Two details about investment casting you should know

The accuracy of the investment casting process:

Typically, a linear tolerance of plus/minus 0.010” for the first inch, and then another plus/minus 0.005” for each inch after that, is standard for investment casting. This varies depending on the size and complexity of the part, but it is a good rule of thumb when designing an investment casting. It is important to keep in mind that the smaller the casting, the more dimensionally accurate it can be investment cast, and for this reason large investment castings start to lose the dimensional accuracy which distinguishes the process from casting manufacturing methods. A full detailed design guide can be found at this link for even more help. In addition, we encourage our clients to request meetings and discussions with us to assist with the development of the casting manufacturers, as this can often result in an investment casting drawing for a part that substantially reduces or completely eliminates the post casting processing requirements to produce an acceptable part.

The mechanical and metallurgical integrity of an investment casting:

Many first time castings users are concerned with the possibility of porosity and shrinkage that are usually non-existent in bar stock or forgings? It is often comforting to know that investment castings are used for many critical applications in our world, with aircraft engines being the most common application that we see daily. While it is true that the inherent characteristics of molten metal can lead to porosities due to shrinkage or metallurgical factors, these issues are dealt with at Fotai Machienry through the use of todays most modern solidification modeling technology and clean induction melting, so that we can address the potential problems well before the job goes to production. In addition, due to the fact that we are using wax patterns and ceramic molds which do not introduce foreign matter into the mold cavity like sand casting will, the integrity of an investment casting is almost always far superior to parts produced by other methods.


stainless steel castings: http://www.ftm-china.com/