Iron ore
In cast iron sulfur promotes the formation of white iron. As little as 0.5% can counteract the effects of slow cooling and a high silicon content . White cast iron is more brittle, but also harder. It is generally avoided, because it is difficult to work, except in China where high sulfur cast iron, some as high as 0.57%, made with coal and coke, was used to make bells and chimes . According to , good foundry iron should have less than 0.15% sulfur. In the rest of the world a high sulfur cast iron can be used for making castings, but will make poor wrought iron.
Lost-foam casting
Commonly cast metals include cast irons, aluminium alloys, steels, and nickel alloys; less frequently stainless steels and copper alloys are also cast. The size range is from to several tonnes (tons). The minimum wall thickness is and there is no upper limit. Typical surface finishes are from 2.5 to 25 µm (100 to 1000 µin) RMS. Typical linear tolerances are ±0.005 mm/mm (0.005 in/in).