Haoyang Forging Successfully Overcomes "Hardness and Toughness" Issues and Successfully Produces Dual-Metal Composite Steel Balls for Mass Production
Jinan Haoyang Forging & Casting Co., Ltd. recently announced that the "bimetallic composite forging steel ball" jointly developed by the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shandong University has achieved large-scale production, marking that China's manufacturing technology for wear-resistant steel balls has reached the international leading level. This product, through the gradient material composite process, perfectly combines the hardness of the outer layer high-chromium alloy (HRC 62-65) with the toughness of the inner layer low-carbon steel (impact toughness ≥ 12J/cm²), solving the industry pain point of traditional steel balls being "hard but brittle, and tough but soft".
According to the head of the R&D team, this technology employs a dual-process approach of "centrifugal casting and isothermal quenching", combining high-temperature melting at 1600℃ with precise temperature control for cooling. This process enables the steel balls to form a 200μm ultra-fine grain structure. After being verified by the National Metal Materials Testing Center, the product's wear resistance has been enhanced by 80% compared to ordinary forged steel balls. In an industrial trial at a large gold mine, it achieved continuous operation for 1800 hours without any fractures, setting a new record for the service life of similar products. Currently, five related technologies have applied for patents, among which "the method for controlling the gradient solidification of metal liquid" has won the Excellent Patent Award of China.
To ensure the stability of mass production, the company invested 120 million yuan to build an intelligent production line, equipped with precision detection equipment such as German Spiegal direct reading spectrometer and fully automatic Brinell hardness tester, enabling a 36-step quality control process from raw materials to finished products for full traceability. "We have established a material database, which can intelligently match the steel ball composition formula based on customer parameters such as ore hardness and grinding medium conditions," said Mr. Wang, the technical director. This product has passed the certifications of international mining giants such as BHP Billiton of Australia and Vale of Brazil, and the order schedule has been extended to the first quarter of 2026.
