What is the process of wax casting?
The molten wax casting process, also known as investment casting or lost-wax casting, is a metalworking technique used to create precise and intricate metal parts. It involves creating a wax model, coating it with a ceramic shell, melting away the wax, and pouring molten metal into the cavity. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:
Creation of the die: In the first step, the die is created based on the 3D CAD rendering of the part.
Producing the wax pattern: Wax is poured into the die to form the pattern. This is repeated for the number of parts to be cast.
Wax pattern tree: The sprue, or the vertical passage through which liquid material runs, connects the wax patterns to form the tree.
Shell building: The pattern is dipped in a liquid ceramic binder to form a hard exterior shell, leaving one end of the tree exposed for wax removal.
Dewaxing: To remove the wax, the shell is placed into an oven, melting the wax so that it can run out of the shell.
Burnout: To remove residual wax and moisture, the shell is again placed into an oven at an extremely high temperature, removing the extraneous materials and solidifying the ceramic mold.
Casting: Molten metal is poured into the open side of the mold. From there, either gravity or a forced method distributes the metal, depending on the size of the mold and type of molten metal.
Removing the mold: The ceramic mold is removed either by hammering the ceramic, blasting it with high pressure water or applying a chemical that includes liquid nitrogen.
Cutting: Once the ceramic mold has been removed, the finished part is separated with a grinder. The waste material is collected for reuse.
Finishing: To remove scales and residual material, the finished part is shot or sand blasted.
Surface treatment: For components that need protection from rust, corrosion or weather damage, the component is dipped into an anti-rust solution or oil. Other surface treatments include painting or galvanizing.
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