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Steel and SS investment casting car parts

Shanghai Heda Castings is a professional manufacturer and exporter of investment casting (lost wax casting) in China, we supply various of investment casting auto parts, for both passenger vehicles and commercial vehicle.

Investment casting, also known as lost wax casting, is a metal forming process that involves making a wax model of the part to be produced, coating it with a ceramic shell, and then heating the shell to remove the wax and harden the ceramic. Molten metal is then poured into the ceramic mold to create the final part. Investment casting is a precise and repeatable process, which makes it ideal for producing high-quality auto parts with complex geometries and tight tolerances. The use of steel and stainless steel in investment casting is particularly beneficial in the production of auto parts due to their strength and resistance to corrosion. Steel is a durable and cost-effective material that is commonly used for engine and drivetrain components, as well as for suspension and braking system parts. Stainless steel, on the other hand, is known for its high corrosion resistance, which makes it ideal for use in exhaust system components and other parts that are exposed to high heat and corrosive gases.

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car-door-lock

Some examples of auto parts that are frequently made using these techniques include:

Engine components: Steel and stainless steel investment casting is often used to produce engine

components such as cylinder heads, valve guides, valve bodies, rocker arms, and connecting rods.

Suspension components: These techniques are used to produce parts such as ball joints, control arms, and steering knuckles.

Transmission components: Steel and stainless steel investment casting is used to produce parts such as transmission cases, gears, and shift forks.

Brake components: Parts such as brake calipers and brackets are commonly made using steel or stainless steel investment casting.

Exhaust system components: Steel and stainless steel investment casting is used to produce parts such as exhaust manifolds, turbine housings and mufflers.

Fuel system components: Fuel injectors, fuel rails, and carburetor bodies.

Body and interior parts: Door handles, mirror brackets, and seat brackets.

In addition to these components, steel and stainless steel investment casting can be used to create a variety of other parts for the automotive industry, such as brackets and housings.

Steel investment casting is typically used to create parts that require high strength and durability, while stainless steel investment casting is often used for parts that require corrosion resistance and/or a high level of surface finish. In summary, investment casting is a versatile and precise metal forming process that is well-suited for the production of auto parts made from steel or stainless steel. The use of this process can result in high-quality parts with complex geometries, tight tolerances, and excellent strength and corrosion resistance.

investment casting wax injection

Which machineries are needed in an investment casting foundry?

Investment casting is a precision casting process that produces high-quality metal parts with complex shapes and fine details. Investment casting equipment are used to produce these parts, we suggest you to read the processes of investment casting first in order to understand why these machineries are needed. In this article, we’ll explore the various types of investment casting machineries and their functions.

Wax Injection Equipment: The wax injection equipment is used to inject molten wax into the steel or AL mold to form the wax pattern. This machinery includes a wax tank, wax injection nozzle, wax injector, and wax pattern assembly. The equipment should be able to accurately control the temperature and pressure of the wax injection process to ensure consistent and high-quality wax patterns.

Ceramic Shell Production Equipment: The ceramic shell production equipment is used to create the ceramic shell that encases the wax pattern. This machinery includes a shell building station. The equipment should be able to create a strong and durable ceramic mold that can withstand the high temperatures and pressure of the casting process.

Melting and Pouring Equipment: The melting and pouring equipment is used to melt the metal and pour it into the ceramic mold. This machinery includes a furnace, a crucible, a ladle, and a pouring system. The equipment should be able to accurately control the melting temperature and pouring rate to ensure that the metal flows smoothly into the mold and fills all the intricate details of the wax pattern.

Cleaning and Finishing Equipment: The cleaning and finishing equipment is used to remove the ceramic shell and any residual wax from the cast metal part. This machinery includes a shell breaking machine, a shot blasting machine or a sandblasting machine and a grinding machine. The equipment should be able to provide the desired surface finish and dimensional accuracy of the final part.

Quality Control Equipment: The quality control equipment is used to verify that the final part meets the required specifications. This machinery includes various measuring tools such as a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) or a 3D scanner, a surface roughness tester and a metal composition analyzer. The equipment should be able to accurately measure the dimensions, chemical composition of the metal and surface finish of the final part to ensure its quality.

Other than the machineries mentioned above, an investment casting foundry still needs some other equipment such as dewaxing furnace, cutting machine, grinding machine, dust remover machine and more. Investment casting machineries are crucial components of the investment casting process. They play a significant role in determining the quality and consistency of the final product. By using high-quality machineries and maintaining them properly, investment casting foundries can produce high-quality metal parts that meet the demanding requirements of various industries.

investment casting gun muzzle

An investment casting topic with ChatGPT

We are making some gun muzzles for a US client, we thought it could be interesting to try out ChatGPT on this topic and we found it’s really amazing and it can be a significance step for AI industry and many related industries in the future.

Here is our dialogue:

Heda: How is a gun Muzzle made?

ChatGPT:

The process of making a gun muzzle typically involves several steps. Here is a general overview of how it is done:

  1. Raw Material: The raw material used to make a gun muzzle can be made of various metals, including steel, stainless steel, or titanium.
  2. Cutting: The raw material is cut to size, typically using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, to create the basic shape of the muzzle.
  3. Bending: The cut piece of metal is then bent into the proper shape using a press or a hydraulic press.
  4. Threading: The interior of the muzzle is then threaded to match the thread pattern on the gun barrel.
  5. Finishing: The exterior of the muzzle is then finished to the desired specifications, which can include sandblasting, polishing, or Parkerizing.
  6. Heat Treating: The muzzle may be heat-treated to increase its strength and durability.
  7. Testing: The finished muzzle is then tested for accuracy and fit on a test gun.

The specific process used to make a gun muzzle can vary depending on the type of firearm it is being used for and the manufacturer’s specific design requirements.

Heda: We think gun Muzzle can also be made by investment casting process.

ChatGPT: Yes, you’re correct! Investment casting is another method that can be used to make gun muzzles. Investment casting, also known as lost-wax casting, is a process where a wax pattern is created, coated in a ceramic shell, and then heated to remove the wax and harden the shell. Molten metal is then poured into the ceramic mold to create the final product. Investment casting allows for a high degree of precision and detail, making it a popular method for producing complex parts such as gun muzzles. The process can produce muzzles with very fine surface finishes and intricate internal features that would be difficult or impossible to produce using other methods.

Heda: But you didn’t mention it in your first answer.

I apologize for that oversight. Thank you for pointing it out. Yes, investment casting is another process that can be used to make gun muzzles, and it’s an important method to consider in the manufacturing of firearms components.

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Comparison between investment casting and sand casting

Investment casting and sand casting are two different methods of metal casting, both of which involve pouring liquid metal into a mold to create a metal part. Investment casting and sand casting have their own advantages, so you can’t simply say which one is better, but which one is more suitable for producing your products. As a professional investment casting foundry, the difference between investment casting and sand casting are often asked by our customers, so we wrote this article to compare two casting methods.

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Investment casting (Lost wax casting)

Investment casting is a precision casting process that uses a lost wax process to shape the metal into a component. Firstly, we have to make a set of molds, lost wax casting molds are usually made of aluminum, if quantity of the component is large, we will also use steel molds. The process of investment casting, also known as lost wax casting, we inject wax into the mold to produce a wax pattern, and the wax patterns are assembled onto a sprue (what we called a “tree”), and then wrapped in refractory slurry on the outside of the tree to make a ceramic shell. Pour the molten metal into the shell. After cooling, we get the metal castings. Investment casting has the following advantages:

  • Investment casting can produce parts with complex shapes with very thin walls.
  • High accurate, investment castings can achieve high dimensional tolerance request.
  • Smooth surface finish can save further machining or surface finish process.
  • Material of investment casting can be Ferrous, nonferrous or duplex alloys. Investment casting can be quite economical by repeat runs.
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Sand casting

Sand casting uses sand to form the mold surface. The mold made of sand has some flexibility, so when the liquid metal cools and hardens, there are fewer cracks, tears or other types of defects. Sand casting has the following advantages:

  • The cost of sand casting is lower especially in shorter runs.
  • Sand casting can produce larger castings.
  • Ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be also used.
  • Post-cast tooling cost is lower.

Differences Between Investment Casting & Sand Casting

Production design: In investment casting, ceramic shell is formed from liquid slurry, so investment castings can be designed into almost any shape, and engineers have great freedom to add the complex structures and shapes required in the design. In sand casting, the product is often designed to be tapered, so sand casting parts can be taken out from the sand mold easily with less friction. Sand castings with internal cavities or voids are more difficult to make. Sand castings requires insertion of a suitable core into the mold to form the internal structure, sometimes multiple cores may be needed.

Weight: Investment casting can make castings in weight less than 450 grams, while sand casting cannot cast small pieces with complex structures.

Surface finish: The surface of investment casting and sand casting has a big difference. Because of the material of the mold, the surface of the investment casting parts is smooth and can achieve high tolerance requirements. After removing the gate and blasting, the castings can be used directly. In sand casting, the mold has to be split apart to release the castings, so the parting line is more obvious. And because the sand is rough, the surface is also relatively rough and requires additional time and cost to process.

Cost: The complexity and preparation process of the investment casting process makes it cost more than sand casting. Comprehensively speaking, investment casting method is usually superior to other casting methods, especially in product details and surface finish. Shanghai Heda Castings Co., Ltd, a professional precision foundry with nearly 20 years of experience, is ISO-9001 certified. We can provide one-stop solution for your investment casting parts, from mold design to finished castings, machined castings, as well as heat treatment and surface treatment if requested. Please feel free to contact us if you need any assistance with your investment castings.

stainless steel casted door handle

Stainless steel investment casting handles and hinges

Investment casting is modern precision casting method compared to conventional casting techniques. We can obtain relatively high-precision and relatively complex shapes with investment casting, thus most stainless steel parts are cast by investment casting method.

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Stainless steel investment casting process is also called stainless steel lost-wax casting, the process is using wax to make patterns or models, coating a layer of clay and other refractory materials, heating the wax to melt and flow out in order to obtain the empty shell formed by the refractory material, and then pouring stainless steel into the empty shell, and finally knocking the refractory materials to obtain a stainless steel raw casting part. Of course, the finished stainless steel parts still require some post-cast treatment, such as heat treatment, machining process, surface treatment and so forth.

stainless steel cassted window-and-door-hinges

Most door hardware manufacturers choose stainless steel as the material since the door hardware should be rust-proof and durable. In combination with the advantages of investment casting, door hardware is usually made by stainless steel investment casting technique. The biggest advantage of stainless steel investment casting of door hardware is that investment casting can manufacture various types and shapes of door hardware. Secondly, investment casting is the most accurate casting method, helping to achieve good surface finish and dimensional accuracy, therefrom save or avoid additional machining process. Shanghai Heda castings has been working in the field of stainless steel investment casting for more than 15 years, our stainless steel investment castings for window and door include: lock mechanisms, lock keeper, hinges, handles, levers, deadbolt, latchbolt and more. We offer one-stop solution of investment casting parts including investment casting, post-cast machining, heat treatment, surface treatment and assembly services. Our experience and skills enable us to produce custom window and door hardware and lock parts that meet the exact design specifications of our clients.

Baitcasting reel parts

Investment castings we have made

Products made by investment casting technique can be seen everywhere in our life, in the past ten years, we supplied more than one thousand all kinds of investment castings to our customers from all over the world, in weight from 7g to 20kg, in material includes carbon steel, stainless steel and all kinds of alloy steels. Long-term cooperations were built based on stable quality of our products. Here are some investment castings we have done:

china investment castings

Architectural hardware

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Hinges for reservoir

Hinge (window & door, reservoir)

Lock parts

Glass spider fittings, Glass spigot

Bathroom hardware

Handles (cookware, window & door)

Floor drain

Tap and faucet

Mechanical equipment

Parts of lifting and height safety equipment

Floor drain

Agricultural machine parts

Food machinery parts

Knitting machine parts

Printing machine parts

Slaughtering equipment parts

Medical equipment parts

Gears

Impeller

Grinding disc kitchen waste disposer

Tools

investment casting parts

Clippers for sheep shearing

Paint spray gun

Valves and Pumps

Flange

Valve parts

Pump parts

Transportation parts

Parts of fast train breaking system

sharp nose pliers
Sharp nose pliers

Ship equipment parts (oil ship, yacht)

Various auto parts

Others

Underwater spotlight shields

Muzzle device

Dental forceps

Surgical knife handle

Baitcasting reel parts

investment casting lock parts zinc plated

Investment casting lock parts for door and window

Lock parts, components of window and door are the most used precision casting products in construction industry, including lock mechanisms, lock keeper, hinges, handles and more. These lock parts are usually small in size, weight between 10 to 250g, and very precise in sizes, with high tolerance requirements, important linear dimensional tolerances are typically +/-0.15mm, for critical areas the tolerance can be +/-0.03mm, and the surface finish of visible area must be very smooth. Lock parts can be produced by several different production methods such as zinc die casting, investment casting, MIM and so forth, but only investment casting offers the best mechanical performance and the best performance/price ratio, and provides the best safety performance and longest service life for window and door.

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