Alloy Steel Investment Casting

ProcessInvestment  Casting,  lost  wax  casting,  precision  casting,  Silicon  sol  casting,MaterialStainless  Steel,  Carbon  Steel,  Aluminum,  brass,  iron,  ductile  ironMaterial  GradeGB,  ASTM  ,  AISI  ,  DIN  ,  BS,Weight0.01  kg~70kgAccuracyClass  CT4~CT6Surface  RoughnessUp  To  Ra1.6~Ra6.3Applied  Softwareproe,  catia,  ug,  solidworks,  cad,  pdf,  etcProduction  CapacityMore  Than  100T  Per  MonthHeat  TreatmentAnneal,  Quenching,  Normalizing,  Carburizing,  Polishing,  Plating,  Painting,  etcMachining  EquipmentCNC  Center  ,  CNC  Machines,  Turning  Machines,  Drilling  Machines  ,  Milling  Machines,  Grinding  Machines,  etcMeasuring  ToolCMM  ,  Projector,  Vernier  Caliper,  Depth  Caliper,  Micrometer,  Pin  Gauge,  Thread  Gauge  ,  Height  Gauge,  etcQC  System100%  Inspection  Before  ShipmentReport100%  Report  with  shipmentTransportAir  or  SeaFAQ:Question 1 : Are you a factory or a trading company ?Answer : We are a factory with designing, manufacturing, machining ,marketing in WuXi city, JiangSu province, near from ShangHai 100Km.Question 2 : How can I get some samples ? Answer :We are honored to offer you samples for free, but the new clients are expected to pay the courier cost, and the charge will be deducted from the payment for formal order.Regarding  the courier cost, you can arrange a RPI ( remote pick-up ) service upon Fedex, UPS, DHL, TNT, etc. to have samples collected ; or inform us your DHL collection account. Then you can pay the freight directly to your local carrier company.Question 3 : Can your factory print or emboss my logo on the goods ?Answer :Yes, we can print or emboss the logo on the goods or their packing box, for                                patent protection purpose, a letter of attorney ( letter of authorization )shall be provided for the logo .We usually produce goods  based on customer's samples or based on customer's picture, logo, size etc. detail information design for customers.Question 4 : How does your factory do regarding quality control ?Answer : we pay high attention to quality control from the very beginning to the end of the production. Every product will be fully tested before it's packed for shipment.investment casting process Step 1: Mould engineering & productionWith precision investment castings, the first step involves the engineering and production of a mould also known as a wax tool. Moulds are made from aluminum or steel. This mould is developed in-house by hoohi engineers and serves as a negative of the final casting. It is important that the mould is made accurately, so that the required tolerances and surface roughness can be achieved. Depending on the size of the series, the mould is installed either onto a manual or automated press.Step 2: Wax model spraying & Tree buildingThe mould is filled with liquid wax. After the wax has been cooled down, ejectors in the mould push the wax model out. A wax model has now been sprayed which is identical to the final casting. These wax models are glued onto a so-called wax tree with a casting funnel on top, into which steel is poured in a later stage of the processStep 3: Rinsing the wax treesAfter the wax models have been glued onto a wax tree, they are rinsed. Any possible contaminations on the surface are removed to ensure a successful attachment of the ceramic onto the wax tree.Step 4: Building ceramic layersAfter rinsing the wax tree, the tree is given a fireproof ceramic shell. This shell is constructed after repeatedly submerging the tree (up to 7 or 9 times) in a slurry and sprinkling it with ceramic sand. The ceramic layers are then hardened in a drying chamber where they are exposed to air.Step 5: AutoclaveAfter the layers have been formed and dried, the wax is melted out of the ceramic tree by using steam (120°C) in an autoclave. This is why it is called “lost wax casting”. The majority of the molten wax can be regenerated and is reusable.Step 6: SinteringThe ceramic tree is then baked (stoked) at temperatures of around 1100°C and reaches its final strength through the sintering process. Any wax remains are burned out during this process.Step 7: CastingThe desired steel alloy is melted in a large furnace and brought to cast temperatures. The ceramic tree is, at the same time, heated in an oven to prevent thermal shocks during the pouring process. After the tree has been heated, it is removed from the oven by a robotic arm and filled up with a steel alloy by use of counter gravity. When the trees have been poured, they are placed on a cooling conveyor where they are cooled down. (with nitrogen).Step 8: Ceramic removalThe trees are then removed from their ceramic shell by using a fully-automatic hammer to break the shell. This removes the majority of the ceramic. The next step is to cut the products from the trees by sawing or vibrating. The steel leftovers will be sorted based on alloy and can be melted again during the next casting sessionStep 9: BlastingThe Finishing Department removes the last pieces of ceramic by means of steel, sand and/or water blasting.Step 10: GrindingThe ingate which remained after the sawing process, is grinded from the casting. To grind the product properly, a grinding fixture is often applied.Step 11: Visual inspectionThe Quality Department checks all products visually for possible casting failures. This check takes place according to a quality standard sheet to ensure that all possible surface failures are corrected properly. Thanks to this procedure, you can be assured that hoohi only delivers high quality castings.Step 12: Machininghoohi has the capabilities to machine castings in house, such as drilling holes, tapping threads and turning & milling activities. This enables hoohi to deliver a completely machined component that is ready-to-install.Step 13: Heat and- or surface treatmentSome alloys require heat treatment to achieve a certain hardness, tensile strength or elongation according to 2D drawing specifications. The standard heat treatments are performed in-house, the complex treatments are outsourced. hoohi also has the know-how to perform a surface treatment for a casting. Surface treatments involve the coating process of a steel surface, to enhance the looks of the surface or protect it against external influences such as corrosion (rust) and natural wear (damage).Step 14: Final inspectionThe final step in this process is another visual check and when necessary composing a measurement report and material analysis. After the final inspection, the products are ready for shipment to another satisfied Hoohi customer.The Benefits of Investment CastingIntricate parts with detailed, complex angles and faces can be produced using a variety of methods. However, investment casting provides the ultimate technique for low-weight, precision, steel casting production.Investment Casting DefinedInvestment casting is commonly referred to as lost wax casting because wax is used to create the mold and then it is “lost” (or melted away) from the mold prior to metal being added to fill the cavity left behind by the “lost” wax. If you need a custom, precision metal part created, investment casting is one way of getting that part made. This process is used in many industries to make parts from a variety of metallic material types. Nickel and cobalt-based superalloys account for 50% of total output by value, steels (of all types) account for 35%, aluminum accounts for about 10%, and copper and titanium alloys make up a large part of the remaining 5%.An investment casting mold is made by foundry professionals who first make a wax impression produced from high pressure dies or special investment cast tooling; the wax can be replaced by other materials such as foam (lost foam), or some other material that can be melted away during the investment casting process. This wax impression is then dipped and coated in a refractory ceramic slurry, forming an investment casting mold with a hard skin. After this, the entire mold is then placed in an oven and the wax is melted away. Because the mold is formed around a one-piece wax impression (which does not have to be pulled out from the mold as in a traditional sand casting process), very intricate parts with recesses and indents can be produced.Cost EfficiencyInvestment casting is an extremely cost-efficient process. It reduces costly machining operations — sometimes even eliminating them. Several parts can be made as one casting. This eliminates the need for fabrication, which reduces assembly, welding, handling & inspection costs. Any company that deals with high assembly costs benefits instantly when investment casting techniques are employed for manufacturing.Investment casting also enables relatively small quantities of an item, typically for research and development trials, to be produced prior to commitment to larger production quantities. Rapid prototyping is also possible using wax impressions produced from digital models.Overall, reduced material, reduced labor costs, and the elimination of some assembly steps makes investment casting an extremely attractive option.Versatility and AccuracyInvestment casting also provides tremendous design flexibility for engineers and designers; it is regarded as a precise casting process to fabricate near-net-shaped metal parts from almost any alloy - thus the versatility. The name “near-net-shaped” points to the quality and volume of the “net” or final shape. Near-net quality in the final investment casting reduces the costly and time consuming finishing that is usually done by machining or grinding. The investment casting process is capable of producing precise detail and dimensional accuracy in parts weighing from many pounds to just a few ounces.Although its 5,000 year history lies to a great extent in the production of jewelry, the most common use of investment casting in more recent history has been the production of components requiring complex, often thin-wall castings. The one-piece mold gives rise to a component shape that is aesthetic and uniform. It can be used to make parts that cannot be produced by normal manufacturing techniques, such as turbine blades that have complex shapes and would require unusual coring in standard sand casting processes.Nearly every industry relies on investment casting to produce lightweight precise dimension parts with fine details including helicopter, marine, automobile, and even jet engine companies. Parts that require sharp finishes can be cast without extra effort. Lettering, precision holes, splines, serrations, bosses, and even some threads can be investment cast. Reproducing the fine detail necessary in these by using investment casting ensures consistency across production.