Sinoway offers production services and products made through the precision lost wax investment casting process.

Sinoway involved in the investment casting process since the 1990s. From the water-glass shell process to the silica-sol shell process, we continued to manufacture more and more accurate and complex casting products used in more and more industries. As a metal casting service supplier, we equipped the foundry with advanced testing instruments such as molten iron analyzers, spectrometers, and metallographic microscopes to guarantee the casting metal’s grade and mechanical properties.

So, what is a lost wax investment casting process?

The investment casting process is a kind of metal forming technology with a very long history. And when we use a wax pattern for the casting, investment casting is also known as a lost wax casting process.

Generally, the lost wax investment casting process suits products with complex shapes better. The minimum diameter of the hole that we can cast out directly reaches as small as 0.5mm, and the minimum wall thickness can reach 0.3mm. We can usually change one product during the production procedures, which is combined initially from several parts, into a single piece that we can make it out entirely via the investment casting process to save more time and raw materials.

The process is complicated and not easy to control. Also, the auxiliary materials are expensive, so investment casting is more suitable for manufacturing products with complex shapes, high precision requirements, and difficulties of being machined, such as turbine engine blades, etc.

There are several procedures involved in the investment casting process.
1. Molding – Design and make the molds used to produce single wax models;
2. Pattern-making – Trim the wax models and assemble them to form a wax pattern tree;
3. Shell-making – Coat the wax patter tree with the shell materials and repeat several times to a specific thickness, and then dry the shell thoroughly in the air at a particular temperature;
4. Dewax – Melt or vaporize the wax pattern tree in the shells and remove the wax;
5. Shell burnout preheating– Bake the shells to remove the moisture and residual wax;
6. Casting – Melt the applied metals and pour the molten metal into the shells;
7. Castings divesting – Knock off the shells and separate the castings, and then cut off the workpieces and grind them to remove the cutting residues;
8. Heat treatment – Apply the heat treatment to the metal castings as per requirements;
9. Machining – If necessary, machine the dimensions to the required tolerances;

Sinoway offers shell molding process production and shell mold casting products.

Sinoway has developed the shell mold casting process for more than ten years. We can improve metal casting products with more accurate dimensions and smoother surfaces by applying shell mold casting instead of the sand casting process. As a metal casting service supplier, we equipped the foundry with advanced testing instruments such as molten metal analyzers, spectrometers, and metallographic microscopes to guarantee the casting metal’s grade and mechanical properties.

So, what is a shell mold casting process?

The shell mold casting process is a relatively new casting technology, and it developed as an industrial manufacturing process during the mid 20th century in Germany. We can also call it shell molding because a disposable sand-resin-mixed shell is made by a set of metal molds during the process. And we can pour the molten metal directly into the sand-resin shells to cast out the desired workpieces.

There are several procedures involved in the shell mold casting process.

1. Pattern making – Design and create the metal patterns(a metal die) via the machining process

2.Shell make – Inject the sand-resin mixed materials into the preheated pattern-dies to form the shells on the automatic shell molding machine and keep heating to harden them

3. Shells assembly – Stack up the single shells to make a casting mold with fixtures

4. Casting – Melt the applied metals and pour the molten metal into the shells

5. Castings divesting – Knock off the shells and separate the castings, and then cut off the workpieces and grind them to remove the cutting residues

Sinoway offers lost foam casting production services and custom casting products.

Sinoway has developed the lost foam casting process for more than ten years. We can improve metal casting products with more accurate dimensions and smoother surfaces by applying lost foam casting instead of the sand casting process. As a metal casting service supplier, we equipped the foundry with advanced testing instruments such as molten metal analyzers, spectrometers, and metallographic microscopes to guarantee the casting metal’s grade and mechanical properties.

So, what is a lost foam casting process?

Lost foam casting is a new modern casting method. Firstly we need to make foam patterns(made from polystyrene) and bond them together to form pattern clusters to prepare for the following casting process. And the foam clusters need to be coated with refractory paint and wait to be dried. After that, we will bury them in dry quartz sand and vibrate them to shape. While pouring, the molten metal vaporizes the foam, fills up the entire cavity under negative pressure, and forms the casting workpiece after solidification and cooling.

The molten metals applied for the lost foam casting process include cast iron, carbon steel, and some alloyed steels. Large-sized parts up to several tons apply to this process too.

There are several procedures involved in the lost foam casting process.

1. Pattern making – Design and create the polystyrene foam patterns via hand cutting or machining processes. If there is a large volume production, we usually make a metal die to inject the pre-expanded polystyrene beads to form a pattern. And if necessary, we can also bond the single foam patterns to create a foam cluster via hot gluing.

2. Foam coating – The foam cluster will get coated with the refractory paints via dipping, brushing, or spraying. The coating materials need to have good performance, and mostly it needs to be strong enough to prevent sand erosion and deformation while pouring. Meanwhile, the permeability is another crucial point, and it allows the gas created by the vaporized foam pattern to escape through the coating and into the sand. And these coated foam clusters need to be dry before being placed into the casting flask.

3. Pouring – Place the foam clusters into the casting flasks and fille up the flasks with dry and unbonded sand. And once the sand is compacted, the mold is ready to be poured. Melt the desired metal and pour it into the mold through the gates left open outside.

4. Castings divesting – After the castings get cooled, we need to get the castings rid of the sand, and sand-blasting is always necessary to make the surface clean and smooth;

Sinoway offers die casting production services and serves custom metal casting products worldwide.

Sinoway has developed the die casting process for more than ten years, and we usually take the cold chamber casting procedure. Meanwhile, as a metal casting service supplier in China, we equipped the foundry with advanced testing instruments such as molten metal analyzers, spectrometers, and metallographic microscopes to guarantee the casting metal’s grade and mechanical properties.

And we usually apply the die casting process to manufacture small metal parts but in a large quantity. And the metals we used include Zn, Al, Mg, Cu, Pewter, Lead, and their alloys. Meanwhile, we have our own CNC machining workshop, where we can make the after-casting machining of the casting blanks to meet the customers’ one-stop requirements.

So, what is a die casting process?

Die casting is a precision casting method that uses high pressure to force molten metal into a complex-shaped metal mold. The products made through this process are known as the die casting parts. During this process, we inject the molten alloyed metal, such as Zinc, Aluminum, Copper, and Magnesium, into a set of molds installed on the equipment to form the desired-shape part. When the molten metal gets cooled and solidified, the molds’ ejecting devices will push the workpieces out.

Depending on the type of desired metals, we have two kinds of die casting equipment, the hot-chamber or cold-chamber die casting machine. And because the metal molds’ cost is not cheap, mostly the die casting process is suitable for large-volume productions of small-to-medium-sized castings.

There are four steps involved in the die casting process.

1. Dies and mold making – Design and make out the dies for the mold with alloyed molding steel. And a CNC machining process is involved in this step.

2. Molten metal filling – After installing the mold on the die casting equipment, we need to spray the lubricant, which helps remove the castings, onto the inner surface of the dies’ cavities. When the equipment starts, the molds are then closed, and molten metal comes injected into the dies under high pressure and fills up the cavities to form the desired shape. The high pressure will remain till the castings get solidified.

3. Ejection of the castings – When the castings get solidified, the ejecting pins on the dies will push the casted workpiece out of the mold, and that is the die casting blanks.

4. Castings shakeout – When the casting blanks get out, there are usually extra materials, including the casting gate, runners, sprues, and flash, so we need the shakeout step to remove these scraps via sawing or grinding processes.