Casting patterns in wax have worked OK for centuries as long as part had thick walls and were not too complex. And don’t drop one. The lost wax technique has gotten and update with recent developments from FOPAT, a division of buyCastings.com. FOPAT, for Foam Pattern, developed a two-part purple foam to make patterns of conventional castings. The proprietary material weighs about 10% of a wax pattern and allows making complex, large castings more feasible. The process works like this: an original or required part is used to make a urethane mold from which up to 25 foam parts are formed. The foam version is dipped in a ceramic slurry, cured, and fired to remove the foam, leaving a mold ready for casting. The method allows producing hundreds of precise and complex designs.
The foam provides minimal pattern shrinkage, produces no shell cracking, and its stable to 200F. It’s durable for thin sections and needs no chilling.
Fopat
www.fopat.com
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