When designing and creating a new metal component, investment casting is always first considered because of its high precision, less material waster, free dimensions and low production cost. But it does not mean investment casting is almighty. It can not guarantee closer tolerances in some cases, but can be assistant by the job of machining. Machining is an individual job to ensure accuracy of products. Normal machining formats are machining from investment castings, machining from sand castings, machining from die castings, machining from forgings, and machining from bars, etc.
As the manufacturer of investment castings, here we would like to talk about machining for investment castings.
So, what is machining of investment castings?
Machining is the process used to cut and manipulate raw material ( investment casting blanks) for a finished product. It is a great way to ensure precision for unique shapes. Metalworkers use cutting, drilling, forming, grinding, and more to create final machined investment castings that is durable and accurate details.
Machining Operations of Investment Castings
There are many kinds of cnc machining operations, each of which is capable of generating a certain part geometry and surface texture.
In turning, a cutting tool with a single cutting edge is used to remove material from a rotating investment casting part to generate a cylindrical shape. The primary motion is provided by rotating the product, and the feed motion is achieved by moving the cutting tool slowly in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the investment casting part.
Drilling is used to create a round hole. It is accomplished by a rotating tool that typically has two or four helical cutting edges. The tool is fed in a direction parallel to its axis of rotation into the investment castings to form the round hole.
In boring, a tool with a single bent pointed tip is advanced into a roughly made hole in a spinning investment casting part to slightly enlarge the hole and improve its accuracy. It is a fine finishing operation used in the final stages of product manufacture.
Reaming is one of the sizing operations that removes a small amount of metal from a hole already drilled.
In milling, a rotating tool with multiple cutting edges is moved slowly relative to the material to generate a plane or straight surface. The direction of the feed motion is perpendicular to the tool’s axis of rotation. The speed motion is provided by the rotating milling cutter.
There are also other conventional machining operations. For high precision dimensions and tolerances, the investment castings could only be machined by CNC, whose cost is high.
Why Machining for Investment Castings?
One of the main advantages of machining is its precision. If the tolerances for dimension and size are too tight for the investment casting process, the feature or hole must be machined. Various casting processes feature differing capabilities for achieving certain tolerances.
Machining also provides a nicer surface finish, which is important in applications when the part is meant to create a seal with another component or assembly. Machining becomes expensive, however, when multiple fixtures and jigs must be designed and produced to machine different planes of a part. Additional time also is needed to change the machine setup for each plane to be machined. Casting in the feature eliminates the secondary machining cost.
Single machining will add extra production time and cost. If machining can fulfill all the needs of applications, the additional cost to do so is negligible.
Application of Machined Investment Castings
Investment casting is used in almost all the industries (agriculture, mining, medical, aerospace, pump & valve, etc) to create a variety of components. Machined investment casting includes the process of machining the component after it has been manufactured in order to have it delivered to the company’s exact specifications. In these types of industries, it is important to ensure that any exact measurements are achieved in machined investment casting, and CFS has the experience and authority to provide this service and product to you. As a professional company for both investment casting and machining in China, we are always equipped and experienced in delivering high quality machined investment castings at competitive prices. If you need machined castings for your next project, we are here to help! Contact us today!
