Strato's Investment Casting Process
- A Leader in Casting Parts over 150 lbs.
- Rapid Prototyping Saves Time and Costs
- Smooth Surface Finished Products
- Investment Casting for Stronger Designs
- 3D Prototyping Capabilities
- Multiple Foundry Partners Ensure the Right Process at the Lowest Cost
Strato uses a variety of casting processes. The key is picking the right process and the right foundry for the product. Many casting suppliers in the industry have significant capital investments in owned foundries. We have a network of over 30 foundries that allows us to match the part with the right process in the right foundry.
Although sand casting is an appropriate choice for some products, Strato uses investment casting where porosity, parting lines and surface finish is a known cause for part failures and when tighter tolerances are required to make a stronger design.
Strato has become the leader in using investment castings for parts greater than 150 lbs. We developed tooling and process controls that allow us to manufacture parts as large as 350 lbs. For these types of parts, Strato uses a lost wax process where the mold of the part is made of a wax that is eventually melted away during the casting process. This environmentally safe process allows us to have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry. Lost wax is a preferred casting method for companies who require environmentally safe products.
The first step is to develop the tooling. Our tooling is used to mold wax and not sand; it will maintain very exact dimensions for the life of the product. Next, our engineers use finite element analysis and simulation software to validate a design to make a prototype.
A 3D prototype is made from the validated design. This model can also be used as the mold for a modified investment casting to create a metal sample. Rapid prototyping can reduce the sample process by several months.
Strato works closely with our vendors not only in the design of parts and tooling, but also in the process of casting a part. It is this comprehensive approach of choosing the right process, accurately designing the product, working collaboratively with our vendors on tooling and sampling and supporting their needs on site that contributes to the high degree of success we have with investment castings.
That success is measured in a product reject rate of less than one percent, by far a benchmark in the industry.
As our products have more time in the field we assure that our failure rate will be far superior to competitive products using other casting methods.