Meehanite

Meehanite is a trademark for an engineering process to make many types of cast iron. When a foundry advertises that produces "Meehanite Iron" this means the foundry is licensed by Meehanite Metal Corporation, initially of Chattanooga, Tennessee but now based in Mequon, Wisconsin. The Meehanite process includes a series of specific processing steps, which, when followed, will produce (according to Meehanite) cast iron with uniform soundness, consistent physical properties and dependable performance in service [1].

Meehanite metal specifications include a wide range of cast irons, including flake graphite types, ductile irons, austempered ductile irons, wear resistant irons, heat resistant irons and corrosion resistant types. Meehanite is not a specific alloy or material. While Meehanite lists all of these metal types in its grouping of specifications, all of these types of cast irons can and are made by non-Meehanite licensed foundries. Many of the types of engineering grades listed by Meehanite were discovered or developed by other companies.

Castings made by this method are used for example, to make machine tools and other types of castings. Some Meehanite alloys are designed for high corrosion resistance.

History

The Meehanite process was developed by Meehan and Smalley in the early 1920s.^[1] It was originally based on introducing calcium silicide into the melt to improve the mechanical and physical properties.^[2]

Relevant patents

U.S. Patent 1,790,552, issued to Augustus F. Meehan in January 1931, is the initial patent on the process. This patent concerned a technique to make 'grey iron castings' (Note: this is the spelling exactly as it appears in the patent).

The Meehanite Metal Corporation has a number of other patents^{[citation needed]} on machinery for adding the inoculant agents to melts of iron in a controlled manner.

References

1. ^ The Meehanite process, http://www.meehanite.org/_en/page6.php, retrieved 2009-12-02. 
2. ^ Gillespie, LaRoux K. (1988), Troubleshooting manufacturing processes (4th ed.), SME, p. 4-4, ISBN 9780872633261, http://books.google.com/books?id=SX_SO_CkiUIC&pg=PT195&lpg=PT195. 

Further reading

• Sharma, Chandra P (2004). Engineering Materials-Properties and Applications of Metal and Alloys: Properties and Applications of Metals and Alloys. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 812032448X.