Investment Casting

In the Investment Casting (lost wax) process a mold is created by repeatedly dipping a sprued pattern in ceramic slurry, which builds up a shell around it that hardens. The mold is subsequently autoclaved (steamed) and/or heated to eliminate the pattern. Finally, molten metal is poured into the cavity where it solidifies. Once the cast object has cooled, the shell is broken and removed from the part. The key advantage of this process is its ability to produce complex metal parts quickly and inexpensively without hard tooling.