Lost Wax castings are used as a cost effective solution for high volume precision parts where they would otherwise be too expensive to produce from a machined or turned part. The process involves creating a mould using molten wax. Multiple moulds are then attached to a wax runner which are then dipped into a ceramic slurry. This creates a heat resistant layer outside of the wax mould so that when heat is applied the wax mould melts to produce a ceramic shell. Molten metal can then be poured into the ceramic shell and left to cool which produces a precision cast part to very tight tolerances. The process relies heavily on man power, such as dipping the wax moulds into the ceramic slurry is usually done by hand.
This means that lost wax castings are now most competitive in industry when they are produced in emerging markets where the cost of labour is low. Lost wax castings are supplied by Avocet Precision Metals, using foundries located in the Far East. Avocet are the UK distributor for a German manufacturer of lost wax castings, where the product is produced in German owned foundries based in the Far East. We can offer a highly competitive product with very high quality standards, producing to D1 tolerances and offering extra values services including machining and surface treatments to offer the semi finished product. Applications for lost wax castings includes pumps, valves and cast parts for general engineering projects. It is crucial to produce cast parts with the correct dimensional tolerances so that the part is fit for purpose.
For those parts that require extra tight dimensional tolerances, we can offer for machining specific surfaces, reducing our customers costs for critical parts. The process to produce lost wax castings largely remains unchanged from its earliest roots which are argued to date back to 3500BC where cast parts were found in Israel. There has been further evidence of lost wax castings being found in Ancient Egypt for statues and jewellery but also in South East Asia in Pakistan.
Lost Wax castings are the crocodile of the metal worker’s world, a beast that is so successful over time that it remains largely unchanged and has few competitors.