The Investment Casting Process

Here is a simple video slide show to takes us through the investment casting process. The steps of investment casting outlined in this video are:

• Wax pattern mold making
• Wax pattern injection molding
• Assembly of wax patterns to form a tree
• The application of ceramic slurry and sand layers to build up the casting mold shell
• Dewaxing of the casting mold shells by heating them in a steam autoclave
• A high temperature burnout of the remaining wax along with curing of the casting mold shell
• Firing the casting mold shells to heat them prior to casting to eliminate thermal shock from the molten metal
• Pouring of the molten metal into the casting mold shells
• Initial shell removal from the casting through tapping the running system with a hammer or vibrating the casting
• Final shell removal through high pressure water jets
• Cut off of the gates and risers followed by gate grinding and further hand finishing
• Heat treatment to improve the properties of the alloy
• Sand or bead blast finishing
• Fluorescent penetrate and X-ray inspection of the casting
• Tensile testing of the material using test bars cast with the parts
• Spectrometer testing of the chemistry of the cast material
• Dimensional inspection
• Secondary machining of the casting if required by the customer