Shrinkage Analysis of Wax Patterns For Aerospace Components in Investment Casting Process

Investment casting has been the most widely used process for several centuries for producing components of excellent surface finish, dimensional accuracy and complex shapes. In the present study, work has been done to select a correct wax type with minimum shrinkage for further investment casting process of aerospace components. Wax Patterns were made with different types of waxes namely Pattern Wax, Sprue wax and machine wax. In each case, linear shrinkage was determined. The experimental setup for building the silicone rubber mould is explained, by which different wax are used and aerospace parts are made. The selection of wax is shown by using graphical representation and inspection results of linear shrinkage of no of wax patterns. Accuracy of dimension is the main aim achieved in this paper by shrinkage analysis to get an accurate final product.