Water glass casting

 What is Water Glass Casting?

An introduction to the Water Glass Casting process.

Water glass casting, also known as sodium silicate casting, is a type of investment casting that uses sodium silicate to create a ceramic shell mold for casting molten metal. The process is similar to the lost wax method, but is better suited for larger castings and is cheaper to produce. It also produces a higher quality surface finish and more precise dimensions than sand casting, and can be used for more complex shapes.Water glass casting is one of the most common investment casting processes in China. Water glass is used as the binder of the shell, also known as sodium silicate casting. Water glass casting is suitable for larger castings and is more cost effective. It allows the production of castings ranging from 0.5kg-60kg.

Why use Water Glass Casting?
Benefits of Water Glass Investment Casting
1.Wax removal is easier.

2.Superior surface finish than sand casting.

3.Greater dimensional precision than sand casting.

4.More complex parts can be achieved.

5.Larger parts than the traditional investment casting method.

6. Cheaper than investment casting.

7.Greater choice of metals.

8.Environmental advantages

What materials are suitable for Water Glass Casting?
A variety of materials are suitable for Waterglass Casting,including steel, iron, nodular cast iron, high chromium iron, high manganese steel, alloy steel and heat-resistant steel.

Water Glass Investment Casting Process
1.A metal die is made, the impression being the same as required in the final mould.

2.Molten wax is injected into the metal die to create a pattern, allowed to solidify and then removed. Some complex wax patterns are fabricated by joining several separate patterns together using an adhesive.

3.The waxes are then assembled on a wax tree, many parts can be put on the tree depending on size, it is common for components to be in the weight range 0.1kg up to 50kg.

4.The tree is then immersed in silica sol zircon slurry to coat the wax, the slurry is exceptionally fine with low viscosity resulting in an excellent as-cast surface finish. The slurry is coated with a refractory material and the process is repeated several times until a shell is created around the wax pattern.

5.The drying process is critical. The shells must be allowed to dry naturally in a constant temperature to allow the silica sol gels and refractory particles to bond, the result is a strong, high quality shell mould. The trees of wax are put into ovens of about 200 degrees to melt out the wax.

6.When all wax is removed the trees are heated up to over 1000 degrees to complete preparation for casting.

7.The metal is then poured into the hot moulds, which allows the alloy to reach the thinnest sections of the mould before it solidifies.

Water Glass Casting Technology Overview

Material Range：Cast steel, cast iron, stainless steel, nodular cast iron, high chromium iron, high manganese steel, alloy steel, non-ferrous steel alloy, heat-resistant steel.
Casting Weight Range：0.02Kgs– 50Kgs
Casting Dimension Tolerance： CT 5~7
Casting Surface Roughness：Ra 6.3um
Finishing: Sandblasting, polishing, plating, acid treatment, anodizing, painting, etc.

Our company is one of the most professional Water glass casting manufacturers and suppliers in China, and our investment casting foundry with powerful machining capabilities. Be free to buy bulk Water glass casting from our factory. All lost wax investment casting products and machined parts are with high quality.