Art of Steel Investment Casting in China

The most common method of precision casting is investment casting. It is based on lost-wax casting. This is one of the oldest metal-forming techniques. It has been used for centuries. This article will look at some of the best foundries in the world. This is not an exclusive list. 

The same is true for choosing the best machine to suit your needs. It is important to choose the best foundries and companies to provide the casting processes that will meet your requirements. Find out which are your best options for metal casting. You can skip to the top 10 list if you know exactly what you want and have a good understanding of complex casting.

Historical Background of Investment Casting 

It is a very old technique. The technique can be thousands of years old. Castings are often used to create art or even useful tools. Figures, complex tools and arrowheads are examples. Even though investment casting was used in the past. Its rapid development began in 1940. During World War II, the demand for precise net shapes became high and strict. Traditional manufacturing methods cannot meet this demand. The industrial importance of the product and its popularity increased.

Investment casting was the industry’s main focus after World War II. Especially the shell process that uses wax patterns from China. This method solved the problem of wax by enclosing a finished and dried shell inside a vapor degreaser. The vapor penetrated the shell and melted the wax. The process evolved to the present-day melting of virgin wax using an autoclave or furnace. In the future, 3D printing technology will be able to replace wax patterns. Mold manufacturing costs are decreasing, and production times are getting shorter.

What is investment casting?

Investment casting has been used for many years to produce metal parts. The process involves making a wax sculpture. It is covering itself with an outer shell and melting away the wax. Then, the molten metal will be poured into an empty shell. The shell is then broken open to reveal the metal piece. 

This technique is great for creating complex shapes that would be difficult to achieve with other techniques. This method is best for creating complex, precise parts in various sizes. These metal casting companies can offer a variety of processes, including automotive casting, gravity casting and shell casting. It ensures the highest quality at the most competitive price.

Top 7 Investment Casting companies in China

Investment casting is the best method to use for ferrous metals. Metal casting or complex casting products offer many advantages and this is why precision casting manufacturers are growing in China.

The following is a list of the five largest metal casting companies located in China.

1: Signicast

Company Background

Signicast is one of the leading suppliers and manufacturers of precision investment casts in the world. The company relies on advanced manufacturing technologies to ensure a smooth and efficient product flow. Signicast is one of the most reputable automotive casting companies and manufacturers. It has an excellent reputation for its precision investment casting products and the speed at which they are delivered. Signicast has a team of engineers and manufacturing experts who provide each client with a customized solution to achieve optimum performance at a low cost.

Main Products and Services

• Investment Casting
• Prototype Casting
• Surface Treatment and plating

Website: https://www.signicast.com/

2: Dawang Steel Casting

Company Background

Dandong Dawang Steel Casting consists of two investment casting plants, each covering an area of more than 95,000 square metres and employing over 500 people. Dawang Foundry, which relies on modern production equipment, is known for having a high production capacity. It has an annual production of 17,500 metric tons.

Dawang has a wealth of experience not only in investment casting but also in shell mold and automotive casting. Dawang can customise the best solutions for its customers based on their size, performance, graphics and material requirements.

Main Products and Services

• Agricultural Machinery Casting
• Automotive Casting
• Construction Machinery Casting
• Petrochemical Engineering Casting
• Railroad Casting
• Valve Casting

Website: https://dawangcasting.com/

3: Shelmet Precision Casting

Company Background

Shelmet Precision Casting Company. is a manufacturer of investment castings located in the United States. We offer free advice and analysis, as well as investment casting experts with more than 50 years of experience.

They can produce high-quality castings that meet their customer’s needs as an excellent investment casting manufacturer and provider. Included are aerospace, mining, process, turbine engines, and process equipment.

Main Products and Services

• Castings in Stainless Steel
• Cobalt-Based Casting
• Precipitation-hardened steel castings
• Tool Steel Investment Castings

Factory address: Wisconsin (USA)

Website: https://shelmetcasting.com/

4: Ningbo Besser Casting Company Limited

Company Background

Besser, a Chinese precision investment casting company, is located in the city of Shanghai. Our company, which was founded in 2002, has 120 professionals and technicians and a 12,000-square-metre area. Our investment factory is TS16949- and ISO90001-certified. Not only do we have a casting factory, but we also have a second processing facility. Tolerances for metal castings are strictly controlled.

Bessel is a leader in the investment casting industry in China. We are a professional manufacturer and supplier of investment castings. Stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, tool steel, nickel alloy, etc. Construction hardware, aeronautics, auto parts and valve casting are among the industries we serve.

Main Products and Services: 

• Stainless Steel Investment Casting
• Carbon Steel Investment Casting
• Tool Steel Investment Casting
• Alloy Steel Investment Casting
• Nickel Casting

Factory Address: 32 North Yihuan Road, Zhangqi Cixi, Ningbo, China 315313

Email: erica@bessercasting.com

Website: https://www.bessercasting.com/

5: Impro Precision Industries

Impro Precision operates globally in four segments. They produce highly complex and precise castings and machined components for various applications. Their services and products are used in many industries. Impro uses only the best equipment to meet the most demanding requirements for investment casting. For different ferrous and other alloys with very tight tolerances.

6: Milwaukee-based Precision Casting Company

Company Background

One of Wisconsin’s top foundries for precision investment casting is Milwaukee Precision Casting Company. In 1993, it started producing investment castings. 

Almost any air-melt alloy can be produced as precision investment casting products by Milwaukee Precision Casting Company. Their investment casting facility can meet your material needs with exacting precision for the aerospace, medical, military, and firearms industries. They can produce simple cast steel components or highly complex aluminium cast components.

Main Products and Services: 

• Castings made of stainless steel
• Casting in Brass
• Steel Castings for Tools
• Casting of Metal
• Quick Prototyping

Factory Address: Wisconsin, USA

Website: www.milwaukeeprec.com

7: Dongying Hengke Precision Metal

Company Background

Dongying Hengke Precision Metal is a Chinese casting provider that may be behind in terms of quality and reliability, but China remains a major investment casting producer that is slowly but steadily catching up with casting technology. Dongying Hengke Precision Metal Co. Ltd. is a major player. The company produces a variety of metal products. Precision casting services include stainless steel, heat-resistant carbon, low alloy, and high-temperature alloy casts.

Main Products and Services: 

• Investment Casting Manufacturer
• Pump Parts Casting
• Valve casings
• Automotive Casting
• Construction Hardware
• Food Equipment parts
• Marine Casting Parts

Website: https://www.hengkemetal.com/

Investment Casting: Uses and Applications

These castings are all around us, in our cars, fridges, transportation, healthcare, and more. These categories show that castings are found all over the globe.

• Engine Blocks
• Turbine housings
• Manhole cover
• Fire Hydrants
• Valves and seals
• Sewer and water pipes
• The energy grid: Key components
• Medical Equipment
• Car pieces
• Everyday Electronics

And much more! It’s amazing how something that we never knew existed becomes a part of something so big and important in our lives. This industry has also provided many jobs over the years.

Advantages of investment casting

Here are the advantages of investment casting:.

1: Flexible Design

Investment casting offers a wide range of design options. This is ideal for parts that have complex internal shapes, or even complex internal shapes. The process offers almost limitless freedom when it comes to investment in casting materials. However, the most commonly used materials include cast iron, aluminium alloys and non-ferrous metal alloys. This process is especially attractive for alloys that are high in temperature.

Castings can be made in any size, thickness or complexity. The production methods are flexible.

2: More precise tolerances and closer net shapes

Precision casting is another name for investment casting, particularly when it comes to stainless steel castings. We can achieve a good tolerance of CT5 or CT6 compared to other manufacturing processes. This can eliminate the need for further machining.

We can still achieve net-shape or near-net-shape products by casting with a small machining allowance. We can therefore say that investment casting is capable of producing products with net-shapes or nearly-net-shapes. Other automotive casting processes may not be able to achieve this.

3: Manufacturing Costs are competitive and less wasteful

Investment casting is a near-net shape that requires minimal machining. This minimises waste. Investment casting is less costly and less dangerous. It allows costs to stay low. Economic performance. Low energy, material and mold costs. Initial product development is relatively low-cost. The manufacturing costs are extremely competitive.

4: Consistency, Quality Control and Stability

To ensure consistent, high-quality components, investment casting processes adhere to strict quality control procedures. To minimise the risk of defects, manufacturers use advanced inspection techniques.

5: Improved Time-to-Market

Investment casting helps accelerate time-to-market by streamlining production processes and reducing the need for post-casting. You can launch products faster, giving you a competitive advantage in the market.

6: Diversification in Material Variety

Investment casting can use a wide range of materials. Precision casting can produce alloys such as carbon steel alloy steel heat-resistant alloy stainless steel precision alloy permanent magnet alloy bearing alloy copper alloy aluminium alloy titanium alloy and ductile iron.

Disadvantages of investment casting

This process has its own disadvantages. Casting is a process that industrialists should be aware of.

1: High Cost of Tooling and Equipment

Initial tooling, master patterns, and equipment (furnace and ceramic coater) are expensive and not justified for small-volume production. If cost is not the main consideration, it may be selected for low-volume production, such as wind turbine blades.

2: High-Tech Process

The procedure has many steps, as discussed above. Each step of the process requires specialised expertise and skilled labour. It is therefore easy to mismanage the process and it can be costly for the manufacturer. The cost of manpower can also be an issue when adopting the casting process.

3: Time-consuming

Due to the many steps and the time-consuming steps such as cooling and coating, it is possible for the casting process to be slow. Alternative casting techniques are a good option for companies that need to produce parts quickly.

How Do You Choose a Reliable Precision Investment Casting Company?

It is not easy to choose a reliable supplier or company for investment casting. Here are some tips for selecting an investment casting company.

1: Professional

Investment casting is a precise process. You should know about a company that has a track record of precision investment casting.

2: Quality Assurance

Our foundry’s investment casting must undergo a quality inspection by the district. We have a great reputation with our customers around the world because of our different certifications and complex casting experience.

3: Relevant qualifications

Verify their credentials and look at their certificates, like ISO 9001. This will show that they are committed to maintaining high quality standards. Ask about their testing and inspection procedures to make sure they are taking the necessary steps to meet your requirements.

4: Advanced Equipment and Technology

Chinese delivery casting facilities use modern technology and equipment. These include advanced molding equipment, computer-aided design (CAD/CAM), and quality control systems. This ensures high-precision and efficient production.

5: Fast Delivery

We can provide the alloys that you require. We can also make aluminium, steel, or iron castings. Please provide us with the alloy composition or specifications. Please provide the alloy specifications or compositions so that we can adjust.

6: Low Price

It may be more expensive to use investment casting than drop forging, but secondary machining is less expensive. We create quality investment casts and can convert multiple-piece projects to single-piece ones. We are always looking for new and innovative ways to make complex castings.

7: Various Alloy Materials

You may have waited for months to get your castings. Our foundry can deliver your investment castings within 30 days. Our goal is to deliver 100% of the time. We will work with you closely to ensure that projects are delivered as quickly as possible, from the design stage to the delivery phase.

8: Should you offer a complete range of custom services?

A foundry with experience will have made unique molds in the past, preferably on-site. Ask about the cost of casting, lead time and budget if a steel foundry doesn’t offer a one-stop service for mold making and casting.

Final Thoughts

The metal casting process involves melting the metal, pouring it into molds and then letting it solidify to create the desired shape. This method is used to make large parts for heavy machinery and equipment. The molds used for this method can be classified as either disposable or permanent. The word is derived from the reused permanent molds.

Complex casting is also called precision casting. It involves the use of a wax pattern to shape a disposable ceramic mould. The wax pattern of the exact shape of the object to be cast is made and then dipped into a ceramic substance.

The ceramic material is heated and turned upside-down until the wax melts. The ceramic shell can be used as a replacement investment mold. The mold is then filled with molten steel, which is allowed to cool. The metal casting is broken using the used mold.

Why choose Hengke Metal as your investment casting manufacturer?

• Hengke Metal is a global manufacturer of metal castings with clients that range from automotive casting manufacturers to the military and beyond. We offer everything from design concepts through production and packaging.
• Other cast aluminium alloys will be accepted. Please let us know the chemical composition as well as mechanical properties of any alloys that are not widely used.
• Hengke Metal solves problems. We are known for our ability to transform complex casting specifications into reality.
• Hengke Metal is a full-service metal casting manufacturer, handling everything from design, testing, and mold manufacturing to the production of precision parts, finishing and packaging.

Hengke Metal with its over 16-year experience as a manufacturer of complex castings. It has become a global leader. Its skilled professionals manufacture metal castings of high quality for international companies at the lowest possible cost. Our complex casting company is committed to delivering high-quality products in a timely manner!

Most Asked Questions About Art of Steel Investment Casting

Q1: How cost-effective are stainless steel investment casts?

Answer: The cost-effectiveness and quality of stainless steel investment casts are dependent on factors like the complexity of your design, the complex casting method you choose, the number of parts needed, and the stainless steel grade that you select. Stainless steel investment castings may have a higher initial cost, but their durability and resistance against corrosion will result in savings over time.

Q2: How can defects in stainless steel castings be minimised?

Answer: The defects in stainless steel investment casts can be reduced through proper design, proper gating, risering and control of casting parameters.

Q3: Can stainless steel investment casts be customised to specific applications?

Answer: Yes. Stainless steel investment castings are highly customizable. Casting allows for complex designs and shapes, which makes them ideal for a variety of applications. Different grades of stainless steel can also be selected based on application requirements.