How Near Net Shape Gets Its Name In Investment Casting
Benefits - Precision and Efficiency
Shelmet
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550 County Highway GH
Wild Rose, WI 54984
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Shelmet Can Combine Multiple Castings Into One
Shelmet Investment Casting creates components with complex geometries and intricate details.
Ask your Shelmet metal casting expert to evaluate your multiple castings within a specific project that may be combined into a single pour saving you money, time and shipping.
The Near Net Shape capability ensures that even the most sophisticated designs can be produced with minimal deviations from intended dimensions, reducing the need for additional machining.
Streamlining Production for Optimal Results
Investment casting eliminates extra steps required with other manufacturing methods, such as achievable tight tolerances that significantly reduce production time and associated costs.
Shelmet efficiency increases metal casting quality for manufacturers and end-users alike, offering high-quality components at competitive pricing.
Near Net Shape In Investment Casting
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Near Net Shape in the Investment Casting Process
The investment casting process begins by creating a wax pattern of the final product. This pattern is coated with a refractory ceramic material, which is then heated to remove the wax. This is why precision investment casting is also called the “lost wax process.” The mold becomes hardened ceramic forming a mold to create the finished product. Molten metal is poured into this mold to create a part that is very close to the final dimensions that is then called the Near Net Shape Investment Casting.
Cost Efficiency
Near Net Shape manufacturing through investment casting is highly cost-efficient. It reduces the amount of raw material used, minimizing waste, and decreases the time and effort required for secondary machining investment processes.
Near Net Shape in Investment Casting Optimal Alloy Selections
Shelmet pours more than 100 alloys and often pours highly specialized customer custom alloys. From aluminum and stainless steel to super-alloys and bronze, Shelmet pours the optimal material for the specific customer project. Ask your Shelmet metal expert for a no cost project evaluation and second opinion ensuring the desired balance of strength, durability, and corrosion resistance.
Near Net Shape in Investment Casting – Complex Geometries
Investment casting is especially effective for producing parts with complex internal and external geometries that would be costly or difficult to machine. The lost wax method allows for precise reproduction of intricate features, such as:
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Undercuts
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Thin walls
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Internal channels
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Varying wall thicknesses
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Sharp edges or precise corner radii
By leveraging near net shape techniques, Shelmet can produce parts that require minimal post-processing, reducing machining time, labor costs, and material waste.
For projects involving multiple individual castings assembled post-production, Shelmet can evaluate whether those parts can be redesigned as a single integrated casting. This can help:
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Eliminate alignment issues
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Reduce joint failures
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Lower total part weight
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Improve dimensional accuracy across connected features
Shelmet investment castings are often used in industries where tight tolerances, repeatability, and structural integrity are required across multiple contact points—such as:
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Aerospace brackets
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Medical equipment frames
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Instrument housings
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Hydraulic and pneumatic components
The ability to combine multiple features into one cast body enables more efficient production and often simplifies downstream assembly or welding.
Dimensional Accuracy
Achieving high dimensional accuracy is crucial in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and medical. Near Net Shape through investment casting guarantees parts that are virtually identical to the original design, meeting tight tolerances and ensuring component reliability and performance.
Customization
The versatility of investment casting allows for extensive customization. Near Net Shape capabilities mean that custom components, even those with intricate designs and unique material requirements, can be manufactured efficiently and accurately.
Shelmet Saves You Money & Gets You To Market Faster!
Experienced Shelmet metal casting experts save you development and casting use costs, because Shelmet evaluates and samples castings in your market. Carbon steels poured with differing alloys directly affect metal casting production, timing. and costs.
