There is an increasing demand for prototype metal investment
castings - usually aluminium. There are a number of different methods for
producing prototype castings and we outline below some methods of investment casting that have proved
to be very successful working in conjunction with aluminium
foundries.
For small numbers or complex geometries a
Stereolithography or FDM model with shrinkage factor is generated from the 3D
CAD data as normal. The "A" surfaces are cleaned up to the required standard and
a silicone mould produced from the master. Molten wax is then cast in the
mould, these wax castings are then passed to the foundry for investment casting in the normal way.
Silicone moulds typically produce only 2 - 3 wax castings per day
| 
