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FAQ & Alloy
| What is an "Investment Casting"? | |
| Investment Casting | Investment casting is a process in which a wax cluster is covered in a ceramic slurry. Once hardened the wax is melted out of the ceramic shell. The shell is then heated to 1800 degrees fahrenheit and molten metal is poured in. After cooling the ceramic is then vibrated and blasted off the metal products. The products are then cut, cleaned and prepared for shipping.
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| What alloys can be poured as an investment casting? | |
| Alloys | As a general rule all ferrous and non-ferrious materials can be investment castings. Carbon, tool and alloy steel along with the 300, 400, 15-5ph and 17-4ph stainless steels are most commonly poured. |
| What size range of parts can investment casting produce? | |
| Size | Investment castings can range from a fraction of an ounce to over 1000lbs. Most investment casting foundries only cast parts up to 20lbs. RLM can cast parts up to 280lbs. |
| What size range of parts can investment casting produce? | |
| Dimensional Tolerances | Typically, a linear tolerance of +/- .005 in/in is standard for investment casting. |
| What kind of quality can I expect in the surface finish? | |
| Quality | The ceramic shell is built around a smooth wax pattern, the finish achieved by investment casting is excellent. A 125 micro-finish is standard and even finer finishes can be achieved.
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| Isn't investment casting expensive? | |
| Cost | It is true that investment castings are usually more expensive than forged parts or those produced by other casting methods. Investment casting, however, makes up for this added cost by reducing the amount of machining and other secondary costs involved with other processes.
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| What about the integrity of investment casting? | |
| Integrity | Investment castings are used widely in applications that require parts to be x-rayed and meet definite soundness criteria. The integrity of investment casting can be far superior to parts produced by other methods. |
| What are the lead times I can expect when ordering investment castings? | |
| Lead times | Typically, 6 weeks for commercial grade and 8 weeks for ordnance. Deliveries can be negotiated and changed for the customers with special requirements. |
| Iron, Carbon & Low Alloy Steels | |||||
| Alloy | Condition | Tensile Strength (PSI) | 0.2% Yield Strength (PSI) | % Elongation Range | Hardness Range or Max |
| IC 1010 | Annealed | 50-60,000 | 30-35,000 | 30-35 | 50-55rb |
| IC 1020 | Annealed | 60-70,000 | 40-45,000 | 25-40 | 80rb |
| IC 1025 | Annealed | 63-73,000 | 42-47,000 | 25-35 | 80rb |
| IC 1030 | Annealed Hardened |
65-75,000 85-150,000 |
45-50,000 60-150,000 |
20-30 0-15 |
75rb 20-50rc |
| IC 1035 | Annealed Hardened |
70-80,000 150,000 |
45-55,000 85-150,000 |
20-30 |
80rb 25-52rc |
| IC 1045 | Annealed Hardened |
80-90,000 100-180,000 |
50-60,000 90-180,000 |
20-25 0-10 |
100rb 25-57rc |
| IC 1050 | Annealed Hardened |
90-110,000 125-180,000 |
50-65,000 100-180,000 |
20-25 0-10 |
100rb 30-60rc |
| IC 1060 | Annealed Hardened |
100-120,000 120-200,000 |
55-70,000 100-180,000 |
12-20 0-5 |
25rc 30-60rc |
| IC 4130 | Annealed Hardened |
130-170,000 | 100-130,000 | 5-20 | 100rb 23-49rc |
| IC 4140 | Annealed Hardened |
130-200,000 | 100-155,000 | 5-20 | 100rb 29-57rc |
| IC 4150 | Annealed Hardened |
140-200,000 | 120-180,000 | 5-10 | 100rb 25-58rc |
| IC 4330 | Annealed Hardened |
130-190,000 | 100-175,000 | 5-20 | 20rc 25-48rc |
| IC 4340 | Annealed Hardened |
130-200,000 | 100-180,000 | 5-20 | 20rc 20-55rc |
| IC 4620 | Annealed Hardened |
110-150,000 | 90-130,000 | 10-20 | 100rb 20-32rc |
| IC 6150 | Annealed Hardened |
140-200,000 | 120-180,000 | 5-10 | 100rb 30-60rc |
| IC 8620 | Annealed Hardened |
100-130,000 | 80-110,000 | 10-20 | 100rb 20-45rc |
| IC 8630 | Annealed Hardened |
130-200,000 | 100-130,000 | 7-20 | 100rb 25-50rc |
| IC 8640 | Annealed Hardened |
120-170,000 | 100-180,000 | 5-20 | 20rc 30-60rc |
| IC 52100 | Annealed Hardened |
180-230,000 | 140-180,000 | 1-7 | 25rc 30-65rc |
| Ductile Iron Ferritic |
Annealed | 60-80,000 | 40-50,000 | 18-24 | 143-200bhn |
| Ductile Iron Pearlitic |
Annealed | 100-120,000 | 70-80,000 | 3-10 | 243-303bhn |
| 400 Series Stainless Steels | |||||
| Alloy ANSI Equiv. | Condition | Tensile Strength (PSI) | .2% Yield Strength (PSI) | % Elongation Range | Hardness Range or Max |
| CA - 15 (410) |
Annealed Hardened |
95-200,000 | 75-160,000 | 5-12 | 100rb 94rb-45rc |
| IC 416 (416) |
Annealed Hardened |
95-200,000 | 75-160,000 | 3-8 | 100rb 94rb-45rc |
| CA - 40 (420) |
Annealed Hardened |
200-225,000 | 130-210,000 | 0-5 | 25rc 30-52rc |
| IC 431 (431) |
Annealed Hardened |
110-160,000 | 75-105,000 | 5-20 | 30rc 20-40rc |
| IC 440A (440A) |
Annealed Hardened |
30rc 35-56rc |
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| IC 440C (440C) |
Annealed Hardened |
35rc 40-60rc |
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| IC 17-4 (CB7CU-1) |
Annealed Hardened |
150-190,000 | 140-160,000 | 6-20 | 36rc 34-44rc |
| 300 Series Stainless Steels | |||||
| Alloy | Condition | Tensile Strength (PSI) | .2% Yield Strength (PSI) | % Elongation Range | Hardness Range or Max |
| CF-20 (302) |
Annealed | 65-75,000 | 30-35,000 | 35-60 | 90rb |
| CF-3, CF-8 3304L, 304 |
Annealed | 70-85,000 | 40-50,000 | 35-50 | 90rb |
| CF-3M, 8M IC - 316 |
Annealed | 70-85,000 | 40-50,000 | 35-50 | 90rb |
| CF-16F | Annealed | 65-75,000 | 30-35,000 | 35-60 | 90rb |
| CF-8C | Annealed | 70-85,000 | 32-36,000 | 30-40 | 90rb |
| CK-20 310 |
Annealed | 65-75,000 | 30-40,000 | 35-45 | 90rb |
| Aluminum Based Alloys | |||
| Alloy | Tensile Strength (PSI) | .2% Yield Strength (PSI) | % Elongation Range |
| 356 | 28,000 | 18,000 | 3-7 |
| A-356 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 3-10 |
| A-357 | 33-50,000 | 27-40,000 | 3-9 |
| 355 | 35-50,000 | 28-39,000 | 1-8 |
| Tenzalloy | 35,000 | 25,000 | 4-5 |
| Almag 35 | 35-40,000 | 18-20,000 | 9-13 |
