Dura-Bar Advantages

Dura-Bar Continuous Casting Process
Dura-Bar continuous cast iron is a high-quality alternative to carbon steel, iron castings and aluminum. The continuous casting process used to create Dura-Bar produces a product with a fine-grained, dense, as-cast microstructure.

1. A graphite die is machined to form the shape of the bar (Round, Square, rectangle, or a Custom Shape)
2. The die is mounted to the bottom of a crucible in a water-cooled jacket
3. The bar is pulled horizontally through the die
4. Any impurities float to the top of the crucible, allowing only the highest quality iron to enter the die. The resulting material is:
   
5. • Free of defects typically associated with cast iron
   • Dense with a fine-grained microstructure
   • Highly machinable

More Parts Per Hour
A recent Industry-wide study conducted by a major tooling manufacturer determined that the average cost to manufacture a component breaks down as follows: 5% tooling cost, 20% material cost and 75% manufacturing cost.

The graphic illustrates the cost reduction possibilities of saving 30% in each cost category. The true benefit of Dura-Bar comes from the reduction in manufacturing time which generally makes up the largest percentage of a component's cost.

For example, a 30% reduction in manufacturing time on a $10 component, would save $2.25 per component. An annual volume of 100,000 pieces would increase your profitability by $225,000.

Dura-Bar vs Steel
The unique continuous casting process used to produce Dura-Bar yields a number of cost-saving advantages for manufacturers of metal components without sacrificing material strength. Dura-Bar 65-45-12 and 80-55-06 have similar, or better, mechanical properties than common grades of steel.

In situations where producing a component requires a high degree of turning, milling, drilling, and/or tapping, using Dura-Bar will result in dramatic savings in machining costs. The chart to the right shows the machinability rating of grades of Dura-Bar versus Steel.

There are several other advantages of choosing Dura-Bar over Steel including:

• Tool life is often up to 2 times longer at 800 SFM
• Comparable mechanical properties, before and after heat treat
• Dura-Bar is 8% lighter by density and has superior vibration damping properties
• Superior wear resistance

The Dura-Bar advantage is the ability to machine at higher speeds without negatively impacting tool life. The chart below shows Dura-Bar's wear rate compared to common grades of steel.

Dura-Bar vs Castings
Dura-Bar has several advantages versus castings such as:

• Continuous casting process eliminates defects typically found in sand castings
  
• Dense fine-grained microstructure
• Superior surface finish
• No pattern or tooling costs
• Over 500 sizes available from inventory
• Minimal carbides
• Zero-Defect Guarantee

Dura-Bar's Zero Defect Guarantee
Dura-Bar continuous cast iron is a high quality alternative to castings. With Dura-Bar there are no defects like those typically found in castings - e.g., porosity, slag, hard sports, shrinkage, etc. In fact, Dura-Bar comes with a unique Zero Defect Guarantee that not only provides for the replacement of any defective material, but also for reimbursement of costs involved with machining it.
Follow the link for a complete description of the Zero Defect Guarantee.

Dura-Bar vs Aluminum
Dura-Bar has several advantages versus Aluminum such as:

• Higher fatigue strength
• Higher elastic modulus (under the same load aluminum will deflect and distort more than twice as much as 65-45-12)
• Little or no deburring required

Tough Under Pressure
In high-pressure hydraulic applications, Dura-Bar consistently outperforms aluminum. Aluminum is generally not used in pressure applications greater than 3,000 psi.
In contrast, Dura-Bar ductile iron has been pressure rated to 6,500 psi ( Rated in accordance with NFPA T2.6.1) Therefore, a manifold produced from Dura-Bar can operate at much higher pressures than an aluminum manifold with the same design. As systems get smaller, with thinner wall sections, Dura-Bar's higher pressure rating versus aluminum makes for an easy material selection in pressure containing applications.

Material Properties of Ductile vs. Aluminum

Material	6061-T6	2024-T3	65-45-12
Hardness	95	120	180
Tensile Strength (psi)	45,000	70,000	65,000
Yield Strength (psi)	40,000	50,000	45,000
Elongation (%)	12	19	12
Elastic Modulus (psi)	10,000,000	10,600,000	25,000,000
Fatigue Strength (psi)	14,000	20,000	40,000
Density (lbs/in 3)	0.098	0.100	0.255
Thermal Expansion (micro-in/in/°F)	13.1	12.9	5.5