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What Is Steel Investment Casting

Steel is an alloy of iron and other elements, primarily carbon. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, it is widely used as the main material of all kinds of metalworking processes, such as casting, forging, stamping, machining and fabrication.Steel investment casting, also known as lost wax casting, is a precision casting process used to create complex and intricate steel components with high dimensional accuracy and surface finish. It is a versatile and widely used method in the manufacturing industry.

Steel is a widely chosen material for casting due to its numerous favorable properties and suitability for a range of applications. It offers high tensile strength, hardness, and resistance to wear, making it suitable for components that require robustness and long-term reliability.Steel has good machinability, allowing for ease of post-casting machining operations if required. It can be readily machined, drilled, and tapped to achieve the desired final dimensions and features.Steel is highly weldable, enabling the joining of multiple cast or fabricated steel components through welding processes.These factors contribute to the popularity of steel for casting applications, offering manufacturers a reliable and versatile material choice that meets demanding performance requirements in a wide range of industries.

How It Works – Steel Investment Casting Process

Cast steel is a ferrous (iron-based) alloy with a maximum carbon content of approximately 0.75 percent. Steel castings are solid metal objects produced by filling the void within a mold with liquid steel. They are available in many of the same carbon and alloy steels that can be produced as wrought metals. Mechanical properties for cast steel are generally lower than wrought steels with the same chemical composition. Cast steel compensates for that disadvantage with its ability to form complex shapes in few steps.

Pattern Creation: A pattern of the desired component is created using various materials such as wax, plastic, or other refractory materials. The pattern is an exact replica of the final part.

Assembly of Patterns: Multiple patterns are attached to a central wax sprue, forming a cluster or assembly called the “tree.” The tree is used to create multiple parts in a single casting process.

Investment or Molding: The pattern assembly is coated with a ceramic or investment material. This investment material is typically a refractory slurry that is applied by dipping or coating the patterns. The investment material hardens and forms a shell around the patterns.

Dewaxing: The investment shell is then heated to melt and remove the wax or plastic pattern from the mold. This process is called dewaxing or the “lost wax” process, as the wax is lost, leaving behind the cavity for the molten steel.

Preheating: The investment shell is preheated to a specific temperature to ensure it can withstand the high temperatures of the molten metal without cracking or deforming.

Pouring: Molten steel is poured into the preheated investment shell through the sprue system. The molten steel fills the cavities left by the removed patterns.

Cooling and Solidification: The filled investment shells are allowed to cool and the molten steel solidifies, taking the shape of the desired component.

Shell Removal: Once the casting has cooled, the investment shell is broken or removed to reveal the solidified steel component.

Finishing Operations: The cast steel component may undergo various finishing operations such as grinding, machining, heat treatment, and surface treatment to achieve the desired final shape, dimensions, and surface quality.

The Benefits Of Steel Investment Casting

Complex and Intricate Designs

Investment casting allows for the production of components with intricate and complex designs that may be challenging or costly to achieve using other manufacturing methods. It offers design freedom, allowing for the creation of parts with intricate details, thin walls, and internal features.

Excellent Dimensional Accuracy

Steel investment casting provides high dimensional accuracy and tight tolerances, ensuring precise and consistent replication of the desired component shape. This is crucial in applications where precise fit and assembly are required.

Superior Surface Finish

Investment casting produces components with excellent surface finish and smoothness, often eliminating the need for additional surface treatments or finishing operations. This is beneficial in applications where aesthetics or reduced friction is important.

Versatility of Material Selection

Steel investment casting supports a wide range of steel alloys, offering versatility in material selection to meet specific application requirements. It allows for the production of components with desired mechanical properties, such as strength, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance.

Cost Efficiency

Investment casting can be cost-effective for producing medium to high volumes of components, especially for complex designs. The ability to produce multiple parts in a single casting process reduces tooling and labor costs associated with traditional machining methods.

Reduced Material Waste

The investment casting process minimizes material waste compared to traditional machining processes. The use of the precise amount of material required for the casting reduces scrap and material costs.

Consistency and Reproducibility

Steel investment casting ensures consistent and reproducible results, making it suitable for applications that require batch-to-batch consistency and interchangeable parts.

Design Optimization and Lightweighting

Investment casting allows for design optimization by incorporating features like thin walls, hollow sections, and internal structures to reduce weight while maintaining strength and functionality.

Investment casting enables the integration of multiple components into a single cast, reducing the need for assembly and improving overall part integrity and performance.Steel investment casting finds applications in various industries, including automotive, aerospace, defense, energy, and general engineering, where high-quality and complex components are required.

Steel Investment Casting Service – Steel Lost-Wax Cast Manufacturer

Steel’s malleability and ductility allow for complex and intricate designs to be cast accurately. It can be shaped into a wide variety of forms, including thin walls, intricate details, and complex geometries.Steel Alloy Investment Casing is widely recognized and accepted as a standard cast process in various industries, including automotive, aerospace, construction, and machinery. Its well-established properties and performance make it a trusted choice for critical components.

It is clear that steel investment casting is a highly technical process that requires skill and experience for proper execution. Do you need some casted parts? Be-Cu prototype company is your best partner in providing unbeatable casting services including steel investment casting and die casting services.

Be-Cu boasts a self-owned lost wax casting process and shell molding manufacturing complex with state-of-the-art casting equipment, and an experienced team of engineers, complemented by a professional technical team. It consists of 4 major facilities, 1 investment casting foundry and 3 machining factory which enable us to supply precision steel casting parts with annual capacity of over 20,000 tons, and the products are mainly exported to Europe, America, Japan and other destinations around the world.

Moreover, with our online quotation platform, you can configure part quantity, material, finishing options, and shipping methods to get the most economical solution for your casting needs. So, start your project now!

Types of Investment Casting Finishes

High Precision Steel C NC Machining
Polished zinc plating, nickel plating, electroplating, chrome plating
Anodizing, phosphating, acid treatment, polishing
Broaching, milling, drilling, tapping
Surface grinding, sand blasting, powder coating
Heat treatment

Steel Lost Wax Casting Material Information

Investment casting is one of the main process that steel is served for. We call this type of investment castings as steel investment casting. Below are the main types of steel investment castings.

Carbon Steel Investment Casting

Carbon Steel can be segregated into three main categories: Low carbon steel (sometimes known as mild steel); Medium carbon steel; and High carbon steel. Carbon steel is preferred in most of investment castings, such as AISI1020 steel, AISI 1045 steel, AISI 1060 steel, ect.Carbon steel investment casting refers to the process of using carbon steel alloys in the investment casting method to create precision components with complex shapes and high dimensional accuracy.Carbon steel is a type of steel that primarily consists of carbon as the main alloying element, along with other elements in varying proportions. We can produce carbon steel investment castings for all industrial applications.

Alloy Steel Investment Casting

Alloy steel is a steel that has had small amounts of one or more alloying elements (other than carbon) such as such as manganese, silicon, nickel, titanium, copper, chromium and aluminum added. This produces specific properties that are not found in regular carbon steel. Alloy steels are workhorses of industry because of their economical cost, wide availability, ease of processing, and good mechanical properties. Alloy steels are generally more responsive to heat and mechanical treatments than carbon steels. Most widely used alloy steels for investment castings are like ASTM4140, ASTM8630, ASTM8640, ect. Application of alloy steel investment castings are like excavator bucket teeth as well as other cast wear parts.

At BE-CU Investment Casting Company, all the steel investment castings are available for production. More important is that we can supply machined investment castings as well if necessary. Pls send us the RFQs if you need such products, we will be pleased to offer you our best prices for reference first.

Why Choose BE-CU Investment Casting Factory?

At BE-CU Prototype, we use state-of-the-art technology to ensure the success of every project. Below is just some of the investment casting equipment that we leverage:

Specialized shell-making equipment
Highly automated robotic molding machines
Horizontal vacuum precision furnace
Vertical vacuum precision furnace
High-pressure gas quenching vacuum furnace
Reliable quality assurance equipment

Certifications & Quality Machining

ISO 9001:2015 certified
Fully compliant with the exacting requirements of our customers
Compliance in DFARS materials sourcing requirements
Strict compliance with PPAP and Process
FMEA for automotive customers
Skilled in KanBan and CMM Inspection and inventory management systems
ITAF 16949 certified

Top Steel Investment Casting Parts & Case Studies

You have a complex part design, Be-cu Lost Wax Casting Company can help you turn it into a reality. With the right equipment, strong technical knowledge, and a focus on quality.. From tool design to finishing and then on to shipment, Be-cu ensure that every project is completed to a high standard and that your orders are delivered on time, every time.