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What we can produce

Casting, machining, finishing and inspection under one roof

The tables below are the ones engineers ask for first. If your part falls outside these ranges, send the drawing anyway — in most cases we can quote a route, or tell you honestly that we are the wrong supplier.

Everything on this page as a one-page capability sheet

Tolerance tables, weight ranges and the RFQ checklist in a single PDF you can forward internally or send with your enquiry.

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Step 01

Silica-sol investment casting

Also called lost-wax casting. A wax pattern is coated in ceramic slurry and stucco to build a shell, the wax is melted out, the shell is fired, and molten metal is poured in. The result is a one-piece component with fine detail and no parting line — useful where welding or assembly would otherwise be needed.

Process capabilities

Silica-sol investment casting — key parameters
ParameterRange
Unit weight, investment casting10 g – 50 kg per piece
Unit weight, lost foam20 – 2,000 kg per piece
Casting dimensional tolerance±0.1 mm, by process
Materials300/400-series stainless, low-alloy, high-temperature alloy
Shell systemSilica sol binder
Casting capacity200 t per month
Heat treatmentNormalising, quenching, tempering as required
FinishingShot blasting, coating, galvanising

Why choose investment casting

  • Complex geometry in one piece — internal channels, undercuts and deep pockets that sand casting cannot form.
  • No parting line or draft limitation on most faces, so surfaces come out cleaner.
  • Better as-cast finish than sand casting, reducing machining allowance and cycle time.
  • Economical at low to mid volume — tooling cost is far lower than forging or die casting.
  • Alloy flexibility — including grades that are difficult to forge or weld.

Casting process video

Wax injection through to knock-out, filmed on our line.

View footage

Production route

1

Wax pattern

Injection into a machined aluminium die, then assembly onto the runner tree.

2

Shell building

Repeated slurry dip and stucco coats to build a ceramic shell of controlled thickness.

3

Dewax & fire

Autoclave dewaxing, then firing to burn out residue and sinter the shell.

4

Melt & pour

Induction melting with spectro verification, poured and recorded by heat number.

Step 02

CNC machining

Castings are only half a component. We machine our own castings — and bar stock — to drawing tolerances, using fixtures designed alongside the casting so the datum is consistent from first article onward.

Turning capacity

ParameterRange
MachinesImported CNC lathes
Typical workShafts, bushes, rings and turned profiles
Machined featuresTurned diameters, bores, grooves and face work
Tolerances and finishQuoted against your drawing before tooling starts

Milling & drilling capacity

ParameterRange
MachinesMachining centres; milling and EDM for tooling
Typical workFaces, bores, slots and drilled hole patterns
ThreadsMetric and imperial threads by tap or milled thread
ToolingWax dies and fixtures made in-house
Tolerances and finishQuoted against your drawing before tooling starts

Fixtures designed with the casting

Fixture design is reviewed together with the casting layout, so the machining datum is the one the foundry actually controls. This is the most common cause of first-article rejections elsewhere, and we remove it up front.

Process capability on critical features

Where your drawing marks a critical characteristic, we report measured results from production data rather than a single sample measurement.

Trial cut before series

For complex parts we complete a trial cut on a sample casting and submit results before committing the production programme. If the process needs adjusting, you find out then — not in your warehouse.

Step 03

Heat treatment & surface finishing

Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance are decided here. Specify the standard and we will process to it and issue the certificates with the shipment.

Heat treatment processes
ProcessTypical applicationReference standard
NormalisingCarbon and low-alloy steel, grain refinement before machiningCustomer specification
Hardening & tempering400-series martensitic grades (410, 420), wear and linkage partsCustomer specification
Solution annealingAustenitic 300-series grades, corrosion resistance and softnessCustomer specification
Stress relievingDimensional stability before final machiningCustomer specification
Surface finishing
FinishWhere it is usedStandard / note
Shot blastingShell removal and surface cleaning after knockoutMedia grade to your requirement
Coating (paint)Equipment housings, colour-coded partsApplied to the specification on your drawing
GalvanisingCorrosion protection for steel componentsApplied to the specification on your drawing

Finishing operations that are not carried out in-house are performed by audited suppliers, with certificates retained against your order reference.

Step 04

Inspection & non-destructive testing

Every order ships with documentation. Which tests are applied depends on your drawing and end use — tell us what your own customer requires and we will match it.

CheckMethodBasisReport issued
Chemical compositionOptical emission spectrometryIn-house, every heatMaterial certificate per heat number
Visual & workmanshipAgainst approved sample and drawing notesIn-house, every lotVisual inspection record
DimensionalMicrometers, callipers, bore gauges and hand toolsIn-houseFirst article report / lot report
Pressure integrityHydrostatic pressure testIn-house — valves & pipe fittingsPressure test certificate
Internal defectsRadiographic testing (X-ray)On project basisRT report with films or digital images
Surface defectsDye penetrant (PT), magnetic particle (MT)On project basisPT / MT report
HardnessBrinell, Rockwell or LeebOn project basisHardness certificate
Material test certificatesIn-house laboratory or third partyOn project basisMTC with heat number traceability

First article inspection

Ballooned drawing with measured values against every dimension, submitted for your written approval before series production.

Traceability

Melt record, heat treatment record and inspection results retrievable by heat number for the life of the programme.

Third-party inspection

SGS, BV, TÜV or your nominated inspector are welcome on site. We will schedule access and provide the test pieces.

Beyond the part

Value-added operations

Work that would otherwise land on your receiving dock as extra handling, extra suppliers and extra paperwork.

Sub-assembly

Pressed-in bushes, bearings, seals, studs and fasteners fitted before shipment.

Kitting & sets

Multiple part numbers packed as a matched set with a single part number and label.

Laser marking & labelling

Part numbers, heat numbers, batch codes, barcodes and your own brand marking.

Export packaging

VCI film, desiccant, foam separation, custom cartons, pallets and container loading plans.

Drawings & DFM support

We review your drawing for castability and machinability and propose changes with the cost impact stated.

Logistics coordination

EXW, FOB Qingdao, CIF and DDP with the full export document set prepared for clearance.

Does your part fit these ranges?

Send the drawing, even if it does not. You will get a clear answer either way — including a route we would recommend if we are not the right fit.

Answered by the people who make the parts