Investment Casting Valves And Pumps

Investment Casting Valves And Pumps

Lestercast have manufactured high quality valves & pumps for customers across many industries for over 50 years. We pride ourselves on producing quality near-net shape parts to companies in the Energy, Marine, Safety, defence and automotive industries.

The investment casting process is the optimal manufacturing choice when designing and producing parts in the valve and pump industry. The process can create near-net shape, thin-walled castings with a good surface finish, eliminating the need for machining. This not only lowers the lead times, but also reduces cost and allows complex intricate parts to be manufactured which would otherwise be extremely difficult. The vast range of ferrous, non-ferrous and super alloys available in investment casting, enable components with various property requirements to be manufactured.

Many customers in the energy industry, for example, require valves with high strength properties at ultra-high temperatures. Super alloys such as Inconel and Hastelloy X are popular and can be easily manufactured with Investment casting.

Stainless Steel is also a popular metal when manufacturing valves and pumps for pneumatic and hydraulic equipment. This is due to its high corrosion resistance and its lower cost.

We pride ourselves in producing high quality investment castings and believe that we are able to achieve this by using the most advanced technology and techniques. Our experience and knowledge gained over the last 50 years has allowed us to streamline our processes and produce a superior part. We use MAGMASOFT® investment casting simulation software to evaluate the design before it’s put into production. This software gives a 3d representation of the flow through the wax during manufacture, analysing the potential issues, which would result in defects. The ability to modify the design before production is a huge advantage in lead times and cost to the customer.

Alongside our traditional investment casting or ‘lost wax casting’ process, we have our rapid prototyping services. This is a viable alternative if producing lower quantities, as it eliminates the need for tooling. Wax patterns can be 3D printed in just days (compared to tooling which can take weeks) reducing the lead times considerably. Complex geometry designs can be easily 3D printed (and then cast) which may not have been achievable with tooling.

Please get in touch if you have a project which you would like to discuss with us.