The History and Development of Investment Casting

Investment casting is an ancient casting technology with a long history. After thousands of years of continuous refining and development, it has gradually become a modern high-tech process. Investment casting, also known as lost wax or lost foam casting, has a history of more than 5,000 years and was first used in the production of copper statues and tools. The civilizations of the Indus Valley, Egypt, China, and Mesoamerica developed lost-wax casting, and many surviving traditions still produce unique artistic and even practical tools. Artists, toolmakers, and military suppliers use investment casting to create intricate figures, intricate tools, and razor-sharp arrows. Ancient lost-wax casting used materials such as beeswax and clay to produce these copper, bronze and gold objects much faster than forging and wear.

In case you didn't know it, the modern method of investment casting started in the dental industry. This method is used to make precision tools that require small, complex metal parts. Investment casting is ideal for making miniature crowns based on a mold of a patient's tooth

The high demand for materials during World War II spurred continued growth in investment casting. Newly designed weapons of war require innovative manufacturing processes to keep up with advanced design specifications. New aircraft engines in particular rely on investment castings capable of meeting precise design requirements. Accurate alloy concentrations and physical dimensions are critical to the survival of high-performance aircraft and their crews. Countless similar applications proved critical to warfare, driving the maturity and popularity of precision investment casting technology.

Due to the need for steel and alloy machine parts capable of operating within tighter and tighter tolerances, investment casting is rapidly becoming a very sophisticated industry that relies on the manufacture of increasingly complex and efficient components. Art making, the original application of lost wax investment casting, is the most reliable way for artists to mold metal sculptures.