Different Types of Investment Casting Materials
Investment casting can produce a wide variety of products and prototypes, but it is important to choose the right investment casting material for your application. The right material can help you achieve the desired functionality, save material costs, eliminate unwanted casting defects, and limit the need for secondary operations after the casting is completed.
A copper alloy investment cast final part can display smooth surfaces and dimensional accuracy while allowing for weight reduction, thinner walls, or other beneficial characteristics. Determining which characteristics can be successfully incorporated into your part depends largely on the material selection.
Investment Casting Materials
When choosing a material for an investment sleeve, there are a large number of alloys to choose from. The specific choice depends on the performance requirements and application area of the casting. The following are common types of metal materials and their characteristics:
Stainless Steel
Compared to many other materials, stainless steel has excellent durability. The potential of this material has prompted designers and engineers to increasingly use investment casting. Applications for stainless steel include transmission components in automobiles, various gears, camping parts, chemical equipment, medical devices, food processing equipment, and golf club heads.
Carbon Steel
Carbon steel is a common, low-cost material that comes in several grades, classified according to the amount of carbon it contains. The strength, ductility, and performance of carbon steel can be improved through heat treatment in industrial applications. The ferromagnetic properties of carbon steel make it useful in motors and electrical appliances. It is one of the most commonly used alloys in the world because of its safety, durability, and high structural integrity.
Cast iron
Cast iron generally includes gray iron and ductile iron, which are known for their high precision and affordable prices. Ductile iron has high strength, heat resistance, and toughness, but the production process is more complicated than other steels. This results in higher production costs than cast steel.
Magnesium alloy
Magnesium alloy is a lightweight alloy material made of magnesium as a base and other alloying elements (such as aluminum, zinc, manganese, rare earth, etc.). It has the advantages of low density, high specific strength, and good shock absorption performance, and is widely used in aerospace, automobiles, electronics and other fields.
Low alloy steel
Low alloy steels are one of the most commonly used steels in mechanical applications because they are inexpensive and have excellent mechanical properties. Specialized heat treatment processes make it possible to design components with different properties in different areas of the same component. For example, different heat treatments can be used to make one surface tough and impact-resistant, while another surface becomes wear-resistant.
Aluminum alloy
Aluminum alloy is the most commonly used material in investment casting. The industries that use them most often include aerospace, avionics, electronics, and the military. Improvements in the strength of the material and the availability of high-quality castings made from aluminum-silicon-magnesium alloys have allowed castings to be used in demanding applications such as airframe components.
Copper Alloys
Copper-based alloys are corrosion-resistant and have low wear rates. They are often used in applications such as marine or pump propellers, electrical components, and piping components. This is a very versatile material with over 400 different alloys with a variety of properties.
Superalloys
Superalloys based on nickel and cobalt are common in the aerospace, energy, medical, chemical, and marine industries. Nickel-based alloys are stronger at high temperatures, while cobalt-based alloys have superior corrosion, oxidation, and wear resistance than nickel-based alloys. Superalloys are increasingly replacing sheet metal because they offer high stiffness and excellent service characteristics while still being a cost-effective option.
Many types of parts can be precision cast from copper-based alloys. The more common types of copper-based alloys include bronze and brass. The strongest copper alloy is cobalt, which has properties similar to high-strength alloy steels, but with greater corrosion resistance and longer service life.
When choosing a custom precision investment casting manufacturer, you need to consider its process capabilities, material range, quality control and service level. Ningbo Suijin Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. can provide custom precision investment casting services. We focus on providing customers with high-precision, complex-shaped metal parts manufacturing services. Investment casting (also known as lost wax casting) is a precision casting process that can produce parts with precise dimensions and high surface finish. It is widely used in aerospace, automotive, medical, energy and other fields.