Table of Contents
Overview
Stainless steel investment casting, which is also known as stainless steel precision casting, entails pouring molten stainless steel into wax molds of particular shape that have been specially made, and the parts that are made using this process have extremely high surface finish and dimensional accuracy. An example of stainless steels’ resistance to corrosion is that stainless steel castings are used in food processing, marine and medical industries where durability and hygiene are essential factors. Specific stainless steel grades have different applications, meaning that they present benefits which include such as corrosion resistance, strength, and flexibility of design. Among the casting techniques, such as investment casting, sand casting, and shell molding, there are different approaches to part complexity and quality, which are intended to meet the ever-changing need for high-quality castings for a variety of applications.
Understanding Stainless Steel Casting
Stainless steel casting is a general term for castings made of various stainless steel materials, also known as stainless steel fine casting,
Beginning with a carefully crafted wax mold, molten stainless steel is poured into the form, hardening as it cools into the final product.
Renowned for its precise surface finish and dimensional accuracy, stainless steel casting is often the preferred method for parts with intricate geometries or thin walls. Additionally, stainless steel’s natural corrosion resistance makes the cast parts suitable for various applications, including those in harsh environments or where sanitation is critical, such as food processing, marine, and medical industries.
Benefits of Stainless Steel Investment Casting
Stainless steel investment casting offers numerous benefits across various industries and applications. Here are some key advantages of stainless steel casting:
- Corrosion Resistance
- Strength and Durability
- Design Flexibility
- Versatility
- Cost-Effectiveness
- Excellent Surface Finish
- Corrosion Fatigue Resistance
Overall, stainless steel casting provides the advantages of corrosion resistance, strength, design flexibility, versatility, cost-effectiveness, and excellent surface finish. These benefits make stainless steel castings a preferred choice for numerous industrial applications.
The Best Stainless-Steel Grades for Investment Casting
The best stainless-steel grades for investment casting largely depend on the specific application and requirements. However, below are some commonly used stainless steel in casting :
- Austenitic Stainless Steel:
- 304 (CF8): 304, is one of the most commonly used investment casting stainless steel materials, as it is with excellent corrosion resistance and is suitable for a wide range of applications
- 316 (CF8M): It has better corrosion resistance than 304, especially in chloride environments, making it ideal for marine and chemical processing industries.
- Martensitic Stainless Steel:
- 410 (CA15): This grade is known for its good wear resistance and strength, making it suitable for applications like turbine blades, pump parts, and valves.
- 420 (CA40): It provides higher hardness and wear resistance compared to 410, making it ideal for cutlery, surgical instruments, and other wear-resistant components.
- Precipitation Hardening Stainless Steel:
- 17-4 PH (CB7Cu-1): This grade offers a combination of hardness, high strength, and corrosion resistance, making it suitable for oil and gas， aerospace, and other high-stress applications.
Ultimately, It mainly depends on the application, s Consulting with a casting specialist or material expert can help determine the most suitable grade for your needs.
Types of Stainless Steel Casting Methods
- Stainless steel investment casting, also known as stainless steel lost-wax casting, is a stainless steel manufacturing process that produces different parts, first creating a wax pattern, coating it with ceramic material, and melting away the wax to leave a mold. The mold is then used to pour molten stainless steel and shape it into any required design.
- Stainless steel Sand Casting: This method uses a mold made from compacted sand mixed with a binder. The mold is created by packing the sand mixture around a pattern, and molten stainless steel is poured into the mold cavity.
- Stainless steel Shell Molding: Similar to sand casting, this technique utilizes a resin-coated sand mixture that is packed around a pattern. The mold is then heated to harden the resin before pouring molten stainless steel into it.
- Stainless steel Continuous Casting: This process involves continuously pouring molten stainless steel into a water-cooled mold. As the steel solidifies, it is continuously withdrawn from the bottom, resulting in a continuous length of cast stainless steel.
- Stainless steel Centrifugal Casting: In this method, molten stainless steel is poured into a spinning mold. The centrifugal force pushes the metal toward the mold’s outer walls, creating a dense and uniform casting.
- Stainless steel Vacuum Casting: Vacuum-assisted casting is a technique that uses a vacuum chamber to remove air from the mold cavity before pouring molten stainless steel. The absence of air helps prevent defects and promotes better metal flow.
- Electroslag Remelting (ESR): ESR is a specialized casting method used for refining and purifying stainless steel. It involves melting a consumable electrode in a water-cooled mold under a layer of flux. The slag protects the molten metal from contamination, resulting in high-quality stainless steel castings.
Each method has its advantages and is chosen based on factors such as complexity, size, shape, and quality requirements of the final product.
Benefits of Using Investment Casting
Investment casting offers numerous benefits over other casting processes, such as:
- Improved surface finish and dimensional accuracy
- Faster manufacturing process
- Lower tooling costs
- Ability to cast complex shapes that would be difficult or impossible using other methods
The stainless steel investment casting offers multiple benefits:
- Offers high heat resistance
- Tight tolerance levels
- Offers flexibility of sizing
- Higher surface finish quality
- Possible to create intricate shapes
- Corrosion resistance
- No/minimal secondary machining requirements
- Low material waste
Applications of Investment Casting
Due to the high corrosion resistance, high-strength and low maintenance investment casting are used in multiple applications like:
- Food processing industry
The food processing industry commonly uses investment casting for various products, such as food storage items, grinders, cooking machine components, and other related equipment. By utilizing investment casting, these products can be custom-designed to meet specific requirements and can offer superior durability and longevity over alternative manufacturing techniques.
- Automotive industry
The automotive industry has extensive use of investment casting products. These products include grills, trims, exhaust pipes/components, and converters.
- Medical and Healthcare industry
Since stainless steel investment casting offers high precision and corrosion resistance, it is very suitable for the medical industry. The investment casting process is often used for the manufacturing of surgical tools, operating equipment, MRI machine components, X-ray equipment, stretchers/wheelchairs, implant products, and dental tools.
- Marine and locomotive industry
Stainless steel is resistant to corrosion and heat changes, therefore, it is an ideal material for the manufacturing of marine and locomotive parts like hydraulic blocks, valves, pumps, and associated equipment.
- Pipes and Fittings industry
The piping and fitting industry frequently makes use of investment casting for the manufacturing of stainless steel pipes, tees, elbows, nipples, and bushings. Investment casting allows for high precision in producing these parts, ensuring they meet the required specifications for use in various applications. This manufacturing process provides reliable, durable products that can withstand the rigors of various industries, including petrochemical, energy, and food and dairy.
Costs of Stainless Steel Investment Casting
For font-up costs, the investment casting process is slightly expensive than the forging or mold casting processes. However, certain benefits of investment casting reduce the overall cost of the product and benefit you in the long run. Meaning that the secondary machining cost required for milling, turning, drilling and cutting, etc. in other casting processes are avoided in the investment casting. Moreover, investment casting requires minimal draft angles for the removal of patterns from tooling and no draft is necessary for the removal of the metal castings from the investment shell. Therefore, the overall cost of the investment casting process is very competitive.
Tolerances Can Be Achieved by Investment Casting
Based on the use of various binder materials here are the general tolerances that are possible with investment casting:
- Dimensional Casting Tolerance (DCT)
- DCT G4-G6 Sol Lost Wax casting
- DCT G5-G9 Glass Lost Wax casting
- Geometrical Casting Tolerance (GCT)
- GCT G3-G5 Sol Lost Wax casting
- GCT G3-G5 Glass Lost Wax casting
At HDC the typical tolerances we offer are +/- 0.005 per inch. However, in case you need any specific tolerances for your parts you need to discuss the exact details with our design team for the finalization of tolerances of investment casting parts.
Size Limits of Investment Casting Parts
Investment casting is the casting process of the small to medium-sized parts, commonly with an inch to a few feet in dimensions, and wall thicknesses from 0.040 inches (1 mm) to 4 inches (100 mm) or more. Although the process is capable of working with intricate designs and having relatively tight tolerances, large and complex parts may present difficulties and will require special equipment and handling techniques. Material properties, facility limitations and cost considerations determine the maximum feasible size of castings too. In case of larger or irregular shapes, alternative methods like sand casting or machining may be more appropriate, and consulting with experts would be advisable to find the best process.
Surface Finish For Stainless Steel Investment Casting Parts
Due to the injected wax during the casting process, the final investment casting product has a very formidable surface finish. However, as a general practice, a 125 rms micro finish is applied to the surface of investment casting products. It is even possible to use 63 or 62 RMS finishes on the surface during the secondary finishing stage. Although these are the standard finishes, the final finish will be as per the requirement of the client. 
The Quality Control in Investment Casting
The role of quality control in investment casting can’t be overestimated and must be accompanied by the creation of accurate and reliable parts. It includes a number of processes, which are carried out by the casting staff. Firstly, the accurate replication of the part geometry is a must for the preparation of the pattern and mold which are meticulous stages. After that, material selection and preparation need to meet specific requirements that lead to the necessary mechanical strength and smoothness. The casting process should clearly be within the predetermined temperatures, pressures, and solidification times in order to minimize the occurrence of porosity and shrinkage. The post casting processes include heat treatment and surface finishing which have a big role in the end product quality. Furthermore, total inspection and testing, which includes dimensional check, nondestructive test (such as X-ray and ultrasound), and mechanical test are performed to verify against specifications. Constant improvement projects and feedback systems, which serve to sustain quality control measures such that the outputs of the investment casting remain consistent and high-quality are another way through which quality control procedures are reinforced.
Porosity or Shrinkage Defects May Occur Due to the Investment Casting Process
Porosity and shrinkage defects are common in investment casting, caused by trapped gas or inadequate feeding during solidification. These issues arise from factors like improper gating, inadequate investment properties, and poor process control. To address them, foundries employ rigorous mold design, optimized gating systems, precise temperature control, and post-casting treatments. Comprehensive inspection methods ensure the production of high-quality cast parts.
HDC’s Expertise in Stainless Steel Investment Casting
At HDC, we specialize in stainless steel investment casting, offering high-precision casting solutions for various industries, including automotive, medical, and marine. Our team of skilled professionals, equipped with advanced casting technologies, ensures that every part meets the highest standards of quality and performance. Whether you need intricate geometries or large production runs, HDC delivers reliable and cost-effective solutions tailored to your needs.
Conclusion
At the end, stainless steel investment casting is a flexible and popular approach for producing close-tolerance and durable parts in a large variety of sectors. Stainless steel casting is able to do corrosion resistance and have design flexibility as well as good surface finish, and it has unmatched advantages over other casting processes. Although porosity and shrinkage defects may be among the challenges, rigorous quality control procedures ensure the development of castings which possess the specified quality. In conclusion, stainless steel investment casting is still one of the main pillars of modern production, providing a high quality and affordable product for many business needs.
