Investment casting is an industrial process used to create metal parts with fine detail. A master model is made from wax, wood, or foam and converted into a mold. The mold is filled with molten metal and the finished product is recovered by destroying the coating mold.
Also known as investment casting, investment casting is an industrial process used to create metal parts with great detail that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with other casting methods. Investment casting uses a model that is destroyed as part of the process, thus realizing an investment in the finished product. This process is the oldest known casting process used by man and the original investment casting patterns were made using beeswax.
Investment casting is one of the most basic metal forming techniques. It’s a multi-step process that provides fine detail at a reasonable cost. The cost of investment casting equipment is considered minimal, compared to other forms of whole mold casting or die casting.
In investment casting, a master model is created using wax, wood, foam, or other materials. The master model is essentially a prototype of the part to be made. This master pattern is then converted into a mold, or die, which could be made from metal, steel, wood, or rubber.
After the mold is made, wax is poured into it to create the wax patterns and left to cool. After cooling, the wax patterns are assembled in preparation for casting. During this stage, the wax models can also be chiseled and finished, removing burrs and any other imperfections on the surface of the model using a heated tool.
The investment, a ceramic mold that will be destroyed after casting, is created by dipping the wax model into the investment medium or by placing the wax model in a flask and pouring the investment material around it. The investment is then allowed to dry and harden before being dewaxed, subjected to a calcination process and preheated for the casting process. The calcination process subjects the investment to extreme heat which will remove any moisture or wax residue that could interfere with the casting process. Preheating heats the investment mold in preparation for the casting process so that the molten metal stays in its liquid form longer and fills any small detailed areas.
The next step in investment casting is to pour the molten metal into the investment mold. The mold is placed, cup side up, in a vat of sand and then filled with molten metal. The stream of this metal is typically gravity-fed, but could be pressurized in cases where thin sections of the die make gravity-fed pouring ineffective.
After the metal and coating mold have been allowed to cool, the finished product is recovered. This is done by destroying the coating mold using one of several means. Common methods of destroying the coating mold are hammering, sandblasting, high pressure washing, vibration, and chemical baths which dissolve the coating mold.
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