Vacuum Investment Casting

Vacuum investment casting is one of the precision investment casting methods. This special technic is mainly applying to producing the small but high requirements casting items such as aircraft parts, jewelry, and accessories. The term, vacuum investment casting, refers to the process of melted metal pouring into the mold under negative pressure. This negative pressure is created by a vacuum machine. In this way, the product is able to be the exquisite masterpiece that the designer wishes to present. And this method can meet the mass production requirement, the change of style and variety can be considered at the same time.

The Process of Vacuum Investment Casting

The vacuum investment casting jobs is carried on in the specific furnace which is can be categorized by 2 types according to their product metallurgical characteristics: the equiaxed, and the controlled solidification castings. For the first type, there's no special consideration to control the solidification in the mold. But for the furnace with controlled solidification, it has the ability to exert a high level control on the solidification process in the mold.

The application of Vacuum Investment Casting

The aerospace industry is one of the major applications during the melting of metal material for vacuum investment casting. Because there're many complex alloys and superalloys, such as titanium and nickel-based parts are used in this industry. Melting these alloys in a vacuum, under an oxygen-free atmosphere, limits the formation of nonmetallic oxide and nitride inclusions in the metal.

Advantages of Vacuum Investment Casting

Investment casting process advantages and disadvantages of precision casting, also known as investment casting, with other casting methods and parts forming methods compared to investment casting has the following advantages.

1. Casting size precision, surface roughness value fine, casting size precision can reach 4-6, surface roughness up to 0.4-3.2μm, can greatly reduce the machining allowance of castings, and can achieve no spare manufacturing, reduce production costs.

2. Vacuum investment casting can cast complex shape, and difficult to use other methods of casting, casting profile size as small as a few millimeters to thousands of millimeters, the thinnest wall thickness of 0.5 mm, the smallest hole through 1.0 mm or less.

3. Alloy materials are not limited: such as carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, copper alloy, aluminum alloy and high-temperature alloys, titanium alloys and precious metals and other materials are available for precision casting production, for difficult to forge, welding and cutting of alloy materials, is particularly suitable for precision casting method of production.

4. High production flexibility and adaptability. Can be used for both mass production, also applicable to small quantities or even single production.

In summary, precision casting has the advantages of small investment scale, large production capacity, low production costs, complex product process simplification, fast investment. Thus, in competition with other processes and production methods in a favorable position.

Rayforce Manufacture is a private metal casting company, we provide metal casting china, vacuum die casting and etc. Want to know more? Please contact us.