Why Strength is a Key Consideration in Investment Casting

Choosing the right investment casting materials is a necessary step in the process because every metal or alloy offers different properties. Depending on the application of the casting – or the environment it will be used in – you may need a material that is strong, conductive or resistant to corrosion, for instance.

Because strength is a major consideration in investment casting, we’re looking into all the reasons why in this article.

What is Strength?

Simply put, the strength of a metal is a mechanical property that refers to its ability to resist external forces without breaking or deforming. High carbon steel, for example, is difficult to break and you’d need a lot of force to do it, which means it’s a very strong material.

However, there are several types of strength to consider, including:

Tensile

This refers to the metal’s ability to withstand forces trying to break it apart (or the maximum load in tension the metal can take before cracking). For example, a casting with high tensile strength could be pulled in opposite directions and not break or even fracture, a key ability in industries like rail and automotive.

Compressive

If you apply pressure to a material and it doesn’t deform nor does it get crushed, then it has a high degree of compressive strength. In other words, it’s an ability that allows the metal to resist loads that would otherwise reduce its size.

Yield

Yield strength is the force a metal or alloy can resist before becoming permanently deformed. In engineering, for instance, materials must have a high degree of yield strength in order to avoid deformation and buckling under the applied forces.

Impact

This is the ability to withstand a suddenly applied stress or force before failing. It's typically used to measure the energy a material can absorb and it’s a crucial type of strength in many sectors, as it allows castings to last for a long time instead of becoming damaged beyond repair when struck.

Why is Strength So Important in Investment Casting?

Choosing a material fit for purpose is absolutely vital, and strength plays a key role in this. If the casting will have to withstand a lot of pressure or force, then you need a metal or alloy that can provide that ability. If it doesn’t, then the material is not useful. This means that knowing the properties of metals can help identify the right ones for your project.

It's also easier to know what to expect from a particular metal or alloy when we know the material’s strength. For example, can an alloy be placed in an environment with a lot of compressive forces, or can a specific metal be used in an engine? It helps us answer these and other important questions.

Strong materials allow us to manufacture safe and solid castings that meet your specifications and those of your industry as well. Strength is also important for the castings’ longevity, since it allows them to perform well for a long time without becoming damaged or failing.

Strong Materials at Dean Group

We work with a vast range of materials at Dean Group, allowing us to meet our clients’ needs and requirements. When strength is of the essence, we can suggest materials like carbon steel or titanium, for example, and also stainless steel.

This alloy is made from at least, 50% of iron and a minimum of 10.5% of chromium, and can have other metals in its composition to augment strength, like copper, nickel and silicon. Titanium is also valued for its higher strength-to-density ratio when compared to other materials, and has a good degree of resistance to fatigue and cracking.

Strength is usually important with other elements as well – as an example, in aerospace, both strong and lightweight materials are a concern, which is why we’d use something like aluminium. Our aluminium investment casting method is suitable for a range of applications, so just get in touch if you’d like to learn more about it.

Strong materials can be used in a large number of applications, such as brackets, casings and links, as well as components for safety equipment and for medical tools. For more information on the materials we use at our company, check out our Materials and Technical Information page.

You can rest assured that you're always getting the right metal or alloy for your individual project when you choose Dean Group. This is because we understand that each case is unique, so what works for someone else wouldn’t work for you.

At Dean Group, we work with materials of varying strengths and can manufacture castings of all shapes, dimensions and tolerances. Just get in touch to learn more about our processes and the materials we use and we’ll be happy to help.