 Process
Facilities
Technology - Material Handled Investment Castings Alloys:
- Dimensional Tolerance
Technical Services - CAD/CAM & Tooling
- Design Assistance
Applications
Process
Die/Tooling Construction/Manufacturing: A negative replica of the part or component is prepared in form of Metallic Die, for creation of wax pattern, which matches the configuration and finish of the final metal part. Depending on production quantities, size, shape & complexity, these dies may be of single cavity or multiple cavities.
Wax Pattern Injection & Assembly: Disposable Wax Patterns are produced by injecting Wax in the Dies. These Wax Patterns are positive models of the part intended for casting and reflect the precise geometry of the finished parts. Multiple nos. of Wax Patterns are made and connected & assembled by ‘gates’ to Wax sprue to form a tree or cluster.
Ceramic Coating (Ceramic Investment) : Successive coats of ceramic slurry and refractory sand, fused silica are applied on assembled cluster/tree with intermediate drying time to form a self-supporting ‘Shell’ or called ‘Mold’.
De-Waxing & Curing: De-waxing is the next step. The ‘Invested’ Wax in the properly dried shells are melted out by applying heat source. The ‘hollow’ shells are formed having cavities inside. These ‘hollow’ shells or ceramic mould are then fired in high temperature baking furnace to cure the refractory material and to withstand the molten metal during pouring from the melting unit.
Melting & Casting: The specified molten metal alloyed in induction melting furnace is then poured in the pre-heated & hot-baked hollow shells (moulds) ensuring complete filling of the entire shell cavity.
Shell Release & Fettling/Grinding: Upon cooling, the ceramic shells are removed by usual knocking out operations by mechanical vibration and chemical cleaning. Parts are separated from the metallic sprues resulting Precision Castings after usual operations of gate grinding, cleaning and further operation like heat treatment, surface treatment etc.
Final Inspection: Finished products of casting are carefully inspected for compliance with client’s drawings and specifications and thorough visual & dimensional inspection are carried out to maintain the integrity of the required component.
Process - Lost Wax Process
- Tooling & Die making & Inspection
- Wax Mould Injection
- Wax Mould Inspection
- Coating
- Melting with Induction Furnace
- Heating the Hollow Shells
- Pouring Metal in Preheated Hollow Shells
- Pouring Metal in Preheated Hollow Shells
- Knockout Operation
- Cleaning and Gate Grinding
- Inspection
- Lab testing
Facilities - Lab Facilities
To meet the customer needs both inside and outside, the lab must able to do myriad tests and do them when needed.
The Investment Castings Foundry lab facilitates with all the instruments & equipments for Destructive and Non-Destructive testing of material.
The chemistry lab conducts spark emission, optical emission, carbon and sulfur, and other testing facilities.
The mechanical testing lab conducts tensile test, hardness and heat treatment etc. etc. test of material.
Other In-House Facilities
Today in present industrial need have complete finished part in place of ‘as cast’ condition of the instances. To meet the customer need advanced foundries have to elevated mechanical property capability, and the infrastructure to deliver finished structures of components.
To make a better finished ‘as cast’ metal components, some processes are done on the components. i.e.
- Degreasing & Cleaning
- Blasting (Shot & Sand)
- Pickling
- Passivating
- Electro- polishing
- Deburring etc. etc.
Heat treatments are used to control hardness, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and surface treatments. Heat treatment processes are being done as per customer requirements.
- Hardening,
- Nitriding
- Stress relief
- Tempering
- Annealing
- Normalizing
Technology - Material Handled Investment Castings Alloys :
- Stainless Steel viz, CF8, CF8M, CF3, CF3M, CG8M,CG3M, CG3, CN7M(Alloy20), CA15, CA40, CB7Cu, CD4MCu etc.
- Nickel & Cobalt based Super Alloys viz, Monel, Inconel, Haste Alloy B & C, Stellite etc.
- Low Alloy Steels viz. WC1, WC4, WC5, WC6, WC9, LC1, LC2, LC3 LC4, C5, C12 C23, C24, 7Q, 8Q, 9Q, 10Q, etc.
- Low & Medium Carbon Steel viz. WCA, WCB, WCC, LCA, LCB, LCC, 1A, 2A etc.
- Titanium Alloys.
Dimensional Tolerance
Lost Wax Castings Tolerance is defined in terms of Amount of allowable deviation. The tolerances described can be attained in most of instances.
Dimensional Tolerance
Nominal
Dimension
(In mm.) |
Overall Dimensions (In mm.) |
Over |
Upto |
Up
to
6 |
6
to
10 |
10
to
18 |
18
to
30 |
30
to
80 |
80
to
180 |
180
to
300 |
300
to
500 |
Centr
Distance
Tolerance
for Holes
& Bosses |
|
6 |
± 0.10 |
± 0.12 |
± 0.15 |
± 0.20 |
± 0.25 |
± 0.25 |
± 0.30 |
± 0.35 |
± 0.12 |
6 |
10 |
|
± 0.12 |
± 0.15 |
± 0.25 |
± 0.25 |
± 0.30 |
± 0.35 |
± 0.45 |
± 0.12 |
10 |
18 |
|
|
± 0.20 |
± 0.30 |
± 0.35 |
± 0.35 |
± 0.40 |
± 0.55 |
± 0.15 |
18 |
30 |
|
|
|
± 0.30 |
± 0.40 |
± 0.45 |
± 0.50 |
± 0.65 |
± 0.25 |
30 |
80 |
|
|
|
|
± 0.45 |
± 0.55 |
± 0.60 |
± 0.75 |
± 0.35 |
80 |
180 |
|
|
|
|
|
± 0.60 |
± 0.70 |
± 0.90 |
± 0.45 |
180 |
300 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
± 1.00 |
± 1.15 |
± 0.70 |
300 |
500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
± 2.00 |
± 0.90 |
Flatness & Straightness
Flatness tolerance can be applied generally only. It varies with configuration of components & metal used. General flatness & straightness tolerances are 0.03 to 0.05 TIR per linear inch and depend on alloy properties and configuration of part.
Concentricity
Concentricity is defined as two cylindrical surfaces sharing a common centre point. Minimum tolerance 0.005 mm.
Radii & Fillets
As a general rule, a 0.03 maximum corner and a 0.06 minimum fillet are recommended. Smaller radii are possible depending on the complexity of the components.
Wall Thickness:
Wall thickness depends upon size, configuration and alloy selection. Minimum wall thickness is 2 mm.
Angular Tolerance
Angular Tolerance of ± 1° is normal.
Surface Finish (As Cast)
3.0 to 6.0 Ra m m.
Linear Tolerance
Linear tolerance can be attained 0.12 mm per 25 mm.
Machining Allowance
0.5 to 2.0 mm wherever machining fitment is expected.
Special Features: configurations like small hole, Blind hole, Under cuts, Serration, Groove, Slot, Knurling can be achieved as cast, depending upon overall geometry, complexity and size of the components.
Technical Services - CAD/CAM & Tooling
Development of Investment Castings Drg. (I.C. Drg.) On receipt of the machining drg. which is scrutinized & vetted and IC Drg. is prepared with the help of CAD/CAM facilities.
Die Design & Drg.: On the basis of IC drg., Die Design Drg. is prepared by CAD/CAM facilities keeping in view positions of parting line, Injection Point & Gate Position. Multi-cavity Die are designed in CAD Software depending on requirements.
Selection of Die Material: Depending on No. of Cavities, Complexity of Die, Production life of Die, Dimensional stability etc. Die material is selected.
Development of Die: Proper care is taken while development of die like:
- Dowels Pins should be hardened, ground, slide fitting in the bush.
- Mismatch of parting line.
- Proper machining & matching of internal all fittings without pins/burrs.
- Die block faces to be ground finish, perpendicularity (90°) for reference measurement.
- Cavity of Dies be well-polished without dents, scratches or extra metal match.
Dimensional Check/Inspection of Dies: Inspection both visually and dimensionally are carried out before wax pattern injection and wax patterns after injection.
Design Assistance
Investment castings have been traditionally specified for applications requiring exceptional accuracy, thin wall capability, complexity, and fine detail reproduction. From jewelry and medical implants to larger industrial components, this process has evolved due to both market demand as well as technology advancements.
At Hi-Con, we believe in early involvement and working with customer to attain maximum value from the investment castings process. We are fortunate to have a unique staff that is willing to support you in creative production design. Any assistance needed ranging from a simple tolerance review the full scale concurrent engineering is available at our plant site.
Regardless of complexity, almost any metal part can be produced as one-piece configurations, which are inherently strong in all directions. Many part features which are especially difficult to machine, such as cams, grooves, bosses, holes and slots, can be readily produced by the Investment Casting Process.
Coring of internal configuration not possible with other manufacturing processes is readily cast in the investment casting process. A thin wall capability and stronger and lighter weight alloys to achieve the same part properties are available through investment castings. With investment casting process, you can switch from one metal to another (ferrous or non-ferrous) and back again, keeping in mind some dimensional variances may occur with same dies/ toolings.
Since investment castings minimize machining, you can upgrade materials to attain higher mechanical properties and stronger parts.
Whenever you have a project that requires metal components, Hi-Con can provide the investment casting design assistance to make your product a success. We encourage you to take advantages of our competence.
For manufacturing/construction of metallic Die/Tooling which, in fact, used as a negative replica of the Investment Cast Component, we have with us all CAD/CAM facilities.
Starting with the market of the military components, many investment casters looked for alternate market place for their built capacity. Numerous companies diversified into commercial products such as high end automotive, industrial parts, valves & pumps and recreational/medical products viz.
- Aircraft Airframe
- Aircraft Engine
- Aircraft Full Controls
- Agriculture Machinery
- Automobile Parts
- Pharmaceutical Machinery
- Business Machine Components
- Chemical Equipments & Controls
- Dental/Orthopedic implants
- Electrical Switchgears
- Food Processing Equipments
- Farm Implements
- Fire Fighting Equipments
- Gas Turbines
- Hand Tools
- Industrial Machinery & Machinery Tools
- Industrial Valves
- Instrumentation & Controls
- Marine Hardware & Instruments
- Medical Instruments & Equipments
- Mining Machinery
- Oilfield Equipments Components
- Packaging Equipments
- Petrochemical & Fertilizers
- Precision Machinery Equipments
- Printing Machinery
- Pumps & Air Compressors
- Small Arms & Rifles
- Security Systems
- Sewing Machineries
- Sport Equipments
- Surgical Instruments
- Textile Machinery
- Transportation Equipments
- Wood Cutting Tools etc. etc
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