1. What is Precision Investment Casting
Precision investment casting is also called lost wax casting. It refers to the general term for the process of obtaining precision dimensional castings. Compared with the traditional metal casting process, the castings obtained by precision casting are more accurate in size and have a better surface finish. Its products are precise, complex and close to the final shape of the part. Can be used directly without processing or processing. It is an excellent process technology in the foundry industry, and its application is very extensive.
2. What Are the Process Flow of Precision Investment Casting?
Here are the steps of the entire precision investment casting process at besser foundry:
1. Tooling Making
To achieve precision products, making molds is the first step in starting precision investment casting. According to the drawings, our engineers will complete the mold design.
2. Wax Injection and Pattern Assembly
Begin making a wax model, which is obtained by injecting wax into the model. Wax is injected by machine. Finally hang these pattern components to dry at room temperature.
3. Wax Pattern Assembly
The wax patterns are assembled onto the runner. The sprue, runner, and wax patterns are referred to as a tree.
4. Dewax
The wax inside the newly built shell is now removed. Dewaxing is done using a steam-dewaxing autoclave or flash fire furnace.
5. Casting
Casting is the key step in the whole investment casting process. After dewax, we will first melt the steel ingots into liquid status, and pour the liquid metal into the sprue, then cool it under room temperature for a while.
6. Knock out
Break the ceramic shell, and cut the individual investment castings from the sprue. Finally remove the excess metal from casting body by grinding.
7. Heat Treatment
To improve the mechanical properties of casting blanks, heat treatment is usually done after finishing castings. The main heat treatment processes are Normalizing, tempering, annealing, hardening, tempering, carburizing, etc.
8. Shot Blasting/Sand Blasting
To remove scales and achieve better surface finish, investment castings will be shot blasted or sand blasted by small steel balls.
9. Surface Treatments
To protect products from rusting, castings will be dipped into anti-rust water or oil. Of course, other surface treatments can also be performed in this step like paint spraying, galvanizing, ect.
10. Inspection
Inspection is also a necessary step for quality investment castings. Our engineer will do a dimensional inspection, 100% surface inspection, inner defects inspection, and other inspection jobs according to the requirements of the products.
3. What Are the Characteristics of Precision Investment Casting?
Precision casting has advantages and disadvantages, but the benefits of its advantages far outweigh its disadvantages.
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4. The Main Application of Precision Investment Casting
Precision investment casting has innumerable applications in a range of industries. We summarize some of them below.
- Energy: The energy sector has a very specific use for this manufacturing technique. Wind turbine blades are huge, weigh tons, and require superior strength and surface finish. This combination of qualities is an advantage of this method.
- Marine: Investment casting of metal parts is common in the marine industry. Strong, corrosion-resistant metallic panels for ships and submarines are manufactured with special alloys. Since this method is compatible with numerous metal alloys, it is well suitable for this application.
- Aerospace: This technique can manufacture crucial parts in aircraft engines and bodies owing to the requirements of complex geometries and strength.
- Medical: The ability to cast small parts with a superior surface finish puts this method at an advantage in the medical industry. Prosthetics, implants, and surgical equipment are some standard applications.
- Automotive: In the automotive industry, high-performance parts like drive train components, rocker arms, and power train elements are made.
5. What Are the Materials Suitable for Precision Investment Casting
In general, all ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be used to produce parts in the investment casting process.
- Stainless steel
- Carbon steel
- Tool steel
- Alloy steel
- Nickel alloy
- Cobalt
- Aluminum alloy
- Copper base alloy
- Ductile Iron
6. When to Use Precision Investment Casting
Precision investment casting is ideal for casting metal castings with complex shapes. He can cast metal parts weighing 75 pounds or more.
Precision investment casting is suitable for high volume orders, and the time and labor saved by eliminating or reducing secondary machining can easily make up for the cost of new tooling. Small batch production is unlikely to make up for the investment. Typically, for runs of 25 or more parts, investment casting is the logical choice.
7. China's Top Precision Investment Casting Factory
Besser is a leading investment casting manufacturer and supplier in China. Since 2002, Besser has specialized in precision investment casting with various surface finishes.
Widely supply all kinds of precision casting parts, such as architectural hardware, auto parts, mechanical products, pump valves, etc.
We develop various precision castings through stainless steel castings, carbon steel castings, alloy steel castings. Just send us your CAD or 3D drawings for a one-stop custom service.
We handle large and small orders, so if your requirements are on the low side, you don't need to be restricted. We ensure that orders of all sizes follow the same quality standards.