SF&E Flexes with High Chrome White Iron Complexity

When Stainless Foundry & Engineering (SF&E) announced its high chrome white iron alloy capabilities last year, the engineering team was focused on introducing processes and tools to continuously improve iron quality over time. As demand increases for this alloy, the SF&E engineering team is taking on more complex pours while maintaining consistent quality and expected lead times.

A Solid Foundation

The first customer requesting high chrome white iron (25CrFe) was having sourcing issues, which meant SF&E was focused on problem-solving from the start. The metallurgy team invested in a specialized spectrometer to analyze the cast irons and white irons and purchased certified reference materials to ensure they were pouring the material to the correct chemistry. Foundry engineering collaborated with manufacturing and process engineering to develop a new procedure for the processing of iron castings. The use of breaker cores, different riser sleeves, and implementation of a newly purchased abrasive saw drastically improved our front-end efficiency.

High chrome white iron is easy to pour but is brittle and prone to cracking if not handled correctly. Specialized processes like adding soft plug inserts into the molds prior to casting allows for machining bolt holes. Finally, the team pours high chrome white iron-on specific days of the week so the molds can sit for an appropriate amount of time to solidify. With the process in place, SF&E experiences less cleaning time and minimal casting repairs. Our team just has to pour, clean, heat treat, inspect, and the parts are ready to ship.

Complex Designs for Crucial Components

Some customers come to SF&E for high chrome white iron because they are experiencing sourcing issues. Some customers come to SF&E because they are having quality issues. Recently, an agricultural customer struggled to find a foundry that manufactured high quality screw impellers and suction cones out of high chrome white iron. Not only has SF&E accepted multiple new transfer patterns for this customer, but we are also machining the castings. SF&E has proven to be a reliable, consistent foundry partner that can meet the need for complex design.

High chrome white iron grades are commonly used in pump and valve parts for the mining, agricultural, and paper industries with applications that work with stones, rocks, slurry, and cement. Parts poured with ASTM A532 Class III Type A contain 25% chrome white iron, are corrosion resistant and wear-resistant due to their high hardness, specific chemistry, and heat treatment.

If you have a crucial or complex part that needs the corrosion-resistance of high chrome white iron, or would like to know what it takes to move high chrome white iron parts over to a new foundry, contact us at sales@stainlessfoundry.com.