The Investment Casting Process
The investment casting process is named after the process of ‘investing’ or surrounding the pattern with refractory material. The pattern itself is made of wax, so the process is also known as ‘lost wax casting’. The investment casting process has been used for many thousands of years to produce idols, ornaments, and Jewellery. It became...
The differences between Lost Foam Casting and Lost Wax Casting
In many respects, the process involved in these two investment casting methods is similar. In both cases, a sacrificial pattern is made. In lost wax casting, this is made from a tooled mould and in lost foam casting, it may be made from a mould or carved from a solid block of foam material. A...
Types of shrinkage inherent in the casting process
We often say that casting molten metal is like handling a living thing. Understanding how different alloys will react to different casting processes, component geometry, running systems, temperatures, etc. is part of the art of the foundry engineer. In recent years, the wealth of experience built up at the NovaCast Foundry has been enhanced by...
Sand Casting Foundry: Where tradition meets technology
Sand casting is a traditional process dating back many thousands of years, but components produced using this process are still an essential part of our lives today. In this article we outline the sand casting process as carried out in a modern sand casting foundry, where technology and tradition are combined. Although it dates back...