Stainless steel investment casting is a complex and hard working process that is a necessity for the creation of many stainless steel components with high size accuracy, from marine parts to golf club heads. Even though the investment casting process has a long history, the stainless steel casting process actually get improved since its original invention. With the exception of the types of equipments and supplies used to melt and shape the metal, the overall stainless steel investment casting process is still the same.
A typical investment casting process looks something like this:
Wax molding: Wax is injected into a metal mold in the same shape as the desired stainlesss steel part. The wax is then cooled and removed from the mold, leaving an exact representation of the product to be manufactured from stainless steel. The wax molds are dipped into a ceramic slurry to create a mold casing for the finished metal piece. The ceramic is then baked to harden, and the wax melts out of the mold at this point, leaving a mold cavity for the metal.
Filling the mold: The ceramic mold is then filled with the liquid stainless steel mixture. Some investment casting companies pour in the metal by hand, while others, like CFS Foundry, use machines to fill the molds. The metal is allowed to cool inside the mold.
Finishing the metal: After the mold is cooled, the foundry removes the ceramic mold. Usually, stainless steel foundry will break the mold away from the metal or use vibrations and chemical cleaning to remove the mold. After the metal emerges, the company will saw off any unwanted pieces of metal and polish the metal piece until it is smooth and shines brightly. This same process is repeated many times a day for the foundry to receive the highest number of metal pieces possible within the day’s work.
Stainless steel investment casting provides great excellence to our customer, including:
Customization: In stainless steel investment casting, it is easy to customize the part in creation. All the customer has to do is submit a drawing or sample of the part and the stainless steel casting company can create an exact cast complete down to the last detail.
Accuracy: Accuracy in stainless steel investment casting is essential to any high-quality piece. Without a high amount of accuracy, the part will not fit the intended use. Investment casting is one of the best ways to create highly detailed and accurate stainless steel parts that will not have issues that can interrupt the design of the piece.
Cost effective: Stainless steel investment casting eliminates the need for additional finishing processes, like grinding, polishing, or machining. This can give customers a huge advantage in prices, which improves customer opinion about your company.
Labor and cost saving: When you can complete a custom parts order with just a few steps, you can save big on the costs of manufacturing the part. It takes fewer people to complete a precise investment casting model and when less people are involved, the process is much less expensive. Investment casting can also save on order processing times, which customers love.
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