Investment Castings

The investment casting process, also known as the lost wax method has been in use for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians used this process to make ornate jewellery.

The process involves producing a wax facsimile of the required casting which today is made by injecting wax into an aluminium tool. As many waxes as possible are then attached to a wax tree which forms the running system.This is then dipped into a ceramic slip which coats the wax. This is allowed to dry and the process is repeated using different grades of ceramic. When complete the ceramic coated wax tree is heated very quickly so that the wax melts leaving a ceramic mould. This is then baked at 1000 deg.C the chosen metal is poured into the hot mould ensuring that the metal fills even the most inaccessible parts of the mould.

The advantages of this process include the ability to produce castings with fine detail and tight tolerances which can greatly reduce machining costs. Castings can be produced in almost any metal including stainless steels which cannot be diecast.

Investment Castings are available in:

  • Aluminium
  • Bronze
  • Stainless Steel
  • Carbon Steels
  • Brass
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