Cast carbon steel is the group of the cast steel with carbon as the main alloying element and a small amount of other elements. Cast carbon steel can be divided into cast low carbon steel, cast medium carbon steel and cast high carbon steel. The carbon content of cast low carbon steel is less than 0.25%, the carbon content of cast carbon steel is between 0.25% and 0.60%, and the carbon content of cast high carbon steel is between 0.6% and 3.0%.

The strength and hardness of cast carbon steel increase with the increase of carbon content. Cast carbon steel has the following advantages: lower production cost, higher strength, better toughness and higher plasticity.

Carbon steel castings could be used for bear heavy loads, such as steel rolling mill stands and hydraulic press bases in heavy machinery. It can also be used to manufacture parts that are subject to large forces and impact, such as wheels, couplers, bolsters and side frames on railway vehicles.

Performance Characteristics of Carbon Steel Castings

• Poor fluidity and volume shrinkage and linear shrinkage are relatively large
• Comprehensive mechanical properties are relatively high. Compressive strength and tensile strength are equal
• Poor shock absorption and high notch sensitivity
• Low carbon steel castings have relatively good weldability.

Structural Characteristics of Carbon Steel Castings

• The minimum wall thickness of carbon steel castings should be greater than the minimum wall thickness of gray cast iron. It is not suitable to design too complex castings
• Carbon steel castings have relatively large internal stress and are easy to bend and deform
• The structure should minimize hot nodes and conditions for sequential solidification should be created
• The fillet of the connecting wall and the transition section of different thickness are larger than those of cast iron
• Complicated castings can be designed into a casting + welding structure to facilitate casting production