The Flooring Expert

Disadvantages of Investment casting

1.Compared to other methods of metal casting, investment casting involves many complex steps making the process relatively expensive. But some of the steps can be automated for certain products. It can be more expensive than die casting or sand casting, but per-unit costs decrease with large volumes.

2.The high cost of dies to make patterns has traditionally limited investment casting to large production quantities

3.The high cost is also due to specialised equipment requirement, costly refractory material, and high labour cost

4.Parts are difficult to cast if they require cores, got holes smaller than 1.6 mm or deeper than 1.5 times the diameter

Throughout the centuries, various combinations of raw materials have been developed to produce various metal types. Some cast products are used in engines that require a high tolerance for heat and cold. Cast iron pipes must resist corrosion and high pressures. Other cast parts must be lightweight but durable. In many applications, parts are designed to allow for precise tolerance between expansion and contraction.

Other casting processes include plaster casting, die casting, and investment casting. Plaster casting simply replaces the sand with a plaster mold.

Die casting requires two large, moving non-ferrous metal parts that clamp together under high-pressure. Molten metal is injected into the die and the metal parts are separated once hardened.

The process of investment casting begins with filling a mold with wax. Once the wax hardens, it is coated multiple times in a ceramic material. This is heated until the wax melts and the ceramic mold remains. The mold is filled with molten metal, cooled, and then the ceramic material is broken off. 

Metal casting is a modern process with ancient roots. In the metal casting process, metal shapes are formed by pouring molten metal into a mold cavity, where it is cooled and later extracted from the mold. Metal casting is arguably the earliest and most influential industrial process in history. It used to make many of the metal objects used in our daily lives: automotive parts, train wheels, lamp posts, school bus pedals, and much more. Plus, metal casting foundries rely on metal recycling as a cost-efficient source of raw material, significantly reducing wasted scrap metal that might end up in landfills.