water glass casting from jccasting's blog

Water glass casting is very similar to investment casting (i.e. lost wax), but is particularly suitable for larger castings and is less expensive to produce. The process provides a surface finish and dimensional accuracy far superior to sand casting, and more complex shapes can be achieved. In addition to steel, alternative materials such as iron and SG iron can also be cast using this method.

The difference between lost wax and water glass casting is simply the way the wax is removed from the ceramic mold:

Investment casting uses a high temperature autoclave to melt the wax, and in water glass casting, the mold is dipped in hot water to remove the wax. The wax then melts from the mold and floats on the water. This then allows it to be skimmed off and reused for waxing purposes.

Obviously, this also offers environmental advantages, and the wax is fully recyclable.

Advantages of water glass casting:

Better surface finish than sand casting.

Higher dimensional accuracy than sand casting.

Realize more complex parts.

Larger parts than traditional investment casting methods.

Cheaper than investment casting.

More metal options.

environmental advantage.