Investment Casting Services
CastAlloy provides high-quality custom ferrous and non-ferrous investment casting parts and components for a wide range of industries. Investment casting—also known as lost-wax casting—is a versatile process ideal for simple or complex, low or high volume production. We produce investment castings in stainless steel, duplex stainless steel, super duplex stainless steel, titanium, Inconel and other superalloys, carbon steel, tool steel, and aluminum alloys. Component weights range from a few grams to almost one metric ton, and we provide a broad range of secondary services including CNC machining and surface finishing.
The Investment Casting Process
Investment casting involves creating precision wax patterns through injection molding, assembling these patterns onto a gating system, then building a ceramic shell through repeated dipping in refractory slurries and stucco. The wax is melted out of the shell, which is then pre-heated and filled with molten metal. After cooling and shell removal, castings are cleaned, heat treated, and inspected. This process produces castings with excellent surface finish (125 Ra µin or better), tight tolerances (±0.010" for the first inch), and the ability to create complex internal passages and thin walls that other processes cannot achieve economically.
Materials & Industries
Our investment casting materials include 300 and 400 series stainless steels, duplex and super duplex grades (2205, 2507), titanium (Grade 2, Grade 5), Inconel (718, 625, 713C), Hastelloy, carbon steels, and aluminum alloys. We serve automotive, food and dairy, machinery, medical, plumbing, mining, petrochemical, electrical, energy, aerospace, and marine industries with castings from ounces to 50+ pounds in standard production, and up to nearly one metric ton for large industrial components.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Materials | Stainless, Duplex SS, Titanium, Inconel, Carbon Steel, Aluminum |
| Weight Range | Few grams to ~1 metric ton |
| Tolerances | ±0.010" first inch, ±0.003"/inch additional |
| Surface Finish | 125 Ra µin or better (as-cast) |
| Casting Method | Conventional and Vacuum Investment Casting |
| Secondary Ops | HIP, Heat Treatment, CNC Machining, NDT |
| Certifications | ISO 9001:2015 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Investment casting provides economical complex shapes, tight tolerances, excellent surface finish, wide material selection, and minimal machining requirements. It is often the only cost-effective way to produce parts with complex internal passages or very thin walls.
We produce investment castings up to nearly one metric ton in weight. Standard production sizes range from a few grams to 50+ pounds, with larger components handled as special projects.