Intelligent Manufacturing Upgrades To promote high-quality industrial development, Ningyang County leads with the digital economy and vigorously promotes the digital transformation of the steel ball industry. A local investment of 15 million yuan has been made to build the "Steel Ball Industry Brain," using technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things to construct three major systems: digital empowerment, intelligent operation, and industrial ecology, achieving rapid order response and efficient production organization. At the same time, service providers such as CITIC Cloud Network and Inspur Industry have been introduced, launching the "Cloud Connected Steel Balls" digital economy headquarters project, creating a dedicated "Industrial Taobao," opening up raw material procurement and product sales channels, and helping enterprises "buy globally and sell globally." In addition, the region has built the first fully intelligent digital production line in China, and newly installed AGV intelligent logistics and WMS intelligent warehousing systems. This can save 6 million yuan in labor and handling costs annually.

In 2025, the performance breakthrough of the forged steel balls produced by Haoyang in Jinan, Shandong Province, is not only a model of the integration of materials science and intelligent manufacturing technology, but also marks a crucial leap for China's forging industry from "scale expansion" to "quality leadership". The industrialization implementation of its technological achievements will reshape the global wear-resistant material market landscape, provide core foundation components support for the high-end equipment manufacturing industry, and demonstrate significant economic value and strategic significance.

Forged steel balls and cast balls are two of the core media in the industrial grinding field, and their processes and performance differ significantly. Forged steel balls are made of low-carbon alloys, high-manganese steel, or rare earth chromium-molybdenum alloys, and are formed through heating and forging. They have the characteristics of smooth surfaces, strong impact resistance, and high toughness, with a breakage rate of less than 1%. They have excellent wear resistance and are particularly suitable for wet grinding environments in mines and power plants. Their prices are economical and are widely adopted by international giants such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Cast balls are made from low-chromium, medium-chromium, or high-chromium cast iron and are formed by pouring. Although high-chromium cast balls have high hardness (HRC 60+) and excellent wear resistance, their toughness is poor. Balls with a diameter over 3 meters are prone to cracking in ball mills, and their costs are higher. They are mostly used in dry ball mills in the cement industry. The core difference between the two lies in: The forging process optimizes the metal flow structure, and the anti-cracking performance of forged steel balls is 5-10 times that of cast balls. However, cast balls rely on increasing chromium content to enhance wear resistance, but at the expense of corrosion resistance. When selecting, it is necessary to consider the working conditions (dry/wet grinding, equipment scale), cost, and performance requirements. For example, large mines prefer forged steel balls, while cement plants tend to use high-chromium cast balls.

Jinan Haoyang Casting and Forging Co., Ltd. specializes in the research, development and production of castings, forgings and steel balls. It is a high-tech enterprise in the industry. Its core product, forged steel balls, is made of B2/B3 materials from mine forging and hot rolling steel, featuring wear resistance and anti-cracking properties. They are widely used in cement plants, power plants, mineral processing and other fields. The company relies on advanced casting and forging equipment and ISO9001:2000 quality system certification to ensure stable product quality. The products are not only popular in the domestic market but also exported to the United States. With convenient transportation (close to Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport and multiple highways) and long-term order advantages, it gradually expands the global market. Currently, the company's registered capital is 10 million yuan, with 4 insured personnel. It continues to adhere to the principle of "customer first" to promote technological upgrading and service optimization in the industry. Let's rephrase this summary.

Summary of Challenges and Development Opportunities in the Forged Steel Ball Industry Currently, the forged steel ball industry is under the dual pressures of intense market competition and fluctuating demand. Small and medium-sized mines have reduced production due to environmental protection and the industry's downturn, resulting in a decline in steel ball demand. Large enterprises have lowered prices in bidding and procurement, and the accumulation of inventory by some enterprises has pushed the industry into a price war quagmire. In the next two years, there may be a wave of business closures or transformation among enterprises. To break through the predicament, enterprises have taken multiple measures: First, they have established joint ventures with large mines to optimize resource collaboration; second, they have laid out forging and hot rolling production lines in steel mills to expand high-value-added products; third, they have enhanced competitiveness through technological innovation, such as Guangping County Steel Nu New Materials Company developing an intelligent production line, which has increased production efficiency by 1.5 times, and has collaborated with several universities to develop wear-resistant new materials. It is expected to launch new energy-saving and consumption-reducing products in September. Furthermore, the enterprise is actively expanding its overseas market. The export proportion of Shangnu Company's products reaches 85%, covering more than 20 countries. This year, it has received orders from countries such as Chile and Poland, and the production schedule is extended until the end of June. Despite the severe challenges in the industry, through technological upgrading, cooperation transformation and international layout, the forging steel ball industry is expected to achieve high-quality development.

Jinan Haoyang Casting and Forging: A Rising Star in the Cast and Forged Steel Ball Industry Jinan Haoyang Casting and Forging Co., Ltd., established in 2011, is located in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City. Led by its legal representative, Chen Jinfu, with a team of less than 50 people, the company has rapidly grown into a new benchmark in the cast and forged steel ball sector, thanks to its outstanding product quality and technological innovation capabilities. The company mainly produces various types of products such as wear-resistant steel balls, power plant steel balls, and mining steel balls, catering to high-demand industries like cement, metallurgy, and mining. Relying on 15 patented technologies and a strict quality control system, its products excel in core indicators such as hardness and wear resistance. Through three bidding projects, it has built a solid market reputation and expanded into overseas markets with its import and export qualifications, achieving a dual domestic and international business layout. Currently, the company holds two qualification certificates and one administrative license, demonstrating its compliance and operational strength. In the future, the enterprise will continue to focus on technological research and development, optimize product performance, deepen market cooperation both domestically and internationally, and strive to become an innovation leader in the industry.

Jinan Haoyang Forging & Casting Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City. It is a medium-sized manufacturing enterprise specializing in the production of steel bars and wear-resistant steel balls. Although the company has less than 50 employees, it has gained market recognition for its core products such as high-hardness forging steel balls, mining beneficiation steel balls, and steel balls for ball mills in cement plants. Its steel bars are widely used in the mining, cement, and power industries due to their excellent wear resistance and high strength. The transaction volume on Alibaba platform verifies the market demand. The company ensures product quality through a complete quality management system and holds 15 patents, 1 trademark, and multiple qualification certificates, demonstrating its technical strength. In the future, the enterprise plans to continuously increase investment in research and development, optimize product performance, expand applications in multiple industries, and contribute to the upgrading of the manufacturing industry.

Jinan Haoyang Forging & Casting Co., Ltd. has recently made a significant breakthrough in the field of hot-rolled grinding balls. Since its establishment in 2011, the company has been dedicated to the research and development of wear-resistant materials. This time, by optimizing the alloy element ratio and combining advanced casting and forging equipment with detection technology, the company successfully enhanced the product performance. Its new generation of hot-rolled grinding balls has advantages such as high uniformity of hardness (deviation ≤ 3%), a loss round rate lower than 0.8%, and a 15% increase in wear resistance. It can help users reduce production costs by approximately 5%. Currently, the products have been widely used in industrial scenarios such as mining crushing, thermal power generation, and cement and building materials, and have served over 200 customers cumulatively. With its continuous innovation capabilities, the company has formed a core technology barrier in the field of wear-resistant materials. In the future, it will promote the upgrading of industry technical standards and help the manufacturing industry reduce costs and increase efficiency.

High-chromium cast balls: A revolutionary force in industrial wear-resistant applications High-chromium cast balls, with their unique performance advantages, are becoming a significant force of innovation in the industrial wear-resistant field. This material forms a composite structure of martensitic matrix and chromium carbide hard phase through high chromium content, demonstrating a hardness of up to 60-65HRC, excellent impact toughness, and a wear rate that is 30%-50% lower than traditional materials. In the mining industry, it significantly boosts the efficiency of crushers by over 20%, and increases the recovery rate of concentrate by 5%-8%; in the cement production field, it can enhance the capacity of mills by 15%-25%, and increase the specific surface area of cement by 10%-15%. In recent years, innovations such as directional solidification technology and vacuum degassing processes have significantly improved the purity and microstructure uniformity of the material. Faced with increasingly strict environmental protection regulations, the industry is accelerating the research and development of low-chromium and environmentally friendly formulas, promoting electric furnace smelting + waste heat recovery systems, and reducing the energy consumption per unit product by more than 18%. In the future, through technological breakthroughs such as nano-modification and intelligent casting, it will achieve dual upgrades in performance and environmental protection, continuously providing green solutions for the industrial wear-resistant field.

Forged steel balls are wear-resistant grinding media produced through a high-temperature deformation process. Their production process mainly consists of two methods: rotary cutting roll forging and hammering. In terms of material selection, special alloy steels such as 60Mn, 65Mn or B2 are often used. After heating the steel rods to 1000-1100℃ in a medium-frequency heating furnace, they are deformed by an air hammer or roll forging machine to form the initial spheres 139. The forged steel balls need to undergo quenching and tempering treatment to achieve a surface hardness of HRC 56-67, with uniform hardness gradient both inside and outside, and possessing high wear resistance and impact toughness (impact value ≥ 12J/cm²), with a breakage rate of less than 1%. Compared to cast steel balls, forged steel balls have advantages such as smooth surface, dense structure, and low out-of-round rate (≤ 2%). Their service life can reach 2-5 times that of cast balls, and are particularly suitable for wet grinding environments in large-scale mines and cement plants 2410. The production equipment is trending towards automation, with energy consumption reduced by 30%-50%, resulting in significant cost benefits and becoming an ideal substitute for high-chromium cast balls 15. Currently, they are mainly used in large-scale grinding scenarios with a diameter of 110mm or above, and global mining giants such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have widely adopted them 89.