Why is the casting process of silica sol precision castings so expensive?
The wax loss casting method simply copies the object to be cast, uses wax, immerses it in sand/powder, allows it to dry, and then covers the wax image with a layer of sand film. Repeat these steps until the outer membrane is sufficient to support the flow process. Then melt the wax in the mold and pull it out. Afterwards, the mold needs to be heated several times to increase hardness before it can be used for casting. This method has high accuracy, but due to the high price of sand/powder and the complexity of multiple heating production, the cost is high.
The surface roughness of products cast by silica sol method can reach RA3.2~6.3. Due to the almost complete shape of the casting billet, mechanical processing or minimal processing can be avoided, which to some extent reduces costs and production time.
There is also a common wax loss casting method using water glass technology, which has a certain price advantage compared to the casting water glass produced by silica sol technology, which means it is relatively cheap. This is a brief analysis of the differences between the two processes.
The differences in manufacturing processes result in significant differences in the final product. Compared with products produced by water glass process, products produced by silica sol process have higher dimensional accuracy and better surface roughness. If you care more about quality, please respect the price; If you want a cheaper product, please accept its drawbacks! What you get depends on how much money you pay.
Finally, the core advantages of silica sol precision castings are summarized: good surface quality and high dimensional accuracy, which saves a lot of surface treatment time and size outsourcing processing. From the perspective of finished products, it actually reduces costs.