Ceramic mold
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Tin Falcon
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I will admit at this point I am only an arm chair foundry hobbyist. I built a charcoal foundry and sand box etc but never used it need to rebuild the foundry as is has deteriorated with time.
It is my understanding that investment casting which uses a ceramic mold can be used for any Metal and it does give a fine finish.
Investment AKA lost wax casting uses a wax pattern that a ceramic slurry is poured around using care and sometimes a vacuum to remove air bubbles. the molded is then heated to melt out the wax the ceramic is fired and the molten metal poured in while the mold is still hot. the metal an mold are cooled together the mold is then broken away and the part finished to remove the sprue.
Molds can also be made by repeated dipping in ceramic slurry and sprinkling dry ceramic /sand to build up the mold . this method is used in industry for making gun parts gulf club heads etc. the jewelry industry uses lost wax casting . it is versatile can be used for gold silver stainless steel platinum etc. I have seen some fine bronze engine casting done with it. I do not know of any reason one could not use lwc for aluminum but it is more expensive i believe because of added labor cost and additional equipment etc . I think if I was going to the extra trouble I would cast in bronze.
It may be possible to make a reusable ceramic mold for aluminum but not sure. I do know the above methods have be used by craftsmen and industry for a long time
The other option is use sand casting but put extra fine sand around your pattern then fill the flask with regular casting sand. this will give a better finish but the regular courser sand in the rest of the mold will breath better.
My Humble mostly book knowledge opinion hope it helps.
Tin
It is my understanding that investment casting which uses a ceramic mold can be used for any Metal and it does give a fine finish.
Investment AKA lost wax casting uses a wax pattern that a ceramic slurry is poured around using care and sometimes a vacuum to remove air bubbles. the molded is then heated to melt out the wax the ceramic is fired and the molten metal poured in while the mold is still hot. the metal an mold are cooled together the mold is then broken away and the part finished to remove the sprue.
Molds can also be made by repeated dipping in ceramic slurry and sprinkling dry ceramic /sand to build up the mold . this method is used in industry for making gun parts gulf club heads etc. the jewelry industry uses lost wax casting . it is versatile can be used for gold silver stainless steel platinum etc. I have seen some fine bronze engine casting done with it. I do not know of any reason one could not use lwc for aluminum but it is more expensive i believe because of added labor cost and additional equipment etc . I think if I was going to the extra trouble I would cast in bronze.
It may be possible to make a reusable ceramic mold for aluminum but not sure. I do know the above methods have be used by craftsmen and industry for a long time
The other option is use sand casting but put extra fine sand around your pattern then fill the flask with regular casting sand. this will give a better finish but the regular courser sand in the rest of the mold will breath better.
My Humble mostly book knowledge opinion hope it helps.
Tin
Dan Rowe
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Tin,
I only cast with vacuum and lost wax. This method will not work with ceramic molds because there is no way to pull a vacuum through the mold.
The stuff I have seen on utube with ceramic molds has a vent and riser system to fill the ceramic mold.
I think that a ceramic mold could be used with a centrifugal lost wax casting machine instead of the normal investment because the mold is filled by centrifugal force.
Dan
I only cast with vacuum and lost wax. This method will not work with ceramic molds because there is no way to pull a vacuum through the mold.
The stuff I have seen on utube with ceramic molds has a vent and riser system to fill the ceramic mold.
I think that a ceramic mold could be used with a centrifugal lost wax casting machine instead of the normal investment because the mold is filled by centrifugal force.
Dan
Tin Falcon
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I probably eroniously confused the investment with ceramic
Tin
Tin
