Investment Casting vs Die Casting

A common cause of confusion for companies who come to us, is whether they should use an investment casting company like ourselves or a die-casting company. The truth is that both methods have their advantages, but what usually sets investment casting apart is the fact it can be used with a large amount of ferrous materials, and is often a far more cost effective option without sacrificing quality.

Investment Casting vs Die-Casting
Investment Casting Die-Casting
Advantages
  • Can be used to cast a wide variety of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.
  • Low volume production runs are cheaper as tooling is less costly.
  • Can produce much more complex designs, incorporating design features such as logos.
  • Parts require little machining after finishing.
  • Excellent surface finishes can be achieved.
  • Excellent dimensional accuracy.
  • Requires little machining.
  • Part size is less restricted, but tooling cost can be prohibitive.
  • Cycle times are very short and he process can be completely automated.
Disadvantages
  • Cycle times are much longer due to the nature of the process.
  • Part size is limited by what can be securely gated to a tree.
  • Dimensional accuracy is diminished with increasing part size.
  • It is a much more manual process and costs can be higher for large production runs.
  • Tooling costs are far higher, only cost effective for very large volumes.
  • The parts produced are usually less complex.
  • More material limitations, can’t be used for ferrous alloys.
  • Surface finishes are usually lower quality than IC and require additional processing.

Other Comparisons

  • Investment Casting vs Sand Casting
  • Investment Casting vs Machining
  • Investment Casting vs Metal Injection Moulding

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