When riding a horse, stirrup is one of the common piece of equipment needed. Stirrups are supports for the rider’s feet that hang down on either side of the saddle. They provide greater stability for the rider but can have safety concerns due to the potential for a rider’s feet to get stuck in them. If a rider is thrown from a horse but has a foot caught in the stirrup, they could be dragged if the horse runs away.
There are two kinds of metals considered to produce horse stirrups, one is stainless steel, and the other is aluminum. Aluminium and Stainless steel may look pretty similar, but they have some fundamental differences. Stainless steel stirrups takes the advantage here as it has chromium added, giving it a protective film and excellent corrosion resistance. Stainless steel is also non-porous, giving it an extra level of corrosion resistance. Besides, stainless steel stirrup is much stronger than aluminium stirrup. All these advantages make stainless steel stirrups popular in horse riding. But due to the light weight of aluminum stirrups, stainless steel stirrups are more expensive.
From the market, we can see different types of stirrups designed and sold, such as safety stirrups, westen stirrups, english stirrups, etc. Then, how stainless steel horse stirrups are made? Investment casting is the right process. Investment casting is a manufacturing process in which a wax pattern is coated with a refractory ceramic material. … The wax is melted out and molten metal is poured into the cavity where the wax pattern was. The metal solidifies within the ceramic mold and then the metal casting is broken out. Investment casting has many advantages over other methods and provides highly detailed parts loyal to their molds.
Advantages of stainless steel investment casting for horse stirrups:
- Allows for the casting of horse stirrups with different shapes, good size accuracy and surface finish.
- Can cast very thin (~0.015 in) sections with incredibly low tolerances (~0.003 in).
- Allows for the use of almost any stainless steel grade (304, 316, 17-4, 2205, etc), capable of investment casting.
- The investment casting process can be automated, generating a huge amount of stainless steel stirrups quickly.
CFS Foundry has rich experience in investment casting of stainless steel horse stirrups. We have tried casting of different stainless steel grades include: CG8M, 17-4ph and 2205. By actual testing, the strength of 2205 duplex stainless steel is the best. In addition, the post treatment (mirror polishing) is required to achieve a good surface finish. CFS can supply investment casting and mirror polishing services for stainless steel stirrup companies. If you are sourcing China manufacturer for stainless steel casting stirrup, welcome to send us your design!
