Offshore Investment Casting

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Barron Industries is a full-service investment casting foundry with decades of process experience. We supply prototype and gap production quantities from our plant in Michigan to customers in various industries and have partnered with a carefully selected offshore manufacturer in India to meet high-volume demands.

Offshore investment casting isn’t difficult or risky when you work with us. We’re ISO 9001, AS 9001, and NADCAP-certified, and we expect the same high level of commitment to quality from our offshore partners.

Here’s how our program works: you deal directly with our U.S.-based team, and we take care of everything else. We’ll supply samples and prototypes cast here in Michigan. Then, as you need increased quantities, we obtain them from our offshore investment casting services partner. They deliver directly to us, so we handle all the import paperwork. We inspect every piece here in-house before dispatching it to you, and we hold safety stock to protect you against supply chain disruptions.

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NADCAP – Nondestructive Testing • AS 9100 • ISO 9001 • ITAR Registered • SAM Registered • Certified Small Business

Cage code 7L135 – Primary NAICS: 331512, 331524, 331524, 331529, 332710

Capabilities

Our offshore investment casting partner can work with multiple grades of steel, stainless steel, and aluminum, and adheres to AS 9100, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and IATF 16949 quality standards. Castings range from 0.25kg to 10kg (9oz. to 22lbs.). Our partner also operates a modern wax pattern shop using semi-and fully automatic molding equipment to create high-quality patterns. Their additional capabilities include CNC machining, coating, and testing.

Benefits

Investment casting produces parts with complex geometries, fine details, and excellent surface finish. Other benefits of this process include:

Minimizes secondary machining (especially beneficial with stainless steel grades like 17-4 PH that are hard to machine)
Enables consolidation of otherwise separate components into a single piece
Provides high repeatability, thanks to the way patterns are molded
Delivers excellent geometric accuracy

The Process

Everything starts with the pattern, which is an exact replica of the casting. Patterns can be produced by either injection molding or additive manufacturing. Multiple patterns are attached to a sprue that will form the metal delivery channel, also called a tree.
This “tree” is then dipped in a ceramic slurry that dries to form a hard shell strong enough to take the weight of the metal that will be poured into it.
The pattern is then melted out, which leaves mold cavities for molten metal to fill.
Hollow regions in the part being cast are formed by adding cores to the wax pattern. These remain inside the shell after the wax is melted out. Cores are usually made from a soluble material so they can be dissolved out of the metal part.
Once the metal has solidified, the shell is broken apart. The parts are cut away from the sprue and moved into whatever finishing operations are needed.