White Paper: Aerospace Investment Casting

Investment casting is one of the widely used metal fabrication techniques. Accordingly, the precision casting process has been used in many industries for ages.

One of the most successful applications of investment casting has been in the aerospace industry. This is primarily because the process can produce components ranging from low to high complexity and durable and resistant to corrosion. Additionally, such parts are known to withstand the harshest conditions, including extreme temperatures and humidity.

Since investment casting offers precision and consistency, it becomes easier to use the process in manufacturing aerospace parts. Additionally, investment casting ensures every interlocking aerospace part is matched up seamlessly. This aspect makes assembly more straightforward and prevents errors that may lead to faster wear or malfunctions.

In this article, you get insight into aerospace investment casting and explore its benefits.

Aerospace Casting Requirements

Many investment casting foundries understand that the aerospace industry requires quality and accuracy regardless of size and application. Accordingly, aerospace investment casting is a safety-critical component that needs utmost attention to detail.

It is essential to consider various demands, requirements, and challenges when casting parts for the aviation and aerospace industry. This helps in determining the best-suited material for every application. Additionally, changes in the aviation environment call for more reliable, cost-effective, and safe aerospace parts.

Additionally, aerospace needs special consideration to the environment, particularly during this era of awareness of climate change.

Why Is Investment Casting Used in Aerospace Applications?

Investment casting has been used in many industrial applications for different reasons. However, the main reason why investment casting is used in the aerospace industry is that the process offers net near shape parts. Additionally, the method is cost-effective when the production volume is high. Since the aerospace industry requires high precision, durability, and safety parts, investment casting remains the most suitable metal casting method for making them.

Advantages of Aerospace Investment Casting

Aerospace investment casting parts are known for high quality, dimensional precision, and structural integrity requirements. Here are the benefits of aerospace investment casting:

• The process can produce more complex designs, thin geometry, and walls with holes.
• Precision casting can make components with an excellent surface finish, thereby minimizing the need for post-processing.
• Lost wax casting can be used to make products of different sizes.

Generally, investment casting is used in aerospace applications because it offers many benefits, including high-quality custom aviation components. Accordingly, the method allows for excellent quality control in every manufacturing stage.

Aerospace Precision Casting for Prototype Part

If you are looking for the quickest and low-cost alternative to conventional investment casting, the rapid prototype aerospace casting process can be an excellent solution. This process creates a fully functional precision casting with generally similar strength and structural quality capabilities.

Rapid investment prototyping casting uses 3D designed patterns in the place of injected wax. This process allows for shorter lead times and is also suitable for new design testing.

The aerospace industry requires utmost precision with every casting. The need for more intricate designs makes it ideal for this kind of fabrication.

There are many aerospace applications with varying roles and specifications. These components may include airplane safety parts, landing and braking parts, and other safety aspects. Rapid precision aerospace casting is also applicable in making less noticed components that enhance flight safety, such as interior and exterior sensors, actuation components, and cargo systems.

With the capability to manufacture low, medium, and high-volume production runs, investment casting helps the aerospace industry meet its demands with shorter lead times. This enhances a steady flow of components to improve your competitiveness in the aviation business.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Aerospace Investment Casting

Choosing aerospace investment casting parts can be challenging. However, you can consider the following factors in your selection criteria.

ü  Material Selection

Precision casting can be used with a wide range of ferrous and non-ferrous metal and metal alloys. This results in the finished piece reaping the benefits of several metal qualities. For instance, the process has been used in the aerospace industry with the following alloys:

• Aluminum
• Stainless steels
• Titanium

Material selection is an essential consideration when choosing a suitable aerospace investment casting component. This is mainly because the material used will determine the physical and structural; properties of the finished part. These qualities may range from improved chemical and corrosion resistance, strength, and overall durability.

Accordingly, the material selection may determine if the aerospace investment casting part is capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions or not.

ü  Design processes

Aerospace investment casting parts require a specific design process to ensure safety, reliability, and durability. In most cases, investment casting manufacturers use CAD and CAM software when producing prototypes and precision casting components for the aerospace industry.

The processes require the foundry to complete the initial design steps to maintain performance integrity. Therefore, you need to find out if your supplier meets design process requirements. Accordingly, stress testing and operability should be a consideration.

ü  Tight tolerance

aerospace investment casting parts require measurements with minor deviations from various specifications, such as diameter, thickness, and length. However, the process used should allow for tight tolerance margins to ensure the parts adhere to the required measurements for your applications. This aspect enhances performance and can be a difference.

Precision casting adheres to very tight tolerance margins, which improves the performance of intricate aerospace parts, especially components with multiple complex parts.

ü  Individual parts

aerospace investment casting parts vary in functionality, sizes, and shapes. Therefore, it may not be a surprise to find an investment casting manufacturer specializing in one line alone.

This means that you should consider the parts you want if you are looking for the best aerospace investment casting components. Find out if your supplier has all parts you need to avoid outsourcing from many manufacturers.

The Bottom line

The stakes are incredibly high in the aerospace industry, and a minor mistake or defect may lead to significant consequences. Therefore, the manufacture of airplane parts requires casting techniques that meet such requirements. Accordingly, Investment casting produces parts with structural integrity, strict quality specs, and reliability. This makes precision casting the most suitable casting method for aerospace parts.