This is among the most ancient and noble crafts known, it is a technique that has been used since ancient times for the casting of bronze statues and we use it today for creating a vast range of articles – from complex geometry metal parts to works of art.
The ICI foundry in Leinì (Turin) performs investment casting with steel, bronze, brass and many other special alloys, providing customers with a complete service, from initial consultation to small, medium and large deliveries. Investment casting allows for particular structural features that other techniques cannot provide, such as the presence of couplings, ribs and grooves, which can be incorporated to customer specification.
The technique involves a standard process – the first stage always involves the construction of an aluminium mould, essential for the subsequent production of wax models. Then we pass to the making of the so-called “cluster model”, made from different groups of wax models which are assembled on suitable skeletons; the skeleton, effectively quite similar to an actual frame, is then immersed in a special mixture and coated with refractory material.
At this point, the wax which defined the modelled shape is melted and allowed to escape. The volume emptied of the wax can now receive the molten metal (shell) being casted; at this point the refractory lining is eliminated (desanding) and the procedure is completed with the deburring and polishing operations that constitute the final surface finishing for the produced item.
Thus, investment casting allows for the creation of various objects and precision parts but also of hollow structures and works of art such as busts and statues.
At ICI we are available to provide all the information you may require on the various processes.
