Investment Casting Benefits

Investment Casting vs. Sand Casting

Sand castings are made by creating a negative in a bed of sand to create the cavity for casting. A sand shell creates a rough exterior to castings. Typical surface finish of sand castings are 250 Ra as cast, and need extensive work afterwards to create a surface finish that is acceptable in most applications. Sand castings can also not hold as tight of tolerances as Investment Castings, and will likely need more machining than an Investment Casting.

Investment casting uses a ceramic mold that can produce a much smoother finish, typically averaging 125 Ra surface finish as cast. Investment castings also greatly reduce the amount of machining that will be required after casting by holding a .005”/inch tolerance for the majority of applications.

Investment Casting vs. Metal Fabrication

Metal fabrications are metal structures produced by cutting, bending, and welding multiple pieces of material together. The result is multiple steps in the process, and causing higher scrap. The increase in wasted materials, along with increased labor time, causes metal fabrications to be expensive and time consuming. Without careful craftsmanship, or extensive work after completion, metal fabrications can look sloppy to end users.

Investment casting can cut down labor time and offer one continuous part that has a consistent and clean look to the end user. The reduction of labor time reduces lead times and cost of castable applications. The consistency in castings can also lead to lower scrap, lowering final costs even further.

Investment Casting vs. Machining

When machining parts out of metal stock all but the most simple of designs leads to a large amount of material wasted. Excess material leads to higher costs. Machining can also be a very lengthy process leading to longer lead times and more expensive parts.

Investment castings reduce waste, labor time, and machine time that causes machining to be costly. Milwaukee Precision Casting, in tandem with Milwaukee Precision Machining, can offer the best of both processes. The use of both processes allows Milwaukee Precision Casting to give the best possible price for casting, but allowing the end user to be able to install threads, hold tight tolerances, and improve surface finish where necessary.

Investment Casting vs. Die Casting

Die casting is the process in which molten metal is forced into a mold cavity. Using molten metal requires tooling that is made of hardened tool steel, which causes start-up costs to new programs to be extremely expensive. Tools also wear quickly, requiring expensive refurbishments and replacements throughout the life of the tool. Ferrous metals, like carbon steel and stainless steel, cannot be cast using this method, further limiting its usefulness.

Investment casting injects wax into an aluminum cavity. Aluminum has a lower cost, is easier to cut, and less expensive to maintain. Using wax also is easier on tooling, allowing it to maintain consistent parts for many more uses. Investment casting allows for ferrous and non-ferrous metals (aluminum, brass, bronze, etc) to be cast.

Investment Casting vs. Forging

Forging is the process in which either hot or cold material is pressed with a massive hammer to push the material into the shape desired. This process requires extremely expensive tooling that often needs to be replaced. While the strength of a part is slightly better with forgings, the heightened level of danger inherent to forging, along with specialty equipment, drives the cost of forgings higher. Many forgings need to be heavily treated after completion for hardness, as well as to be machined due to lack of tolerance holding.

Investment casting requires less expensive equipment, and is inherently less dangerous, allowing costs to remain lower. Investment castings also can hold much tighter tolerances, reducing the amount of machining typical to forgings.

Learn more about our investment castings processes and foundry today!

Other Areas to Address:

What kind of parts are typically made through investment casting?

Investment castings are used in a wide range of industries, including firearms, food service, gas and oil, as well as the energy industry. While these are some of the industries served through investment casting, they are not the only ones served by Milwaukee Precision Casting. Investment castings can be used for almost anything where steel, aluminum, brass, and many other materials are required.

What secondary operations can be done with Investment Castings?

Milwaukee Precision Casting can offer a wide range of finishing work including: Machining, Heat Treating, Non-Destructive Testing, Polishing, Passivation/Electropolishing, Deburring/Ball Burnishing, Laser Etching, Coating, Packaging, and more depending on the needs of any part. Milwaukee Precision Casting has close relationships with many local vendors to allow for the best possible part at the lowest possible price.

Aren’t castings weaker than other forms of metal working?

The difference in strength between castings and other methods of metal working, while there, are negligible. Investment castings have been used by the military, aerospace, and medical fields for many years, and are still used in those industries today. Through testing and thorough inspection, we can ensure that no part that leaves Milwaukee Precision Casting would not meet the most rigorous of requirements.

Contact us to find out more information about how Milwaukee Precision Casting can help you find the best solution for your investment casting needs.

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