Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal Graphite

Spherical Graphite Cast Iron (SGI) alloys have been used as a material in mold making for deep-drawing dies and glass molds due to their excellent machinability and thermal conductivity. Moreover, other advantages of SGI alloys are their supreme castability, to cast complex geometries in comparison...

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Main Authors: O. Özaydin, L. Kreinest, J. Schüssler, E. Willenborg, A. Bührig-Polaczek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Polish Academy of Sciences
Series:Archives of Foundry Engineering
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Online Access:https://journals.pan.pl/Content/134562/PDF/AFE%201_2025_18-Final.pdf
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author O. Özaydin
L. Kreinest
J. Schüssler
E. Willenborg
A. Bührig-Polaczek
author_facet O. Özaydin
L. Kreinest
J. Schüssler
E. Willenborg
A. Bührig-Polaczek
author_sort O. Özaydin
collection DOAJ
description Spherical Graphite Cast Iron (SGI) alloys have been used as a material in mold making for deep-drawing dies and glass molds due to their excellent machinability and thermal conductivity. Moreover, other advantages of SGI alloys are their supreme castability, to cast complex geometries in comparison to steel, and the use of up to 90 % recycled materials, especially steel scrap. This leads to a significant reduction of material and energy usage, thereby contributing to both financial savings and ecological benefits. Nevertheless, the mold application of SGI alloys is restricted by inherent limitations, including low hardness values and high surface roughness after machining and even after manual polishing. To overcome these drawbacks a laser polishing process can be beneficial to obtain a graphite-free and steel-like hard surface and to enable a very low surface roughness, optionally in combination with a final manual polishing step. According to the state of the art, the graphite in the SGI structure could not yet be entirely removed from the surface layer by laser polishing, which on one hand leads to a higher roughness and on the other hand raises the risk of cracks. In the current investigations, the SGI alloys with different chemical compositions were cast in three different geometries, machined and subsequently laser polished. After laser polishing, remelting depth and the tendency for surface cracks were investigated. In addition, the influence of graphite morphology on the laser polishing process was examined for these three alloys and three different geometries (wall thicknesses), which all have influences on the microstructure formation. This led to laser polishing parameters to produce a graphite-free, steel-like surface on SGI.
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spelling doaj-art-3d0f5b3a0cb24239be6fe423536d95b72025-08-20T02:50:00ZengPolish Academy of SciencesArchives of Foundry Engineering2299-2944vol. 25No 1150158Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal GraphiteO. Özaydin0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6395-7553L. Kreinest1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3677-6786J. Schüssler2E. Willenborg3A. Bührig-Polaczek4Foundry Institute of RWTH Aachen, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, GermanyFoundry Institute of RWTH Aachen, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, GermanyFoundry Institute of RWTH Aachen, GermanySpherical Graphite Cast Iron (SGI) alloys have been used as a material in mold making for deep-drawing dies and glass molds due to their excellent machinability and thermal conductivity. Moreover, other advantages of SGI alloys are their supreme castability, to cast complex geometries in comparison to steel, and the use of up to 90 % recycled materials, especially steel scrap. This leads to a significant reduction of material and energy usage, thereby contributing to both financial savings and ecological benefits. Nevertheless, the mold application of SGI alloys is restricted by inherent limitations, including low hardness values and high surface roughness after machining and even after manual polishing. To overcome these drawbacks a laser polishing process can be beneficial to obtain a graphite-free and steel-like hard surface and to enable a very low surface roughness, optionally in combination with a final manual polishing step. According to the state of the art, the graphite in the SGI structure could not yet be entirely removed from the surface layer by laser polishing, which on one hand leads to a higher roughness and on the other hand raises the risk of cracks. In the current investigations, the SGI alloys with different chemical compositions were cast in three different geometries, machined and subsequently laser polished. After laser polishing, remelting depth and the tendency for surface cracks were investigated. In addition, the influence of graphite morphology on the laser polishing process was examined for these three alloys and three different geometries (wall thicknesses), which all have influences on the microstructure formation. This led to laser polishing parameters to produce a graphite-free, steel-like surface on SGI.https://journals.pan.pl/Content/134562/PDF/AFE%201_2025_18-Final.pdfcast iron with spheroidal graphite (sgi)casting defectsgraphitelaser polishingmicrostructure
spellingShingle O. Özaydin
L. Kreinest
J. Schüssler
E. Willenborg
A. Bührig-Polaczek
Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal Graphite
Archives of Foundry Engineering
cast iron with spheroidal graphite (sgi)
casting defects
graphite
laser polishing
microstructure
title Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal Graphite
title_full Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal Graphite
title_fullStr Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal Graphite
title_full_unstemmed Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal Graphite
title_short Examination of the Effect of Chemical Composition on Laser Polished Cast Irons with Spheroidal Graphite
title_sort examination of the effect of chemical composition on laser polished cast irons with spheroidal graphite
topic cast iron with spheroidal graphite (sgi)
casting defects
graphite
laser polishing
microstructure
url https://journals.pan.pl/Content/134562/PDF/AFE%201_2025_18-Final.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT oozaydin examinationoftheeffectofchemicalcompositiononlaserpolishedcastironswithspheroidalgraphite
AT lkreinest examinationoftheeffectofchemicalcompositiononlaserpolishedcastironswithspheroidalgraphite
AT jschussler examinationoftheeffectofchemicalcompositiononlaserpolishedcastironswithspheroidalgraphite
AT ewillenborg examinationoftheeffectofchemicalcompositiononlaserpolishedcastironswithspheroidalgraphite
AT abuhrigpolaczek examinationoftheeffectofchemicalcompositiononlaserpolishedcastironswithspheroidalgraphite