One of the biggest benefits of the investment casing process is that it produces parts that are very close to the desired finished shape. Compared to other processes, near-net-shape investment casting significantly reduces the number of processing steps, the amount of waste, processing time, the finishing work that is necessary and overall manufacturing cost in many cases. It also makes it practical to achieve very close tolerances, cast very intricate shapes and use specialized alloys that are not well-suited for other processes. It is an excellent alternative for many parts and applications.