Key Points and Application Range of Investment Casting Technology

Brief Introduction of Investment Casting

Investment casting refers to the process of making a model with wax, wrapping it with a layer of refractory material such as clay, heating it to melt the wax and create an empty shell made of refractory material. molten metal is then poured into the empty shell, and after the metal has cooled, the refractory material is broken to obtain the metal mold. This method of processing metal is called precision casting, also known as Investment Casting or Lost Wax Casting. Relevant information can be found in vacuum investment casting process. Investment casting can produce complex castings of various alloys, especially high-temperature alloy castings. For example, the blades of jet engines have streamlined contours and cooling cavities, which can hardly be formed by mechanical processing.

Advantages of investment casting

Precision casting, also known as Investment Casting, has the following advantages compared with other castings like silica sol casting and component-forming methods:

The dimensional accuracy of the casting is high, the surface roughness is small, and the dimensional accuracy of the casting can reach 4 to 6 grades, and the surface roughness can reach 0.4 to 3.2 microns, which can greatly reduce the machining allowance of the casting and realize zero-allowance manufacturing, reducing production costs.
Investment Casting can cast shapes that are complex and difficult to process by other methods, with casting profiles ranging from a few millimeters to thousands of millimeters in size, with a minimum wall thickness of 0.5mm and a minimum aperture of<1.0mm.
Alloy materials are not restricted: such as carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, copper alloy, aluminum alloy, high-temperature alloy, titanium alloy, and precious metals can all be produced by precision casting. For alloy materials that are difficult to forge, weld and cut, precision casting is particularly suitable for production.
High production flexibility and strong adaptability. It can be used for large-scale production or small-batch and even single-piece production.

In summary, Investment Casting has the advantages of small investment scale, large production capacity, low production cost, simplified process for complex products, and quick investment returns. It enjoys a favorable position in competition with other processes and production methods.

Key points and scope of investment casting

Do not spray too much release agent on the mold cavity.
After establishing the circulation parameters of compression melting (wax) molds, do not easily change them.
Wax molds should be stored in a holding tray and separated from each other to avoid damage. When necessary, fixtures can be used to prevent deformation of the wax mold.
Be careful not to damage the mold surface during the correction process.

Investment casting has a wide range of applications, and just like semi solid die casting, precision casting is used in almost all industrial sectors, especially in the electronics, petroleum, chemical, energy, transportation, light industry, textiles, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, pump, and valve industries.

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