Valve body, also know as the shell, is the primary componet of a valve. It serves as the principal element of a valve assembly because it is the framework that holds everything together.
Most of the valve bodies are casted in stainless steel. Valve body made in stainless steel is especially tough and corrosion resistant, which is a good choice for high pressure and temperature situations.
316 stainless steel casting of valve body is more corrosion resistant because it has more nickel and also contains molybdenum. This combination of iron, nickel and molybdenum make the valves especially resistant to chlorides and very useful in marine environments.
Investment Casting Process
The valve bodies in CFS Foundry are produced by stainless steel investment casting process. Investment casting of stainless steel valve bodies can ensure higher size accuracy, smoother surface finish and less casting defects compared to sand casting process. The following are the main steps of investment casting stainless steel valve bodies:
Creating a mold: Once the design is confirmed, mold is designed and manufactured according to the drawing’s specification. Note that sometimes, the mold could not be modified, so it is important to confirm the design of the valve body before manufacturing.
Producing wax patterns: Molten wax is injected into the mold to form wax patterns, which have the same shape as the desired valve body. This can be repeated to make copies of the original design.
Assembling the wax pattern: Sprues are added to the wax copies and they’re connected to create a tree-like structure, which provides paths for the molten wax to flow out and molten metal to fill the cavity later.
Applying investment materials: The wax tree is either dipped into a slurry of silica, or put into a flask and surrounded by the liquid investment plaster.
Burnout: After the investment material dries, the flask is placed upside down into a kiln, which melts the wax leaving a negative cavity in the shape of the original model.
Pouring: The investment mold is further heated in a kiln to reduce the temperature difference with the molten metal. Metal is melted and then poured, using gravity or vacuum pressure to pull the metal into the cavity.
Devesting: Once the molten metal has cooled somewhat, the investment mold is quenched in water to dissolve the refractory plaster and release the rough casting. The sprues are cut off and recycled, while the casted stainless steel bodies are cleaned up to remove signs of the casting process.
Finishing: The casted valve bodies are machined, or sand blasted to achieve final geometry and surface finish. Where necessary, the cast valve bodies are also heat-treated to enhance the mechanical properties.
Stainless Steel Casting Advantages of Valve Bodies
Durability
Stainless steel casting can produce reliable and durable valve bodies. Stainless steel 316 valve bodies can be used at any temperature and will not cause any quality issue when operating in either hot or cold conditions. If a company wants to purchase high-quality valve bodies, cast stainless steel can guarantee good quality for a long time.
High-Pressure Resistance
When you need valve bodies that operate under high strain, stainless steel casting is the best way to go. Since cast stainless steel is strong and durable, valve bodies made of this material can withstand the pressure that would break or crack the valve bodies made of other materials. For very high pressure, cast stainless steel valve bodies may be the only part that are designed to be able to bear the pressure without damage.
Free From Corrosion
Valve bodies made from stainless steel investment casting process are not prone to rust or corrosion. This makes the use of stainless steel valve bodies the better option for industrial applications where the conditions may cause the metal to rust or corrode quickly. Although plastic valve bodies are also not susceptible to rust or corrosion, they do not have the strength, reliability or high-pressure tolerance of cast stainless steel.
No Leaking
Cast stainless steel valves, even under high pressure or under extreme temperature conditions, do not leak. Leak-free stainless steel valve bodies could be customized according to any specification you want. ,so choosing the right stainless steel foundry with good casting experience is extremely important.
CFS Foundry can produce cast stainless steel valve bodies for different types of valves, including ball valves, globe valves, safety valves, gate valves, butterfly valves, regulating valves, check valves, etc. Besides valve body, we can also cast other valve components according to your demands. Just pls contact our stainless steel foundry once there is any project on stainless steel casting.
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