The Investment Casting Process

The investment casting process is named after the process of ‘investing’ or surrounding the pattern with refractory material. The pattern itself is made of wax, so the process is also known as ‘lost wax casting’. The investment casting process has been used for many thousands of years to produce idols, ornaments, and Jewellery. It became an increasingly popular casting process throughout the 20th century, but it was WW2 that led to it becoming a more mainstream industrial process. At this time, the demand for precision, net shape manufacturing using specialised alloys that could not be shaped using traditional techniques or without extensive machining, increased dramatically. Investment casting has since spread to many commercial and industrial applications where complexity, precision and excellent as-cast surface finishes are required. This can be an extremely efficient process as less machining is required, which saves labour costs, and less alloy is wasted in this process compared to other casting options as less material is used in the sprues and runners. It is also an extremely versatile process, able to cast most ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, including Aluminium, Bronze, Magnesium, Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel.

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