Is investment casting expensive?

The cost of investment casting is usually higher than other casting methods such as sand casting, mainly because it provides higher precision, better surface finish, and the ability to produce more complex designs. The following are some of the main factors that affect the cost of investment casting:

 

1. Raw material cost: As mentioned earlier, the prices of raw materials of different materials vary greatly, for example, the prices of carbon steel and stainless steel are different.

2. Shell making process: Different shell making processes (such as water glass low-temperature wax, silica sol medium temperature wax, ethyl silicate composite shell) have different costs. Generally speaking, the silica sol process is costly due to its ability to provide higher dimensional accuracy and surface quality.

3. Labor cost: Investment casting involves multiple fine steps, including making wax molds, assembling pouring systems, coating refractory materials, etc., all of which require high manual skills, leading to an increase in labor costs.

4. Equipment and energy consumption costs: The investment casting process requires the use of specialized equipment, such as steam dewaxing kettles for dewaxing and furnaces for heating and maintaining temperature, which increase costs.

5. Subsequent processing: Due to the high precision and surface quality that investment casting can achieve, it sometimes reduces a significant amount of machining requirements. However, on the other hand, if additional heat treatment or surface treatment is required (such as sandblasting, shot blasting, passivation, polishing, electrolysis, etc.), it will also increase costs.

 

The specific cost of each product will be determined based on the size and complexity of the parts, the materials used, and the aforementioned factors. If you need a quotation, please provide your product drawings, and we will give a good price based on your specific product information.