Thought Leadership
The Lost Wax Advantage through Ipcl
The Lost Wax Advantage: How Investment Casting Redefines Precision Manufacturing
Why engineers and OEMs choose IPCL’s Lost Wax Investment Casting for accuracy, complexity, and performance.
New RFQ: npd@ipcl.in
At Investment & Precision Castings Ltd. (IPCL), precision is not just part of our name — it’s the foundation of everything we do. For more than five decades, we have perfected Lost Wax Investment Casting to deliver high-performance components for industries including aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, and medical devices.
Why it matters: Among sand casting, die casting, and forging, the Lost Wax process consistently leads on accuracy, design freedom, and material breadth.
1) Precision & Complexity
Using a precise wax model and a high-integrity ceramic shell, the process achieves tight tolerances (up to ±0.05 mm per 25 mm) and smooth surface finishes (as fine as Ra 3.2–6 µm). Cast logos, thin walls, and internal passages are all possible with minimal or no machining.
2) Unmatched Material Versatility
From carbon and stainless steels to nickel-based superalloys, cobalt, bronze, and titanium — IPCL casts in 560+ alloys. Unlike die casting (limited mostly to Al/Zn/Mg), investment casting enables superior material performance across demanding applications.
3) Cost-Effective, Flexible Production
Durable, modifiable wax dies make investment casting ideal for low to medium volumes. Compared with die casting and forging, tooling investments are lower while dimensional repeatability remains high.
4) Strength & Reliability
Through controlled solidification, vacuum melting, and tailored heat treatments, IPCL achieves dense microstructures with minimal porosity — delivering fatigue resistance and thermal stability for mission-critical parts.
5) Efficiency & Sustainability
Near-net shape castings reduce machining time and material waste. Tree assemblies allow multiple parts per pour, improving yield and productivity.
New RFQ: npd@ipcl.in
On the foundry floor at IPCL: pouring and shell handling during Lost Wax Investment Casting.
Process Comparison
| Feature |
Investment Casting |
Sand Casting |
Die Casting |
Forging |
| Dimensional Accuracy |
Excellent |
Poor |
Very Good |
Excellent |
| Surface Finish |
Excellent |
Poor |
Good |
Good |
| Alloy Range |
Very Wide |
Very Wide |
Limited |
Medium |
| Complexity |
Very High |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Low |
| Tooling Cost |
Moderate |
Low |
High |
High |
| Mechanical Strength |
High |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Very High |
| Machining Requirement |
Minimal |
High |
Moderate |
Moderate |
| Production Volume |
Low–Medium |
Low–High |
High |
Medium–High |