Why investment casting
Sensor housings, valve blocks and fixture elements are produced in stainless steel and aluminium with cast-in ports and mounting features.
Components
- Pneumatic and hydraulic valve blocks
- Actuator parts
- Connector housings
- Clamping elements
Materials
Stainless steels, aluminium, low-alloy steels.
Frequently used alloys
| Grade | Type | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| CF8 | Austenitic stainless steel, cast 304 type 304 type | ASTM A351/A351M, A743/A743M |
| CF8M | Mo-bearing austenitic stainless steel, cast 316 type 316 type | ASTM A351/A351M, A743/A743M |
| A356.0 | Al-Si7-Mg heat-treatable casting alloy AlSi7Mg0.3 | ASTM B618/B618M (investment castings); AA A356.0 |
| CB7Cu-1 | Precipitation-hardening stainless steel, cast 17-4 PH type 17-4 PH® type | ASTM A747/A747M |
Typical requirements
Many variants in moderate quantities; modular dies and inserts keep tooling cost per variant low.
- Clean, corrosion-resistant surfaces
- Tight tolerances on interfaces
- Flexible batch sizes
Related engineering topics
Tolerances
Tolerancing of investment castings: ISO 8062-3 casting tolerance grades, VDG P 690, geometrical tolerances to ISO 1101, datum systems, machining allowance, shrinkage and distortion.
Surface finish
Surface texture of investment castings: Ra and Rz, typical as-cast, blasted, ground and machined conditions, how to specify surface requirements and visual acceptance standards.
Design guidelines
Practical design-for-manufacture rules for investment castings: wall thickness, transitions, fillets, holes, cores, undercuts, ribs, bosses, draft, machining allowance and part consolidation.