<p>The characterization of a modified ductile iron through controlled additions of Cr, Nb, V, and W shows that these additions promote the formation of small, well-dispersed, and non-elongated carbides in a predominantly pearlitic microstructure to improve hardness by up to 40%. Conversely, with other studies in the literature where carbides are formed in interdendritic regions with an elongated shape, the appropriate control of the chemical composition, melting, and solidification process in this study allowed the formation of a small amount of carbides of high hardness during the initial stages of solidification and eutectic reaction, resulting in a good distribution of particles of regular shape with an average size of 3.5&#xa0;cm. The reinforcing carbides and increased pearlite content contributed to the increase in hardness. Alloying produced a reduction in about 12% of nodularity and nodule count, but the small negative impact on ductility is justified by the considerable increase in hardness.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>