Investment Casting Solutions
Building productivity and new manufacturing efficiencies with
tool-less 3D printed casting pattern production from 3D Systems

3D Systems’ tool-less digital manufacturing solutions have changed the landscape ofinvestment casting with 3D printing of high quality wax and resin casting patterns inhours that allow high complexity metal part production at significantly lower costs.

Investment Casting in the 21st Century
Production-grade cast metal parts in days
Enabling the creation of the Digital Foundry, 3D Systems’ technology will yield competitive advantages for those adopting
digital processes, powered by 3D printing.
3D printed investment casting patterns deliver the same high quality casting outcomes, but allow:••••

Pattern production in hours
Dramatic cost savings of up to 90%
Mitigated risk for part design updates
Individual part geometry customization or variation••

Fast and easy production of complex geometries•

True-to-CAD pattern accuracy and smooth surfaces

Higher design complexity only possible throughadditive process

3D printed patterns are burned out into the lost wax or shell investment casting process

Patterns in Hours, Traditional Casted Metal Parts in DaysFor industrial investment casting applications, 3D Systems primarily recommends two solutions for tool-less investment
casting patterns production to meet the lower costs, quick turnaround and quality aspects your product demands.
RealWax™ Patterns with MultiJet Printing – high quality small to mid-sized wax patterns that fit directly into a standard
foundry casting process. Accessibility and ease-of-use with seamless integration.
QuickCast® Patterns with Stereolithography – lower cost production of medium to extra-large lightweight high fidelity
patterns that are robust and stable for shipping and storage. Clean pattern oven burnout with adjusted casting process.

BRIDGE MANUFACTURING
AND SHORT RUN PRODUCTION
Meet tight deadlines for production parts
without the cost or delay of tooling.

CUSTOMIZED COMPONENTS
Economically produce the exact partaddressing your tightest requirementswith no MOQs.

LIGHTWEIGHT,COMPLEX METAL PARTS
Courtesy ofOwens Magnetic

Produce geometries that would be
difficult or impossible to tool using
conventional methods.

TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION
Deliver better performing, more costeffective components with topology
optimization and part consolidation.

RealWax™ MultiJet Printing Patterns
Tool-less production of 100% wax casting
patterns in hours
The ProJet® MJP 2500 IC yields hundreds of RealWax™ patterns
at a lower cost and in less time than traditional patternproduction. Delivering design complexity, quality, accuracy
and repeatability, it is ideal for customized metal components,
bridge manufacturing and low volume production.

QuickCast® Stereolithography
Printers
Stable and shippable medium to extralarge lightweight patterns in hours
These highly productive printers offer all the benefitsof legendary stereolithography for investment casting
applications: smooth surfaces, high quality for complex
geometries and exceptional accuracy.

Total Pattern Cost vs. Number of Patterns

LARGE PARTS WITH FINE FEATURE DETAILSLA printers are able to produce highly detailed,lightweight patterns in sizes ranging from just a few$ COST

millimeters, all the way up to 1.5 meters long in onepiece, minimizing the amount of assembly for larger
patterns—all at the same exceptional resolution andaccuracy, with virtually no part shrinkage or warping.
NO. OF PATTERNSCOSTBREAKEVENCOMPELLING ECONOMICSFAST OUTPUT AT A FRACTION OF THE COST

Cut the tool time and cost with direct patterns 3D

Produce hundreds of small to medium size patterns quicker

printing for lower volume production. Benefit fromand at less cost compared to the time and expense to build
and run a traditional injection tool. If design changes arelower pattern costs than other precision 3D printing
technologies with QuickCast SLA printing efficientneeded, the benefits just compound.

material use. And 3D Sprint advanced software delivers

CASTING RELIABILITY

design to high quality true to CAD printed patterns

VisiJet® M2 ICast 100% wax material delivers the same meltand burn-out characteristics of standard casting waxes. ThisRealWax 3D printing material drops seamlessly into existing
investment casting processes.

MANUFACTURING AGILITY
High flexibility and versatility with an efficient solution
for wax pattern production, with one or multiple printersdepending on needed capacity. Create, iterate, produce andrefine as required with just-in-time pattern production.

OPTIMIZED RESOURCES
Streamline your file-to-pattern workflow with MultiJet Printing

all the tools you need to quickly and efficiently go fromwithout needing additional third party software.

24/7 PRODUCTION
Get the highest productivity possible with the fastest
print technology for large patterns and production runs.
SLA printers run unattended until the print is complete.

ADVANCED CASTING MATERIALS
Using our advanced Accura® casting materials, you
can produce investment casting models quickly andeasily for clean burnout, with high geometric stability
for shipping and storage. Accura CastPro Free is anantimony-free material specifically for use in aerospacebased casting pattern production.

ease-of-use and dependable process:•Advanced 3D Sprint® software capabilities
for preparing and managing the additive
manufacturing process•

Unattended high speed printing•

Defined and controlled post-process methodology

QuickCast SLA build style prints hollow
plastic patterns with a unique internal
support structure that allows thepattern to collapse internally as it
expands with temperature. These
patterns are made with castable
resins, and their high surface
quality helps reduce post-processing
requirements, contributing to a fasterfinal part delivery.

Investment Casting Solutions
Building productivity and new manufacturing efficiencies with tool-less 3D printed casting pattern production from 3D SystemsMULTIJET PRINTING
ProJet MJP 2500 IC

ProJet® MJP 2500 IC

Build envelope capacity (W x D x H)

294 x 211 x 144 mm (11.6 x 8.3 x 5.6 in)

Build material

VisiJet M2 ICast (100% wax)

Resolution

600 x 600 x 600 DPI

Layer thickness

42 μm

Typical accuracy*±0.1016 mm/25.4 mm (±0.004 in/in) of part dimension across printer population±0.0508 mm/25.4 mm (±0.002 in/in) of part dimension typical for any single
printer* Across printer variation can be reduced to equal single printer variation via user calibration.

STEREOLITHOGRAPHY PRINTING
ProX® 950
ProX® 800

ProJet® 7000

ProJet 6000

ProJet 7000

ProX 800

ProX 950

Build envelope capacity(W x D x H)

250 x 250 x 250 mm(10 x 10 x 10 in)

380 x 380 x 250 mm(15 x 15 x 10 in)

650 x 750 x 550 mm(25.6 x 29.5 x 21.65 in)1500 x 750 x 550 mm(59 x 30 x 22 in)

Build material

Accura ClearVue

Accura ClearVue

Accura CastPro*
Accura CastPro Free*
Accura ClearVue
Accura ClearVue Free
Accura 60

Accura CastPro*
Accura CastPro Free*
Accura ClearVue
Accura ClearVue Free
Accura 60

Max resolution

4000 DPI**4000 DPI**

4000 DPI**

4000 DPI**

Accuracy
ProJet® 6000

0.001-0.002 inch per inch (0.025-0.05 mm per 25.4 mm) of part dimension* Denotes materials specifically designed for industrial investment casting applications.
These materials are 3D Systems’ primary recommendation for casting applications on these printers.
** Equivalent DPI based on laser spot location resolution of 0.00635 mm in 3D Systems testing.

Seeking 3D printed casting patterns now?
Contact the 3D Systems On Demand experts.
3D Systems On Demand offers the power to 3D print casting patterns through our 12 facilities
worldwide with online ordering 24/7, supported by our team of experts and application engineers.
3D Systems offers two types of investment casting patterns supported by decades of experience.
•QuickCast – delivering accuracy, high-level of surface finish and larger part size capabilities
for rapid production of cast components.

•RealWax – offering the highest level of surface finish, part complexity and ease ofprocessing for casting patterns.

Warranty/Disclaimer: The performance characteristics of these products may vary according to product application,
operating conditions, material combined with, or with end use. 3D Systems makes no warranties of any type, express
or implied, including, but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use.
© 2019 by 3D Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Specifications subject to change without notice. 3D Systems,
the 3D Systems logo, ProJet, ProX, Accura, VisiJet, QuickCast, 3D Sprint are registered trademarks and RealWax
is a trademark of 3D Systems, Inc.

www.3dsystems.com				

3DS-52321A

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