“Investment Casting” means a casting process which is used for the manufacture of such parts that have to meet high demands as to dimensional accuracy and surface quality.
Investment casting is also known as the lost-wax process. It is used in numerous industries, including aerospace and aviation, for turbine blades and structural components. The automotive industry uses investment casting for engine parts and transmission components. In medical technology, investment cast parts are manufactured as orthopedic implants (for example, as mechanical supports for bone fractures or for constructing new hip joints) and for the production of surgical instruments. The investment casting process is complex and involves several production steps, the most important of which is the creation of the wax patterns. Personnel costs for investment casting are significantly higher than for conventional sand casting, which results in investment castings being produced primarily in low-wage countries worldwide.
The procedure allows small amounts of machining allowances. In this way the blank weights are lower and so are the machining costs. In most cases Investment casting pays only if the number of units is large enough, as both tools and production are rather costly. Investment casting is suitable for all metal materials. The procedure is used – among others – for the production of parts of turbochargers, injection systems, exhaust systems and fuel pumps.