Investment Casting

Investment Casting with a good quality finish

Omnidex Mining has over a decade of experience in Investment Casting. Through the use of computers and automated production lines, we are able to get the very best out of this casting method, creating intricate forms, making undercuts, eliminating parting lines and producing castings with extremely high dimensional tolerance.

Here’s a summary on the pros and cons of investment casting:

Pros

Investment Casting offers many metal and alloy options (see more details below)
The process can produce intricate parts with undercuts in one piece (since the mold is broken after casting)
Tooling cost is relatively low
The process offers high dimensional accuracy with tight tolerances
Products have excellent as-cast surface finish with no parting lines
Products often have reduced need for additional machining

Cons

Production cycle is longer (making and drying the ceramic mold take up most of the time)
Manufacturing costs is usually higher than most other processes (specialised equipment, refractory material, labour, and the dies used to create wax patterns all contribute to the high costs)
Investment Casting parts should not have holes smaller than 1⁄16 of an inch (1.6 mm) or deeper than 1.5 times the diameter

How does Investment Casting work?

Investment Casting, or lost wax casting, is one of the oldest metal-forming techniques in the world, characterized by the use of wax models to create the molds for casting. The process originally was for making jewellery, which used beeswax to create the models, but it was later adopted for many other purposes.

Compared to other processes, investment casting is more expensive and has a longer production cycle, but the per-unit cost decreases with larger production volume. Lower tooling costs and freedom of design also give it an edge over other casting processes, making the process ideal for producing small to medium-sized products with complex shapes.

Omnidex Investment Casting Process Video

At Omnidex Mining, we offer the option of ferrous or non-ferrous metal investment casting. One of the key advantages of Investment Casting is that porosity is generally not a problem. We are also able to make parts with high quality surface finish, which can usually be used without the need for additional finishing.

Materials used in Investment Casting

Investment casting is suitable for most ferrous and non-ferrous metals. For ferrous alloys, the most common materials are tool steel, carbon steel, alloy steels, ductile iron, and a range of stainless steel alloys. For non-ferrous metals, the process is suited for with most copper-based metals as well as magnesium and aluminium. It’s also possible to work with titanium and vanadium.

Density of the alloy we produce:

Aluminium alloys: between 2.6g/cm³ and 2.8g/cm³
Carbon steel alloys: between 7.8g/cm³ and 7.9g/cm³
Cobalt/high nickel/magnetic steel alloys: between 7.8g/cm³ and 8.7g/cm³
Copper-based alloys between 8.3g/cm³ and 8.8g/cm³
Ductile iron: 7.1g/cm³

Other material specifications can be found in our data sheets.

Contact us if you have any question concerning our investment casting process. Our Sales team is always ready to discuss the solutions we offer. You can also check out other casting processes on our website.

Get in touch with Omnidex Mining if you need more information or a quote.

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