PA State outline

Investment Castings

Investment casting is an excellent process for producing an extensive array of parts and items, from industrial components to consumer products such as jewelry. Examples of investment casting have been found from over 5,000 years ago in Egypt and China. Among the key advantages of this process is that it produces near-net-shape castings, which require little machining and finishing compared to other processes. It can also produce intricate, complex parts with high levels of precision, consistency and reliability.

PPCP utilizes the investment casting process to produce a wide range of industrial and commercial parts up to 250 pounds. We employ a broad range of specialized alloys in addition to steel and aluminum to produce a near-endless variety of castings for many industries and applications.

The Investment Casting Process

In the investment casting process, a wax pattern is coated with a ceramic material, which, when hardened, adopts the internal geometry of the desired casting. In most cases, multiple parts are cast together for efficiency by attaching individual wax patterns to a central wax stick called a sprue. The wax is melted out of the pattern – which is why it is also known as the lost wax process – and molten metal is poured into the cavity. When the metal solidifies, the ceramic mold is broken off, leaving the near net shape of the desired part. Finishing, testing and packaging complete the process.

    A pdf of the PPCP Process can be found on our Downloads page.
    ppcp investment casting process shown graphically