Investment Castings

Investment castings are typically selected because they can be produced with fine detail, excellent "as-cast" surface finish, shape into internal or external features, thin walls, and internal passageways to get to a near net shape. This often leads to significant customer cost savings in material, labor and machining.

Lost Wax Investment Casting Process

In lost wax investment casting, a sacrificial detailed wax pattern of the desired finished part is created and mounted onto a wax "tree", which includes the metal delivery system. The tree is alternately dipped into a ceramic slurry and sprinkled with stucco material, and is allowed to dry. This process is repeated until a thick shell is created over the wax pattern. The wax pattern is melted out leaving a cavity in the shape of the pattern. The cavity is filled with molten metal. After solidification, the shell is broken away, the gating material removed, and the finished part remains.

Specializing in Investment Castings for Alloys

MetalTek specializes in lost wax investment casting in alloys resistant to heat, wear, and corrosion. Unique among our capabilities is the ability to manufacture very large investment castings with net weights more than 300 lbs./135 kg. Concurrent engineering services help manage programs through our modern state-of-the-art facilities to deliver the right part on time. MetalTek also performs most NDT functions including various penetrant, magnetic particle, and radiographic tests in support of investment castings used in demanding markets. MetalTek also provides single-source responsibility for finish machining, polishing, electro-plating and other secondary operations.

MetalTek Investment Casting capability:

• MetalTek pours over 100 air-melt alloys
• Envelope up to 40" diameter x 34" tall / 1016mm x 864mm
• Weight up to 1400 lbs. / 635 kg. rough and 850 lbs. / 385 kg. net

Investment casting – When to use it:

• Shaped or non-symmetrical parts
• Smaller parts with fine details
• Parts that have internal structures
• Tight tolerances and thin walls

Investment casting at MetalTek is done at Wisconsin Investcast.