When Are Surface Finishes Necessary in Investment Casting?

At Dean Group, we supply you with components in cast form or as fully finished parts, which includes adding a surface finish to the product. We provide a wide range of treatments that include plating, polishing and anodising, and which are designed to improve the part.

Take a look at why – and when – surface finishes are necessary and how we can deliver products manufactured to your exact specifications.

Image: Robotics part with pain finish

What Are Surface Finishes?

Simply put, finishes change the surface of a material and improve existing qualities and aesthetics. There are many different surface finishes, so choosing the right one will depend on the end use of the component and the materials it’s made of. You may want to paint your castings, so you can choose between adding a coat of paint or powder coating it, for instance.

In essence, a good surface finish will make your investment castings last longer, from improving its resistance to wear and tear to ensuring it can withstand extreme temperatures.

Why (and When) Do You Need Surface Finishes?

There are many advantages to adding surface finishes to your investment castings. While not every part or component we create needs them, they can enhance the natural properties of the material or make it more visually pleasing, for example.

Some of the benefits of surface finishes – and the reasons why you need them – include:

Improve Products’ Quality

There's no denying that surface finishes can enhance the quality of the castings. After all, certain finishes allow for potential defects to become visible, which helps to save time and money during the manufacturing process. As a way to quality control a component, surface finishes can help ensure that products are created to the right standards and with as little waste as possible.

Enhance Existing Properties

The choice of material in investment casting is an important decision, because it will determine how the end product will perform – and where it can be used. Surface finishes can improve the existing properties of metals and alloys by augmenting corrosion resistance, strength, resistance to chemicals, electrical and thermal conductivity, and more.

For example, stainless steel is already highly resistant to corrosion but, with a surface finish, this property can be easily improved in order to allow the material to last for a very long time in harsh environments.

Image: Rivet gun with a tumble shot blast finish

Improve the Appearance of Castings

Surface finishes can also improve the way a casting looks, which is essential in certain industries – especially if the product will remain in sight throughout its lifespan.

From powder coating and anodising to painting and plating, adding a finish can offer visual enhancements like removing sharp edges, ensuring all surfaces are smooth and adding a matte or glossy surface.

This allows us to provide our clients with quality, as well as with the exact product they require.

Prolong Longevity of Casting

Surface finishes can add resistance to wear and tear to a material – or augment an already existing property – which allows the casting to have a long lifespan. The finishes can, therefore, help the product withstand heavy loads for long periods of time, and surface damage.

Make Castings Easier to Maintain

Castings are also easier to maintain and clean with certain surface finishes; dirt and grime are more difficult to ‘stick’ to surfaces when they’re smooth, for example, reducing the amount of time spent cleaning or even disinfecting the component.

Examples of Surface Finishes at Dean Group

So, there are many reasons why you need surface finishes on your products, and, at Dean Group, you can find many processes that will give you exactly what you’re looking for.

We're also always expanding our offerings, so we’re able to deliver finishes and other treatments tailored to your specific project.

We provide finishes like painting, powder coating, anodising, e-coating, electro polish, brush polish, grit blast, vapour blast, tumble shot blast, glass bead, and so much more. We can also work with a comprehensive list of metals and alloys, such as stainless steel, aluminium, copper and titanium.

Image: Pump for the oil & gas industry with a grit blast finish

You can reach us on 0161 775 1633 or send us a message to sales@deangroup-int.co.uk. You can also fill out and submit an online form and we’ll be happy to discuss your project with you, whether you’re looking for investment casting, heat treatments or surface finishes.