Optimize Investment Casting Workflows

3D SYSTEMS introduced a new additive manufacturing software that investment casting operations to create customized casting trees, complete with configurable runners, sprues, and end effectors tailored to their workflow, expanding its portfolio of tools and technologies spanning 3D printers, software tools and build styles to shift pattern-production economics to make overall costs competitive with wax tooling.

An investment casting tree is a structure of multiple wax patterns of parts attached to a central wax rod (sprue), for mass production. This assembly is coated in a ceramic slurry to form a mold, and the wax is melted out, so that the ceramic molds can be filled with molten metal to create several identical castings at once.

The new ArrayCast™ software follows the company’s QuickCast® software tool for creating high-precision, lightweight patterns straight from CAD. This eliminates the need for tooling and gives engineers design freedom to develop higher-performance parts without upfront tooling costs.

Among the new software’s benefits listed by 3D Systems are:

Up to 10x faster production cycles by digitally assembling casting trees before printing begins, eliminating bottlenecks caused by manual processes;

Up to 20x reduction in manual labor hours through the use of fully assembled, 3D-printed casting trees—no hand gluing or wax welding required;

Excellent consistency and repeatability with a digital workflow that minimizes human error and ensures every tree meets exact specifications.

ArrayCast is immediately available to 3D Systems’ customers as an add-on through its 3D Sprint^® software, a part of the company’s polymer printing platforms.

Learn more at www.3Dsystems.com