Is there something like lost wax?

[74Sprint]

Is there something one can do with a 3D printer that is like lost wax?

Ray

 

[abby]

Not quite sure what you are asking , wax patterns can be printed for use in the lost wax process and there are some plastics that can be printed and burnt out in a similar way to lost wax , not sure how good they are as I only use wax.
Wax printers are still rather expensive and not for the average model maker , you could easily equip a workshop with lathe and mill for less than the cost of a low end wax printer , but I would have one if I won the lottery.
Dan.

 

[gld]

https://www.amazon.com/Polymaker-PolyCast-Filament-Designed-Investment/dp/B07J678V8C

 

[74Sprint]

Not quite sure what you are asking , wax patterns can be printed for use in the lost wax process and there are some plastics that can be printed and burnt out in a similar way to lost wax , not sure how good they are as I only use wax.
Wax printers are still rather expensive and not for the average model maker , you could easily equip a workshop with lathe and mill for less than the cost of a low end wax printer , but I would have one if I won the lottery.
Dan.

I saw on line a guy in europe that had made his own lost wax molds to make small glow engines for line controlled fighting planes. In that competition they try to cut the ribbon off their opponents tail, needless to say sometimes they take more off and destroy the plane and engine. But he has CAD drawings of his engines for which he uses CNC to make the molds for the investment lost wax. I believe he now uses a harder wax and just CNC's some of the parts without using some molds. Yes I saw some of the wax printers and your right, I would need to when a lottery to buy one also.

https://www.amazon.com/Polymaker-PolyCast-Filament-Designed-Investment/dp/B07J678V8C

Alright Gary that's just what I need, thank you.

Cheers
Ray

 

[mrehmus]

I have printed wax filament with my FDM printer with some success. It is a bit tricky but it works. There are lots of printable waxes for the DLP (liquid resin) printers. That is how some make waxes for casting dental bits and jewelry. Lost PLA also works but can be a bit of a problem

 

[abby]

You will see from the video accessed from the above link that the polycast prints are being used in ceramic shell moulds and burnt out at a very high temperature .
Block moulds , using plaster based investment , are much more suited to home hobby lost-wax workshops and I have had many years experience producing castings in aluminium and copper alloys using this process.
The heat treatment requires the wax to first be melted and run from the mould , this is done at 150 deg C , after an allotted time the temperture is ramped and the moulds are allowed a soaking period before reaching a final temperature of 725 deg C.
At this temperature any trace of wax left in the mould is completely eliminated before the molten metal is poured.
In my own experience printed plastics do not melt like wax does , but they do expand when heated.
This expansion can destroy surface detail in plaster moulds and the resultant broken off debris is trapped in the mould and then entrained in the castings.
Dan.

 

[creast]

I have lost PLA casting for some time now just using regular PLA. What I would advise is to print the shell with minimum infill, say 10 percent or less infill. You definitely need proper investment plaster such as SRS industrial A. Forget plaster of Paris as it simply is not up to it. Burnout times are slow and staged for good reason and I usually soak to 650 Deg C.
Vacuum assist is a must when pouring the metal.
Veg Oil guy on YTube has some good videos on this.

 

[74Sprint]

mrehmus, abby, and creast, thank you for your comments. It's been several years since I looked into investment casting, things sure have changed. Last time I went to one of our local commercial casters here to get a quote on getting some work done and they advised me to look into doing my own casting (aluminum) because of the low volume that I need. They said the investment mold making was the highest cost. They also said if I could do the ceramic molds, they would do the pouring in either aluminum or stainless steel and only charge me for the material on their day of pouring. Which was very nice of them to offer that. I actually need to make some molds for fiberglass, carbon fiber, and plastic high impact parts (non-injection) for prototyping. I have a metal treating oven being made by my nephew, I will line it & put heating elements in it. Using lost PLA IMHO would be the cats meow, once I learn how of course.

Thanks again
Ray

 

[Barnbikes]

I have seen multiple videos of people doing lost wax or pla castings.
They always dip it in a yellow liquid (plaster) and then put sand over it and then repeat till the have a nice shell.
What is the proper name of the yellow liquid? I want to buy some but have not found a single place on the internet that says what it is.

 

[abby]

Look for ceramic slurry.
Dan

 

[Revb]

Cheap Voelab Proxima does it for me using wax resin. Superb high res repeatable results.
though the wax resin can be a tad expensive.