I was flipping through the Industrial Design Guide that I posted up a few weeks ago, and came to the page about investment casting. When I read some issues with the casting process. Typically, when the metal is poured into the mold, there are some unindented inclusions like Oxygen, metals, or other containments. Also, the act of pouring the metal creates turbulence and may allow pores to form, leading to compromised product integrity.
A solution to this is the Hitchner Counter Pressure Process. Basically it is filling a mold from the bottom up: You use vacuum pressure to pull the molten metal into the mold at a controlled rate. By doing so, the metal flows freely, with significantly reduced turbulence, and a better finished product. Certainly, there is an initial investment cost for moving to this method. But as with all manufacturing, diligence in pursuing cost-effective advancements will lead to better competitiveness.
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