Steel investment casting is a one of the oldest metal-forming techniques, dating back to the times of the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Harappans in India. Original investment casting techniques were performed using beeswax and clay, but today’s investment casting manufacturers use more sophisticated techniques to create smooth, intricate forms in less time. One of the most significant advances in investment casting is the creation of rapid drying chambers. These chambers reduce the time it takes to complete the layering process, which used to take several days. Because the new drying chambers allow the investment casting manufacturer to create layered…
Steel Investment Casting & the Modernization of the Lost Wax Process
Steel investment casting, also called lost-wax casting, uses techniques that date back over five millennia to make complicated metal objects like turbine blades, firearms, golf club heads and implants for hip replacements. Ancient Civilizations Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that ancient civilizations used investment casting to make jewelry, idols and ornaments using beeswax, clay and manually operated bellows. Such cultures – like those in the Egyptian, Aztec, Mayan, Harappan, Mesopotamian and Benin civilizations – often used gold, bronze and copper. In 1100 A.D., Theophilus Presbyter, a monk, created written accounts of the investment casting process he used. Italian artist Benevenuto Vellini…
Top Investment Casting Applications: Aerospace & Power Generation Industries
Investment casting is one of the oldest types of metal-forming techniques, used in Egypt thousands of years ago to make gold jewelry. The technique, which involves using a wax or foam mold to create complicated shapes that require only minor machining and minimal surface finishing, is still commonly used today. How Investment Casting Works Investment casting manufacturers first make a master pattern out of plastic, wood, clay, metal or wax before crafting a mold, or master die. The manufacturer then uses the mold to make wax patterns that get assembled. Once complete, the wax patterns are then used to make…
