Sustainability of Investment Casting
Investment casting is a sustainable metal forming process because it minimizes waste, reduces energy consumption, and reuses materials.
Investment casting produces less waste than other casting methods, such as sand casting or die casting. Barron Industries further reduces waste by using additive manufacturing and solidification modeling software during the design phase to accurately predict the necessary metal volume for a part, preventing unnecessary excess material and eliminating waste that would be produced by trial-and-error methods of process development.
The investment casting process also reduces waste by minimizing the need for secondary machining, which requires cutting fluids and coolants and can negatively impact the environment.
Additionally, using ceramic molds produces near-net shape components with exceptional surface qualities, tight tolerances, and fine detail.
Investment casting uses ceramic molds, which don’t require chemical binders often used in other mold-making processes. The ceramic is classified as an inert substance and controlled landfill disposal is not necessary.
Barron Industries melts metal with energy-efficient induction furnaces that use electricity and produce significantly less dust and other pollutants than other melting methods. Energy consumption is further reduced by:
Barron Industries uses 3D-printed patterns for producing complex components, reducing the need for secondary machining.
Many of the materials used in investment casting are recycled and reused for casting or other purposes. At Barron Industries, we transform metal scrap into new components. For example, we use carbon and stainless steel scrap that is trimmed away in automotive manufacturing processes and we reuse these scraps to build new high-strength investment castings. Barron also uses recycled wax to produce patterns, reuses wax melted out of the ceramic molds, and collects used ceramic that can be used as fill for construction projects or concrete.
Barron Industries transforms metal scrap into new high-strength components.
Barron Industries stays on the leading edge of environmental responsibility by maintaining compliance with ISO 1400, the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS).
Our environmental policy states that we are committed to:
Barron uses recycled wax to produce patterns and reuse wax that has melted out of the ceramic molds
Speak to one of our experts today to learn more about our custom casting solutions.