Investment Casting

1. Ancient Craft Stage (Before the 19th Century) 

It started over 5,000 years ago. People used natural wax to make patterns, covered them with clay, and melted the wax out to form a mold. Then they poured molten metal into the mold.

2. Early Industrialization Stage (Late 19th Century – Mid-20th Century) 

The technology stepped into industry in the late 1800s, first used to make dental crowns. In 1907, improved wax mixtures and mold materials were created, making the process more standardized.

 

New shell-making processes were developed to solve wax removal problems better. Traditional materials were replaced by more stable ones, like advanced refractory materials. This allowed investment casting to handle more metal types and meet higher precision needs, so it was widely used in aerospace and automotive industries.

 

3D printing now makes wax patterns quickly, cutting the production time from months to days. CAD/CAE software simulates the casting process to avoid defects in advance. Meanwhile, the industry focuses on sustainability—wax is recycled, and waste molds are reused to reduce pollution.
Today, investment casting is a key technology for making high-precision parts in many fields, from aircraft engines to medical devices.