• 1. Ductile iron castings offer a wide range of mechanical properties:
• The ductile iron family offers the designer and engineer a unique combination of strength, wear resistance, fatigue resistance, and toughness, as well as excellent ductility characteristics.
• Tensile Strength:
• The tensile strength of ductile iron begins where gray iron stops. The as-cast tensile strength of ductile iron ranges from 60,000 to 100,000 psi
• Yield Strength:
• The yield strength of A395 ductile iron is a minimum of 40,000 psi. This is higher than grades 70-36 and 60-30 cast steel or ordinary gray iron (which has no true yield strength)
• Ductility
• Ductile iron is one of the most ductile of all cast irons and shows 18% to 30% elongation on a test piece.

• 2. Ductile iron castings are economical:
• Ductile iron castings are a cost effective substitute for carbon and low alloy steels, and in some applications, ductile iron can even outperform steel. Ductile iron is less brittle than most types of iron. Several grades can be used in the as-cast condition without additional heat treatments. When heat treated ductile iron’s design flexibility can be enhanced to an even greater degree.

• 3. Ductile iron castings outperform cast steels and gray iron in many applications:
• The improved mechanical properties of ductile iron increase its resistance to breakage from physical load, or mechanical and thermal shock far above that of gray iron. Its wear resistance is comparable to some of the best grades of steel and superior to gray iron in heavy load or impact load situations. It is considerably less expensive than cast steel and only moderately more expensive than gray iron. Its high yield strength and ductility make it an economical choice for many applications.

• 4.Ductile iron castings are readily available:
• Unlike cast steel, ductile iron capacity in North America is abundant. This ensures the end user that production lead-times are reasonable and that a variety of suppliers are capable of producing their product.

Ductile iron, a family of versatile cast irons, offers the design engineer versatility. Its mechanical properties – strength, wear resistance, fatigue strength, toughness and ductility - are competitive with many cast, forged, and fabricated steel products, yet the result, in most cases, is lower cost and better looking parts.

Ductile iron’s ease of maching and economy of production are almost equal to gray iron. The use of ductile iron has grown rapidly in the past 40 years, mainly through conversions from gray and malleable iron castings, steel castings, forgings and fabrications, and also through its use in new components designed with ductile iron.