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Silica sol casting, also known as silica solution casting, uses silica sol as the binder material in order to cast metal castings with fine surfaces and high accuracy; they typically conform to CT4-CT6 tolerance levels in terms of dimension tolerance grade. Hunter Valley employs this investment casting method mainly for stainless steel and alloy steel castings. We have recently implemented new adhesive technology which provides more economical yet effective adhesive material solutions in investment casting industry.
Silica sol casting technology has rapidly replaced water glass processes in precision casting industry, particularly stainless and alloy steel casting applications. Alongside innovations to mold material and process control, silica sol casting process has also seen steady improvements with much reduced heat expansion rates.
Investment (lost wax) casting is a precision casting method which creates complex near net shape details from replicating wax patterns. Investment casting, also known as lost wax casting, typically uses a ceramic shell surrounding a wax pattern as its mold; when dry, all but the mold remain; once this step completes itself casting components are formed by pouring molten metal into this mold and pouring out of its pour spouts.
Investment casting may be subdivided according to its binder materials for shell building: silica sol binder investment casting, water glass binder investment casting or investment casting using their combinations as binding agents. Silica sol is an example of a water-based binder with a silicic acid colloid structure, consisting of dispersed silica particles soluble in water that have an average particle diameter between 6-100nm. Investment casting involves gelling to create its shell. There are various factors affecting gelation, including electrolyte concentration, pH level, concentration and temperature. There are various commercial silica sols available with one being alkaline silica sol with 30% silica content being most widely used. For silica sol shell manufacturing to become faster and more cost-effective, a fast-drying silica sol has recently been developed to overcome its long shell-making cycle. To create such a shell more simply: each process of production includes coating, sanding and drying before repeated many times until reaching multilayer thickness requirements are reached.
Drying is the centerpiece of the silica sol shell-making process. Through drying, water evaporates from the silica sol gel surface while its particles bond securely together, producing an extremely strong shell for subsequent casting operations.
Silica sol shell making processes produce castings with low surface roughness and high dimensional accuracy that have long shell making cycles, making them suitable for casting high temperature heat-resistant alloys, heat-resistant steels, stainless steels, carbon steels, low alloys, aluminum alloys and copper alloys. This technique has found wide application in high temperature heat resistant alloy casting as well as heat resistant steel casting. This process is often utilized when producing heat resistant alloy castings of high temperature heat-resisting alloys, heat resistant steels stainless steels as well as casting high temperature heat resistant alloys from cast materials that have long casting cycles compared to traditional methods used for shell creation. This technique has many applications in casting high temperature heat resistant alloys like heat resistant alloys cast from molds made using high temperature heat-resistive alloys as low alloys which contain aluminum alloys as copper alloys casting.
Silica sol precision lost wax investment casting process allows for the repeatable production of net shape casting components from various metals and high performance alloys. Although generally utilized for small castings, this method has been utilized to produce complete aircraft door frames using steel castings of up to 500 kgs and aluminium castings of 50 kgs respectively. Although more expensive than die casting or sand casting processes such as die casting or sand casting processes, investment casting allows intricate contours to be produced that often cast near net shape, thus eliminating most rework post casting.
Metal Die Making-Patterns & Tooling Design-Metal Die Making-Wax Injection- Slurry Assembly-Shell Building- De-Waxing- Chemical Composition Analysis- Melting & Pouring - Cleaning Grinding Shot Blasting and Packing for Shipment are some of the processes involved in production.
Inspection of Lost Wax Casts involes quantitative and spectrographic analyses manual quantitative analyses; metallographic and Brinell, Rockwell and Vickers hardness inspection; mechanical property analyses for Low and Normal temperature impact tests, cleanliness inspection, as well as U, M T and R T inspection post casting process.
Post Casting process procedures may include deburring and cleaning as well as shot blasting/Sand Peening processes to complete.Heat Treatments such as Normalization, Quench, Tempering, Carburization and Nitriding, Surface Treatment, Passivation, Anodizing and Electroplating such as Hot Zinc Plating, Zinc Plating Nickel Plating Polishing Electro-Polishing Painting GeoMet Zintec are available.
1.Sophisticated designs can take advantage of investment casting's exceptional surface finish, tight tolerances, complex shapes, and design flexibility for maximum advantage.
2.Capability to cast thin walls for lighter casting components
3.Wide selection of cast metals and alloys (ferrous and non-ferrous)
4.No draft is necessary in mold design
5.Reduced need for secondary machining
6. low material waste.
When choosing between different manufacturing methods, silica sol precision casting stands out for its accuracy, quality, and versatility. Here’s why it’s becoming the preferred approach for creating highly intricate parts.
The silica sol shell allows for tighter tolerances, usually within ±0.05 mm. This level of precision makes it possible to create parts with detailed features, such as thin-walled structures and complex geometries.
Example industries benefitting from this accuracy include aerospace, where even slight deviations can compromise functionality, and medical devices, which demand intricate shaping for peak performance.
Unlike sand casting, silica sol molds leave an inherently smooth surface that minimizes the need for post-processing. This smooth finish reduces machining time and costs, allowing components to move into production more swiftly.
Silica sol lost wax casting accommodates a comprehensive array of alloys, from carbon steel and stainless steel to superalloys. This flexibility lets manufacturers choose materials based on specific performance requirements, making it an excellent solution for high-stress components.
By "treeing" multiple wax patterns, silica sol casting efficiently produces multiple parts in a single casting cycle. For industries like automotive and mechanical engineering, this scalability translates to faster production cycles without compromising precision.
While silica sol precision casting offers unmatched advantages, how does it compare to other casting methods like sand casting or die casting?
| Feature | Sand Casting | Die Casting | Silica Sol Casting |
| Precision | Low | Medium | High |
| Material Suitability | Limited | Limited | Broad |
| Surface Finish | Rough | Medium | Smooth |
| Setup Cost | Low | High | Medium |
| Ideal Use Case | Large, simple parts | High-volume runs | Intricate, high-quality parts |
Professional engineers create costdown proposals based on your unique requirements. Short leadtime for prototype, trial casting and any technical improvements. Bonded Materials such as Silica Col, Water Glass or their mixtures; Manufacturing Flexibility from small orders up to mass orders.
Strong manufacturing outsourcing capabilities.
