Table of Contents
1. DEFINITION
The lost wax process is the production of high-precision castings from metallic materials in a foundry. The original form of the process is characterized by high dimensional accuracy, first-class surface quality and low manufacturing costs. Most of the time, the metal parts are almost ready for installation.
Since both the models and the molds are lost during the casting process, this is referred to as casting from lost models and molds. The mold (negative model) is usually made of ceramic and is lost because it has to be destroyed after each casting in order to be able to demold the casting. The model (positive model), on the other hand, usually consists of wax or a polymer and depicts the desired piece of metal. It is dipped several times in form slip to maintain the ceramic shape. The wax model is lost during subsequent melting.