How to Choose customized stainless steel investment casting parts?

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What is Cast Stainless Steel?

Cast stainless steel is something you may heard even if you are not familar with it. You may do not really know what this type of metal alloy is produced from, and even do not understand the term “cast”. As a professional cast stainless steel manufacturer and supplier, we will explain everything about cast stainless steel.

Cast stainless steel is a specific alloy that has gone through one of the primary metal forming processes known as casting.

When it comes to corrosion resistance, cast stainless steel is the right way to go. The bright apperance, good corrosion resistance, and high strength all makes cast stainless steel popular in several applications like marine, food machinery, building fittings, medical, etc.

Cast Stainless Steel – Manufacturing Process

Investment casting is the proper manufacturing process to creat cast stainless steel components in intricate shapes. Here is a breakdown of the stainless steel investment casting process:

• A design engine first makes a wax pattern using a metal injection die. The pattern will have all the details for a section or portion of the finished component but with slightly larger dimensions to account for thermal contraction.
• Next, the engineer creates the runner and gating system by connecting multiple patterns to form the final component. Molten metal will flow through the runner system as it fills cavities in the mold, creating a well-balanced casting. Gates are the openings between the runner and the cavity that feeds molten metal into the space.
• Once the entire pattern is complete, it is dipped into a ceramic slurry and covered with sand stucco. The design engineer repeats the dipping process until the shell achieves the appropriate thickness. At this point, the dried shell’s durability is strong enough to withstand the heat from the molten metal. Also, it will retain its shape during the last step.
• The wax melts away under high temperatures, and trace amounts soak into the plaster or ceramic mold. The void left by the melted wax pattern will be filled with an alloy to create a precise cast stainless steel part.

Why Cast Stainless Steel?

Cast stainless steel is usually chosen because it is resistant against corrosion—but it is also chosen because it is steel. Besides corrosion resistance, cast stainless steel also has some other advantages as below:

High Accuracy
Cast stainless steel parts created by investment casting process are extremely accurate and near net shape. Since cast stainless steel components are created by using the same wax patterns, this accuracy can be maintained from part to part.

Custom Design
Cast stainless steel can be used to make any shape you like. It is also a designer’s dream. Logos, product ID’s or numbers, and letters can easily be added to the inside and/or outside of components. Lots of complicated stainless steel parts unavailable from forging or machining could be produced by casting process.

Good Hardness
Compared to other cast alloys, cast stainless steel exhibits superior hardness. Hardness is the ability of cast stainless steel to resist indentation and abrasion. Due to its good hardness, parts made from cast stainless steel can work longer than expected.

Common Products Created With Cast Stainless Steel


You may be surprised to find out that many of the commercial products you come in contact may be using cast stainless steel parts and components or even be made entirely from cast aluminum.

Automotive Parts
Due to the amazing strength and corrosion resistance, it is very popular in the production of automotive parts. For example, exhaust pipe is made with investment cast stainless steel. In addition, other automotive parts such as transmission components, vehicle interior components, are also made from cast stainless steel.

Medical Components
Many medical components are also made from cast stainless steel, not only due to the strength but also due to its easy clean. Some of the more common medical components you may see made from this cast stainless steel is parts for various pumps, surgical tools, components for monitors, and even gearboxes for hospital beds.

Marine Hardwares
Another popular application for cast stainless steel is the production of marine boat hardwares. While many popular firearms may have aluminum components, there are still a number of parts that are created from cast stainless steel. Some of these cast stainless steel marine parts may include boat deck drain, marine boat anchors, hand rail end fitting and much more.

Kitchen hardware
For decades, cast stainless steel has been a vital material in a well-stocked home kitchen. It is dishwasher safe, making for a quick and easy clean up. Typical kitchen hardwares made from cast stainless steel are: cookware handles, meat grinder parts, etc.

Start A Cast Stainless Steel Project With CFS Foundry

Stainless steel casting may have roots dating back 5,000 years, but it still has beneficial applications in modern society. Throughout the world, industries rely on cast stainless steel to produce intricate stainless steel components with smooth finishing, unique geometric shapes, and tight tolerances, including marine, automotive, food processing equipment, and automotive manufacturing industries.

The company is the world’s best customized stainless steel investment casting parts supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

CFS Foundry offers superb stainless steel investment casting and machining services. We use specialized lost wax investment casting process to customize quality cast stainless steel parts quickly. If you would like to learn more about our casting services and receive a free quote on your upcoming project, contact our stainless steel foundry today.

Case Study:

Stainless steel casting, which dates back to the early ’s, remains one of the most essential casting processes available to modern manufacturers. Modern technology and machinery in today’s steel casting foundries produce custom stainless steel castings with extremely intricate detail and excellent dimensional accuracy.

Steel Casting Foundry Options

While bigger doesn’t always mean better, a large casting foundry will have the best equipment, industry experience, and manpower to bring your project to life. Once you’ve located a few large casting foundries to compare, use the following criteria to help you select the right one: 

One-Stop Shop

An experienced foundry will have a history in custom mold making, ideally in-house. If a steel casting foundry does not offer a one-stop mold making and casting service, be sure to ask about casting production costs, lead times, and budgets. While à la carte services may seem the best approach for tight budgets, the longer lead times due to shipping and back-and-forth can increase costs in the long run. If possible, keep everything in-house.    

Machining & Testing

Using a steel casting foundry that performs all machining and testing in-house can save valuable time and budget. Ask about the metallurgical lab, the tools, and the inspection process. Stainless steel investment casting produces high-precision parts with tight tolerances, but most commercial and industrial applications will require additional machining and testing prior to use. For steel castings, be sure to ask about surface treatments. Choose a steel casting foundry that offers customized, cost-effective surface treatments and an online gallery of precision machining equipment. 

Industry Knowledge

If your project is specific to the arms or aviation industry, it’s important to work with a casting foundry who has expertise in that sector. An experienced casting foundry will give you the advantage of producing virtually any shape imaginable, no matter how complex, without significantly affecting the cost of the part. Internal holes and passages are as easy to cast as external components such as flanges, shoulders, and bosses. Be sure to ask about processes that will control shrinkage. As molten metal shrinks when it freezes, the shapes within the design need to be considered – long, slender parts will freeze and shrink at a faster rate than stout or rounded shapes – so that shrinkage is better controlled. As a rule, overall size ratios within a single design should be kept at less than 4:1 to ensure uniform solidification. With some design acumen and a basic understanding of how molten metal behaves when it freezes, virtually any complex component design can be turned into a high-quality, detailed, and repeatable cast with the help of an experienced casting foundry.

Streamline Assembly

Investment casting also offers the ability to combine multiple parts into a single unit and cast in one application, saving the manufacturer hours of finishing and assembly time. The steel casting foundry that you choose should not only be aware of this option, but they should recommend it during the design and prototyping phase. For example, multiple parts of a component that would normally be joined together after the casting process by welding or other machining processes can be redesigned and cast as one single part. By reducing post-production hours, reducing waste, and streamlining the “assembly” process through thoughtfully combined designs, the casting process becomes more efficient and less costly to the manufacturer.

Custom Steel Casting

While generally best suited to smaller, lighter (less than 150 lbs.) castings, this method remains essential to manufacturers of heavy automotive gears, dental fixtures, aerospace components, and everything in between. From firearms to hydraulics — whatever your industry, an experienced steel casting foundry should be able to assist you in engineering custom steel investment casts for any project. Multiple available grades of stainless steel allows foundries to customize your design to meet the requirements of every industry and produce economical, high-quality, and enduring components. Their experts will guide you through every step of the process and provide a reliable estimate for your project. 

Industry Experience

At KICastings, we have experience in casting parts for all of the following sectors:

• Aerospace Investment Casting
• Automotive Casting Services
• Automotive Parts Die Casting
• Electrical Industry Casting
• Firearms Investment Casting
• Food Industry Castings

Conclusion

At KICastings, our steel casting foundry is a perfect match for companies looking for savings in cost and lead times without sacrificing quality. We routinely produce steel components with complex shapes and dimensional accuracy, giving our customers access to the experience and equipment required for a successful outcome. Contact our U.S. Customer Service/Sales team today, and add KICastings to your list of casting service providers.

Still researching investment castings? Read our other posts:

Advantages of Investment Casting

Investment Casting vs. Lost Wax Casting

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