Investment Casting (Lost Wax)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_wax

what you want is still called lost wax casting but you can upsize it to fit your needs

joshua

Where your operating location currently ?

We are located in South Africa but we are more than willing to import what ever equipment we might require.

You have mentioned only one part that you want to make. How big is it? How many do you want to make and how often? What material do you want to cast. there is a big difference in casting ferrous vs non-ferrous metals.

You will need a mold shop with experienced mold makers, wax injection presses, a wax assembly area with appropriate tooling, a conveyer system for dipping the wax trees into the various slurry tanks for the different layers of the shell, an autoclave for burning out the wax from the shell, A furnace for melting the metal and equipment for pouring the metal, a pyrometer, some type of vibratory system for breaking away the shell from the metal and possibly a caustic acid bath to leach out the shell from deep areas of the casting, a straightening department with specialized presses designed just for the purpose of straightening castings, and someone with the knowledge of how to design the straightening fixtures, possibly a nondestructive testing lab depending on what type of product you produce (that lab may include x-ray equipment, magnaflux equipment, or florescent penetrant testing equipment, and you may need a machine shop to finish the castings.

If you have not visited or worked in a foundry, I suggest you do so before you get into this. It is not a small or simple process. To set up a medium scale foundry will cost millions of dollars. A turnkey operation would have to include numerous highly experienced personnel. You will need a metallurgical engineer, a plant manager with experience with many types of equipment, a mold maker/machinist with experience with investment casting tooling (much different than plastic mold making), and numerous other skilled personnel.

I have spent about a third of my career in aerospace investment casting. I know a little about all of it and a lot about the tooling aspects. I could be available to consult in the areas of my expertise.

Domitor

I am in the process of setting up a new foundry. You will not be able to find a turnkey supplier, however you will be able to select a turnkey project manager who can and will manage the whole process for you. Garyceng would be a good person to start talking to.

Unless you buy an existing operation that has all the equipment already in place.

I agree with Garyceng on most points, but on the cost involved. My foundry equipment budget is set at US$ 0.5 million. I am buying very good second hand equipment and have a group of experienced people around me (I am a metallurgist so process my problem) to get the project off the ground. However, even if you buy new equipment the payback period (IRR, ROI) is amazing.

Go for it!!!!!

TC

As far as buying a "turnkey operation" it sounds like you're expecting someone to give away the shop.

For what it looks like you'll be using for quantities, i'd recommend a purchase agreement with a reputable foundary.

We are a medium size setup for investment casting. We have a rich experience and proven business model in this area. We can help you.. if you are genuinely interested. If in USA contact Pash @ Email - business.reliable@gmail.com

Are you absolutely sure it must be a molded Part? You call it a, "brush box". Is it possible it is a "Brush Bracket"? If so metal stamping would be the most cost efficient mode. Making thousands of disposable casting patterns could be bothersome. Have you thought of redesigning for efficiency of manufacture. Study your three main cost driving factors, size, design, and material. Or, maybe just win the lottery.

As another alternative: most cast brush holders i've seen were sand-cast, with brush slot broached or milled.

If the volume is there, it could still be most economical way.

Thank you to everybody for the information!

On the lighter side I can only hope someone is willing to give their shop away or winning the lotto.

There are a couple of reasons we are looking into setting up our own investment casting operation, the two most predominant reasons would be to become more competitive in our line of business and to avoid the problems we are having at the moment with the "reputable" foundries that we have made use of.

To answer some of the questions that has been asked:
How big is it?
The biggest unit is roughly 80mm x 80mm x 50mm but they differ between the different makes and models of motors.

How many do you want to make and how often?
We require at least 4000 units per year.

What material do you want to cast?
BS1400 LG4 (Leaded gun metal)

Here are a couple of images of what we manufacture.

Thanks again to everyone that has replied.

Your quantities seem a bit low to warrant your own captive foundary.

Maybe you would consider a subsidiary division to offer services to others, also unhappy with current vendors?

Have you considered RPM casting. I made a couple of molds for a company in California called A. L. Johnson. They make a lot of parts that look similar to yours. Before you jump into investment casting you may want to look into their method. visit www.aljcast.com . It may be a more cost effective alternative.

Thanks garyceng!

I have looked into RPM as you suggested and it looks very promising.

Most of the information I have found says that this process is fine up to a temperature of 2000 degrees Fahrenheit but the pouring temperature of BS1400 (LG4) is between 2120 and 2192 degrees Fahrenheit.

Would this process still be a viable option for us?

I'll be happy to help you.

Please contact with me.

www.gurar.com