Investment (Lost Wax) Casting — Amsol Industries

Manufacturing Process · 5000 BCE — Still Unmatched

Investment (Lost Wax) Casting.

The oldest precision manufacturing process on earth. Near-net-shape. Ra 1.6–3.2 µm as-cast. Zero draft. Complex geometry that no other casting process can match. Stainless steel, brass, bronze, nickel alloys — any alloy, any complexity.

⚗️ Any Alloy 📐 CT4–CT6 Tolerance 🔥 7-Stage Process 🌍 10+ Industries ✅ Pressure Test In-House

Share Your Drawing → Explore the Process ↓

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Advantage 01

Near-Net-Shape

Minimal machining stock. Complex geometry cast in one piece.

Advantage 02

Ra 1.6–3.2 µm

Best as-cast surface finish of any casting process.

Advantage 03

Zero Draft

No taper required on external features — unique capability.

Advantage 04

Any Alloy

SS304/316, WCB, LCC, brass, bronze, nickel — all castable.

Advantage 05

0.010g–25kg

Widest weight range of any precision casting process.

How It Works

The 7-Stage Lost Wax Process

Investment casting is the most technically demanding casting process — and the most capable. Seven stages, each critical. Amsol controls every stage in-house or through qualified partner foundries, all under ISO 9001:2015.

Wax Pattern Injection

Precision wax injected into aluminium tooling — exact replica of final component including all features

Tree Assembly

Multiple wax patterns joined to a central wax runner — maximises metal yield per pour

Ceramic Shell Build

7–9 coats of ceramic slurry and refractory sand. Each coat dried before the next. Final shell 6–8mm thick

Dewaxing (Lost Wax)

Shell fired in autoclave or flash furnace — wax melts and drains out. Shell now hollow, pre-heated, ready for metal

Metal Pour

Molten alloy poured into the pre-heated shell. Pre-heating minimises thermal shock and ensures complete die fill

Shell Removal

After solidification, ceramic shell is vibrated and knocked away. Components cut from tree. Rough surface cleaned by shot blasting

Inspection & Despatch

Spectrometer material check. CMM dimensional verification. Pressure testing where specified. MTC issued. Despatched.

Material Capability

Any Alloy. Every Grade. Spectrometer-Verified.

Investment casting is the only casting process that handles this range of alloys with equal precision. Every grade verified by in-house OES spectrometer before the wax tree is assembled.

Material Group 01

Stainless Steel — CF8, CF8M, CF3M, CA15

⚗️ Stainless Steel Group

CF8 · CF8M · CF3M · CA15

The most widely specified investment casting alloy group for corrosion-resistant applications. CF8M (equivalent to AISI 316) is Amsol's highest-volume investment casting grade — supplying pump OEMs in Italy, valve manufacturers in Germany, and marine hardware customers globally.

CF8M

SS316 equivalent · most common

CF3M

SS316L · low carbon · weldable

CF8

SS304 equivalent · general use

CA15

410SS martensitic · higher hardness

Pump impellers · valve bodies · manifold blocks · marine fittings · food/pharma components · chemical equipment

Material Group 02

Carbon & Alloy Steel — WCB, LCC, 4140, WC6

⚙️ Carbon & Alloy Steel

WCB · LCC · WC6 · 4140

Pressure-rated carbon and alloy steel investment castings for oil & gas, valve, and structural applications. WCB is the most widely specified valve body material globally — ASTM A216 compliant, pressure-rated, weldable. LCC for sub-zero service. WC6/WC9 for high-temperature applications.

WCB

ASTM A216 · general pressure

LCC

ASTM A352 · sub-zero service

WC6/WC9

High temperature pressure service

4140

Alloy steel · Q&T · high strength

Gate/globe/ball valve bodies · pipeline fittings · oil & gas components · pressure vessels · structural parts requiring welding

Material Group 03

Brass, Bronze & Copper Alloys

🌊 Brass · Bronze · Copper

Naval Brass · CuSn10 · LG2 · AlBronze

Copper-based investment castings for marine, plumbing, and electrical applications where corrosion resistance and machinability are critical. Naval brass for deck hardware, gun metal (LG2) for marine valves and pump bodies, aluminium bronze for propeller hubs and seawater-resistant components.

Naval Brass

CuZn40 · deck hardware · marine

LG2

CuSn5Pb5Zn5 · marine valves

CuSn10

Tin bronze · bearings · impellers

Al Bronze

CuAl10Fe3 · cavitation resistant

Marine seacocks · pump bodies · propeller hubs · plumbing fittings · electrical connectors · bearing bushes

Capability Reference

What Investment Casting Achieves — vs Other Processes

The reason engineers specify investment casting is precision. This table shows exactly what Amsol achieves — and how it compares to sand casting and die casting.

Parameter	Investment Casting (Amsol)	Sand Casting
Dimensional Tolerance	CT4–CT6 (ISO 8062) · ±0.1mm per 25mm	CT8–CT11 — 3× less accurate
Surface Finish (as-cast)	Ra 1.6–3.2 µm — best of any casting	Ra 12.5–25 µm — significant machining needed
Min Wall Thickness	1.0mm (0.75mm achievable)	4mm minimum
Draft Angle Required	Zero draft achievable on external features	1°–3° minimum
Undercuts	Achievable (wax melts out)	Not possible without side cores
Weight Range	0.010g to 25kg	0.5kg to 1,000kg
Internal holes (min)	1.5mm diameter	Requires sand core (min 8mm)
Alloy Range	Any alloy — SS, steel, brass, bronze, nickel	Grey iron, ductile iron, steel primarily
Machining Required	Minimal — near-net-shape	Significant — large machining allowances

Process Photography

The Lost Wax Process — From Wax to Finished Component

Replace placeholders with Amsol facility photography. All shot specifications align with the Amsol Photography Brief.

Investment Casting · Amsol

The Lost Wax Process — Amsol Foundry

Stage 2

Wax Tree Assembly

Stage 3

Ceramic Shell Build

Quality

CMM Dimensional Inspection

Finished

Precision Investment Castings

Industry Applications

Where Amsol Investment Castings Go

Active OEM supply across 8 industries. Investment casting's alloy range and geometric precision make it the right answer for more industries than any other casting process.

Pumps & Valves

Valve bodies · impellers · manifolds · stuffing box bodies — CF8M/Brass

CF8M · WCB · Brass

Oil & Gas

Gate/globe valve bodies · bonnets · pipeline fittings — WCB/LCC/CF8M

WCB · LCC · A216

Marine

Seacocks · through-hull fittings · deck hardware · propeller hubs

Naval Brass · LG2

Aerospace & Defence

Structural brackets · hydraulic bodies · instrument mounts — Israel active

Precision · Full Traceability

Automotive

Turbocharger housings · exhaust manifolds · throttle bodies · sensor housings

Heat Resistant Alloys

Food & Pharma

Hygienic valve bodies · pump components · fittings — CF3M/SS316L

CF3M SS316L · Hygienic

Agriculture

Irrigation pump components · precision fittings — documented case study

35% Cost Reduction CS

General Engineering

Complex geometry · any alloy · low-to-medium volume — OEM global sourcing

Any Alloy

Quality Assurance

Every Casting Verified. Pressure-Tested. Documented.

Investment casting demands the most rigorous quality verification of any casting process — because the geometry is complex and the alloys are critical. Amsol's in-house QC covers every step.

🔬

Spectrometer

Every heat verified by OES before wax is assembled. CF8M is CF8M — measured, not assumed.

📐

CMM Inspection

3D CMM on all critical features every batch. Report with drawing balloon numbers provided.

💧

Pressure Testing

Hydrostatic shell and seat testing to ASME B16.34 / API 598 — in-house pressure test rig.

📋

PPAP Level 3

Full PPAP from real CMM data. PSW, PFMEA, Control Plan, Cpk/Ppk. Globally accepted.

✅

ISO 9001:2015

Annual audit. Non-conformance protocol. We call before we ship — never after.

Get Started

Your Component.
Our Lost Wax.

Share your drawing. Amsol's casting engineers will confirm alloy grade, tolerance achievability, near-net-shape feasibility, and indicative cost within 24 hours. DFM included.

Share Your Drawing → Request Alloy Recommendation

✓ DFM in 24 hours ✓ NDA before sharing drawings ✓ Pressure test in-house ✓ ISO 9001:2015