Influence of tool design and process parameters on wax patterns

The production of wax patterns is the first step in the Investment Casting process and the pattern quality will have an effect on the end product. There is no possibility to correct any errors or vaiations introduced in this very first step in the later processing steps such as shelling or even casting. Wax pattern production itself is a complex technology dealing with the influences of mold, wax and process parameters. It is an absolute necessity to produce wax patterns to the highest quality and highest tolerances. Screw injection molding machines offer a good control of the processing parameters but at the same time consideration must be given to the wax and mold design. In this paper a short introduction is given into the interdependencies and influences of tooling, wax and the injection process.