Creating malleable iron was begun in the United States in 1826 when Seth Boyden started a foundry for the production of harness hardware and other small castings.
Castability, heat treating and post-casting operations
Like other similar irons with the carbon formed into spherical or nodular shapes, malleable iron exhibits good ductility. Incorrectly considered by some to be an "old" or "dead" material, malleable iron still has a legitimate place in the design engineer's toolbox. Malleable is a good choice for small castings or castings with thin cross sections (less than 0.25 inch).Other nodular irons produced with graphite in the spherical shape can be difficult to produce in these applications due to the formation of carbides from the check valve rapid cooling.Malleable iron also exhibits good fracture toughness properties in low temperature environments better than other nodular irons due to its lower silicon content. The ductile to brittle transformation temperature is lower than many other ductile iron alloys.