surface appears a dull gray color. In this product, the graphite is flaked. Benefits of gray iron are:
- Excellent castability
- Good machinability
- Good wear resistance
- High damping capacity which means it limits vibration in a finished casting
- High thermal conductivity and is able to wick away heat
- Excellent compressive strength
- Good tensile strength
We produce several different grades of gray iron castings at our foundries:
Damped G1800…145-201 HBW,
Plant 1
FC150 HC…149-229 HBW,
Plant 1 and
Plant 5
FC150 B…170-235 HBW,
Plant 5
G3000… 187-241 HBW,
Plant 1,
Plant 2/3,
Plant 5 and
Plant 6
G3500 Base…187-255 HBW,
Plant 1
G3500 Alloyed…207-255 HBW,
Plant 1,
Plant 2/3,
Plant 5 and
Plant 6
G4000 Base …197-269 HBW,
Plant 1
G4000 Alloyed …217-269 HBW,
Plant 1 and
Plant 2/3
Ductile Iron
In Ductile iron the graphite is like a pillow and acts as "crack-arresters" to give ductility and toughness superior to all other cast irons. Benefits of ductile iron are:
- Excellent tensile strength
- Increased ductility which ensures finished materials will bend before breaking
- Excellent impact properties
- Good machinability
- High modulus of elasticity which measures the degree of “stiffness” in the material
We produce several different grades of ductile iron castings at our foundries
60-40-18 (HT) …187 HBW max,
Plant 4
65-45-12 …156-217 HBW,
Plant 4,
Plant 5 and
Plant 6
80-55-06 …187-255 HBW,
Plant 4,
Plant 5 and
Plant 6
100-70-03 …241-302 HBW,
Plant 4,
Plant 5 and
Plant 6
120-90-02 (Q&T),
Plant 4 and
Plant 5
ADI (GRADES 1 - 5),
Plant 4
Carbidic ADI,
Plant 4
Compacted graphite iron
Compacted graphite iron has characteristics midway between ductile and gray iron and combines many of the properties of both. Compacted graphite iron is challenging to make with uniformity, Waupaca Foundry closely monitors the production process. This type of iron provides many advantages:
- The internal porosity solidifies in a manner similar to gray iron with the strength of ductile iron and allows complicated castings.
- It has the ability to dissipate heat
- Increased dampening properties
