Conversion from forged steel to ADI for a railroad brake lever

High performance without compromise: the winning balance of durability, weight, and cost with the ADI 800-10

Lighter, stronger, and more efficient railway components

In the rail industry, structural and safety components—such as those in braking systems—must ensure maximum reliability and operational efficiency while keeping production and maintenance costs under control; for this reason, material selection is a strategic consideration.

This case study describes the performance and cost benefits of a brake lever made of adi 800-10 austempered spheroidal cast iron, originally manufactured from forged steel and intended for a next-generation railway braking system.

Application

Installed within the brake assembly, this component performs an essential structural function: it absorbs, distributes, and transmits the loads generated during braking. The brake lever is therefore designed to operate under high mechanical stresses, repeated dynamic loads, and continuous braking cycles: its reliability directly affects the overall performance of the braking system and the operational continuity of the rail vehicle.

The Challenge

The customer was looking for a solution capable of ensuring high mechanical performance, reducing the component’s weight, and optimizing production costs compared to the traditional forged steel design.

The optimization requirements for the component focused, on the one hand, on mechanical performance and, on the other, on cost containment.

Specifically:

  • resistance to static and dynamic loads;
  • fatigue behavior and long-term stability;
  • greater design freedom in creating complex geometries;
  • flexibility and cost-effectiveness of the production process, with low initial investment costs

The Benefits of Upgrading to the ADI 800-10

Replacing forged steel with austempered cast iron affects the component’s performance, the production cycle cost, and the design flexibility of the entire component.

Mechanical Characteristics

The ausferritic microstructure of ADI ensures excellent fatigue performance, helping to extend the service life of brake levers, clutch wedges, and brake system components.

In addition, ADI offers high mechanical strength, enabling the component to safely withstand the loads and stresses characteristic of the most advanced railway braking systems.

Reduced production costs

Fusion technology makes it possible to produce near-net-shape components, significantly reducing the need for machining compared to forged parts.

This results in shorter processing times, less material removal, and, overall, greater production efficiency.

Design Efficiency

Casting makes it possible to integrate geometries into a single piece that, if forged, would require multiple components or subsequent assembly steps.

The benefits are:

  • reduction in the number of parts;
  • lower assembly costs;
  • reduction in inspection activities;
  • greater system reliability.

Lower investment costs

The production of components using ADI generally requires lower initial investments than forging processes, offering greater competitiveness, especially in medium-volume production.

Weight Reduction

Compared to traditional steel solutions, the use of austempered cast iron allows for lighter components with the same performance. This advantage contributes to the overall optimization of the rail vehicle.

The Solution: From Forging to ADI, with Support from Zanardi Fonderie

Thanks to its metallurgical and application expertise in the railway sector, Zanardi Fonderie worked closely with the customer to evaluate the most suitable material, analyzing operating conditions, load requirements, and weight-reduction and cost-saving objectives. This process led to the selection of ADI 800-10 austempered spheroidal graphite cast iron, identified as the most effective solution for simultaneously meeting both performance and economic requirements.

ADI austempered spheroidal graphite cast iron is one of the most advanced metallurgical solutions available today for structural applications. Thanks to the austempering treatment, the material develops a unique ausferritic microstructure that provides an excellent combination of strength, toughness, and fatigue behavior.

These characteristics made it possible to successfully convert the component from a forged part to an ADI part, while maintaining the performance required by the railway application and, at the same time, achieving significant benefits in terms of weight reduction, production simplification, and cost savings.

The decision to use ADI was therefore not merely a matter of replacing the material, but a genuine opportunity to optimize the component.

Thanks to casting technology, it has been possible to take full advantage of the design flexibility offered by cast iron, reducing machining and production costs compared to a traditional forged solution.

Furthermore, Zanardi Fonderie’s metallurgical expertise and complete control over the production chain ensure consistent mechanical properties, high quality standards, and full compliance with the stringent specifications required by the international railway industry.

The result

This case study confirms the value of ADI in safety component applications, where operational reliability, fatigue resistance, and weight optimization are key factors.

Case History

Real cases explaining the development of client projects