Tag: Investment Casting

A wax 3D printer for investment casting costs $200,000 to $1M or more. This page separates machine price from the crossover point where printing beats an injection die, with the arithmetic worked through.

How lost wax casting works, step by step: pattern waxes, ceramic shells, dewaxing, burnout, pouring, tolerances and the defects to watch for.

Alloy, size and tolerance set your shortlist. Annual volume picks the winner. A three-way comparison of sand, investment and die casting, with the crossover points that decide it.

Where 3D printing fits into investment casting: printed wax patterns, rapid tooling from printed masters, tooling-free prototyping, and an honest look at what it does not change.

Case study: 3DPTEK’s Tongling foundry scaled bronze art casting to 500 tons a year with sand 3D printing — faster delivery and repeatable quality.

3D printed molds for bronze art casting and sculpture: go from CAD to bronze faster, with unlimited design freedom and no traditional pattern tooling.

3D printed sand cores for aerospace: produce complex internal channels, thin walls, and tight tolerances without tooling — for aluminum, steel, and superalloys.