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17-4 Stainless Steel Castings, Aerospace Industry, Cargo System Component
Material 17-4: Stainless Steel Castings, Cargo System Component, Aerospace
316 Stainless Steel Castings, Electrical Industry
Material 316: Stainless Steel Alloy Castings, Electrical
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Stainless Steel Investment Castings

Aero Metals Inc. has extensive experience producing high volume stainless steel investment castings. You can find our stainless steel castings are used in marine products traversing the depths of the ocean, in advanced aircraft soaring through the skies, and in countless other applications in between. Check out our featured cast parts gallery to see prime examples of our stainless steel casting work.

What is Stainless Steel Investment Casting?

Stainless steel investment casting is a manufacturing process used to create complex metal parts in a wide range of shapes and sizes. It involves pouring molten stainless steel into a ceramic shell or mold, which is created by coating a wax pattern with a ceramic material.

Once the ceramic material has solidified around the wax pattern, the wax is melted away, leaving a cavity in the ceramic shell. The molten stainless steel is then poured into this cavity, filling the mold and taking on the shape of the wax pattern. After the metal has cooled and solidified, the ceramic shell is removed, and the finished stainless steel part is cleaned, polished, and inspected for quality.

What are the Advantages of Stainless Steel Casting?

Investment casting is known for producing high-precision parts with excellent surface finish, making it a popular choice for applications where precision and aesthetics are important, such as in the medical, aerospace, and automotive industries.

Stainless Steel Casting Alloys

The base alloy elements of any nickel-base or stainless steel casting are chromium, nickel, and molybdenum (or “moly”). These three components will determine the casting’s grain structure and mechanical prosperities, and will be instrumental in the casting’s ability to combat heat and/or corrosion.

Stainless steel has a minimum chromium content of 10.5%, making it more resistant to corrosive liquid environments and to oxidation. However, this is not an absolute. Stainless steel investment castings are “corrosion-resistant” when used in liquid environments and vapors below 1200°F (650°C) and “heat-resistant” when used above this temperature.

There are differences between wrought and cast versions of stainless steel. This is due to their chemical composition and their micro-grain structure, which is affected by how the material is produced, cast or extruded These factors must be taken into consideration when choosing an alloy for your stainless steel investment casting metal project.

Stainless Steel Casting Carbon Content

The industry distinguishes corrosion-resistant and heat-resistance stainless steel investment casting grades by their carbon content. A stainless steel casting must have low carbon content to perform well in corrosive environments. Thus, higher carbon content will improve the performance of heat-resistant grades in high temperature situations and improve their strength. If you are looking for a stainless steel alloy with high-heat resistance that performs well in more harsh environments, visit our nickel-based alloy casting page for a list of alloys to consider.

What Stainless Steel Grades Does Aero Metals Cast?

There are numerous stainless steel alloy grades available on the market today. Aero Metals works with a number of these metal alloys in our stainless steel casting process. Based on your performance and application requirements, our expert metallurgists can help you choose the best alloy for your stainless steel investment casting needs. Alloys we commonly work with include, but are not limited to:

Austenitic Stainless Steels Grades (300 Series)

300 Series Stainless Steel (ANSI)

Steel Grade Industry Applications
  • 303 (CF165)
  • 304 (CF8)
  • 304L (CF3)
  • 309 (CH20)
  • 310 (CK20)
  • 316 (CF8M)
  • 316L (CF3M)

 Learn more about Aero Metal's 300 Series Stainless Steel Casting Alloys.

Ferritic & Martensitic Stainless Steel Grades (400 Series)

400 Series Stainless Steel (ANSI)

Steel Grade Industry Applications
  • 410 (CA15)
  • Automotive
  • Machine tool
  • Food and Dairy
  • Petrochemical
  • Firearms
  • 416 (IC 416)
  • 420 (CA40)
  • 431 (IC 431)
  • 440A (IC 440A)
  • 440C (IC 440C)
 
 

Precipitation Hardening (PH) - Martensitic Stainless Steel Grades

14-4 PH Series

Alloy Grade Industry Applications
  • AMS5340
  • Military
  • Medical
  • Machine tool
  • Hand Tools
  • Aerospace
 
 

15-5 PH Series

Steel Grade Industry Applications
  • ASTM A 747 CB 7Cu-2
  • Military
  • Medical
  • Machine tool
  • Hand Tools
  • Aerospace
  • AMS 5346
  • ASM 5347
  • ASM 5356
  • AMS 5357
  • AMS 5400

 

17-4 PH Series

Steel Grade Industry Applications
  • ASTM A 747 CB 7Cu-1
  • Military
  • Medical
  • Machine tool
  • Hand Tools
  • Aerospace
  • AMS 5342/5344
  • ASM 5343
  • ASM 5355
  • MIL-S-81591 IC -17-4

Learn more about Aero Metal's Martensitic Stainless Steel Alloys

Austenitic and Ferritic (Duplex) Stainless Steel Grades

2205 Series

Steel Grade Industry Applications
  • X2CrNiMoN22-5-3
  • Chemical processing & storage
  • Oil & gas exploration
  • Cargo tanks
  • Food & dairy
  • Marine Accessories

Learn more about Aero Metal's Austenitic Steel Alloys

We can custom pour any “air melted” stainless steel alloy to fit your stainless steel investment casting project requirements. If you don’t see your alloy of choice listed above visit our Investment Casting Alloys page for more material options.

Contact Aero Metals for your Stainless Steel Casting Project

We can help you find the right alloy to fit your stainless steel casting requirements using our on-site spectrometer. This device gives you the ability to produce your own “specialty alloy” and enables you to change the chemistry to fit your application environment.

Request a quote today or contact Aero Metals for more information.

 

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