Signicast FAQ

Investment casting, also known as "lost-wax casting," is a precision metal casting process that uses a wax pattern coated in ceramic to create a mold. The wax is melted out, and molten metal is poured in. This process is known for producing highly complex, detailed components with exceptional surface finishes and tight tolerances.

• Unmatched Speed: Our automated systems drastically reduce lead times compared to traditional investment casting.
• Superior Repeatability: A fully automated process eliminates human variability, ensuring consistent quality from the first part to the last.
• Design Freedom: Investment casting allows for intricate geometries and internal features that are difficult or impossible to achieve with other processes.
• Less Waste: The near-net-shape nature of the process minimizes material waste and the need for secondary operations.

We work with a wide range of materials, including various grades of stainless steels, carbon and low-alloy steels, cobalt-based alloys, and more. Our engineers can guide you in selecting the ideal material to meet your part's mechanical property requirements.

Our continuous flow manufacturing process is a key differentiator. Instead of batching projects like traditional foundries, we move parts through a continuous, automated workflow from tooling to finishing, which significantly reduces throughput time and potential for defects.

Yes. The lost-wax casting process provides exceptional design freedom, making it a perfect solution for complex geometries. We can produce intricate features, undercuts, and internal passages that would be difficult or impossible to create with other manufacturing processes.

All castings undergo 100% visual inspection, with in-house NDT capabilities including X-ray, FPI (fluorescent penetrant inspection), and MPI (magnetic particle inspection). Signicast also provides comprehensive metrology data—such as chemistry, heat treatment certification, and tensile bar results—to verify material integrity and mechanical performance.

We inject engineered wax in our tool cavities, acting as a lubricant that prevents wear and erosion. Our tools are designed to eliminate aluminum-on-aluminum contact, avoiding wear and galling. All wear points in our tools feature hardened steel and dissimilar metal components, which can be replaced during operation without disrupting production or adding maintenance costs.

Yes. We have advanced in-house prototyping capabilities for both components and tooling, allowing you to test and validate your design before full-scale production.

We provide a variety of value-added services, including machining, heat treating, plating, and assembly. This helps our customers streamline their supply chain and receive a finished, ready-to-assemble component from a single source.

Investment casting is often the superior choice for parts that are geometrically complex, require high detail, or need to be produced in a material that is difficult to machine. It can also be more cost-effective than machining for high-volume runs, as it reduces material waste and the need for extensive secondary operations.

Signicast maintains a comprehensive set of certifications, including ISO 9001 (commercial), AS9100 (aerospace), ISO 13485 (medical), IATF 16949 (automotive), and ITAR & NADCAP (defense), ensuring compliance across a wide range of industries.

You can contact us through our website to discuss your project. We encourage early collaboration with our engineering team to ensure your part is optimized for our process.