Investment Casting

Investment Casting, also known as Lost Wax Casting, is a precision casting process that provides design flexibility and significant cost advantages.

The Investment Casting process involves pouring molten metal into a mold that has been created using a wax model. Once the mold is made, the wax model is melted and drained away. Hollow cores can be affected by using a heat-proof core that prevents the molten metal from totally filling the mold.

Investment Casting is generally used for small castings, though it can be used to produce much larger components.

Dimensional tolerances of ± 0.003 in./in. are readily achieved with the investment casting method.

Delicate parts with walls as thin as 0.025 in. can be created by utilizing investment casting.

There are several advantages of using investment casting to get the part you designed. One such advantage is the ability to make more intricate forms—even forms with undercuts. Also, the investment casting process leaves a very smooth surface, which is created without a parting line—something that would be unavoidable in other processes.

The accuracy of investment casting is second to none. Even parts with the higher precision can be casted with little to no machining or detailing required. And since the finished piece will need no welding or assembling, you save on time and cost that would be required using other methods.

With new alloys developed that allow for more complex parts to be cast, the process of combining several parts together to get the intricate shape can be eliminated. This not only saves time and money, but it also diminishes the chances that an error could occur while combining the parts.

One of the biggest advantages of investment casting is that it is possible to produce a very wide variety of products across different industries.