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Investment Casting Types
Aluminum investment castings can be cast into complex geometric shapes and are
commonly used in the aerospace industry. Aluminum investment castings are also used in
aviation, electronics, hydraulics and military applications.
Ferrous investment castings are cast out of metals that contain iron, including 300- and
400-series stainless steels, carbon and alloy steels and cobalt and tool steels.
Non-ferrous investment castings are formed from metals that do not contain iron, including
aluminum and copper-based alloys.
Titanium investment castings are used for lightweight, complex structural applications.
Titanium investment castings are also used by engineers to create one-piece and near-net-
shape pieces, which require a minimum of machining and assembly time.
 
Investment Casting Terms
Alloy – A compound consisting of either more than one metal or a metal and a nonmetal
blended together.
“As Cast” Condition – Casting that is not heat treated after being removed from the mold.
Burnout – The process whereby excess water and wax is removed from a molding.
Casting – Forming and shaping a material substance, such as an industrial piece of
equipment, by pouring liquid into a mold and allowing it to harden.
Cavity – The empty space within the mold into which the molten metal will be poured.
Centrifugal Casting – The process of filling a permanent mold cavity with molten material
while rotating the mold. Centrifugal casting is often used during the investment casting
process to increase the amount of pressure exerted upon the metal in order to reproduce
mold details, such as lettering and holes.
Ceramic Mold Process – The process by which an investment mold is created from a pattern
in order to be cast. Ceramic molds consist of solid molds and ceramic shells.

Ceramic Shell Process – The method of creating a ceramic mold through the immersion of

a pattern into a slurry of liquid and covering the coated pattern with sand. The pattern is
usually immersed and coated nine to ten times before the shell is completed.
Cocoon Process – The method of applying protective plastic to metal.
Cold Shut – Lines on the surface of a casting that are the by-product of the incomplete
fusion of metal streams.
Concentricity – The sharing of a common point or axis of two or more surfaces of shapes,
such as cylinders, cones, spheres and hexagons.
Core – A form inserted into a mold to create internal mold features.
Dirty Casting – A surplus of nonmetal substances within a casting.
Ferrous – Pertaining to or containing iron.
Forging – The method of reshaping metal through the application of heat and compression.
Gates – The openings in the gating system that transfer the molten metal from the runners
into the mold cavity.
Gating System –The structure that transfers the molten metal into the mold.Gating systems
are designed to uniformly transfer the metal into the mold cavity to create an even mold.
Inclusions – Small pieces of refractory materials, sand, slag or deoxidation products that
have been trapped within the casting while it was solidifying.
Injection Molding – The injection of a molten substance, usually metal, under substantial
pressure into a mold.
Lost Wax Process – An ancient process related to investment casting that consisted of
creating and plastering a wax model, replacing the wax with molten metal and removing the
plaster after the metal cooled.
Misrun – An incomplete casting.
Mold – A hollow container from which liquid substances can be formed into solid shapes.
Molten – A solid that has been converted into a liquid through the application of heat.
Non-ferrous – Not pertaining to or containing iron. Examples of non-ferrous metals include
aluminum- and copper-based substances.
Pattern – A casting model created by injecting metal dye with wax. When the wax solidifies,
it forms the pattern, which is then molded and cast.
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