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Aerospace Castings Military Castings Precision Investment Castings Prototype Castings Aluminum Investment Castings Copper Alloy Investment Castings Search Precision Investment Castings All Any Exact	Request a Quote Upload Drawings Brass, Beryllium Copper, Aluminum, Prototype Casting Specialists HTML Sitemap URL List About AlCuMet Precision Investment Castings We realize that to maintain our leadership position in the investment casting industry, we must continue to refine and improve our quality system. AlCuMet can meet all your non-ferrous investment casting and rapid prototype casting requirements. Our Capabilities Aluminum aerospace, aircraft, investment and prototype casting. Tool and mold making, rapid prototyping, precision investment castings, secondary machining, plating and painting and assembly. Aluminum casting for communications, electronics and objects. Commercial / industrial, government, medical hardware, military and munitions aluminum Casting. Our Employees We've made a commitment to employing quality people. Our technical teams and engineering staff are composed of specialists in their fields with years of successful experience behind them. Our Facility Our facility was constructed and built specifically for investment casting. We do all our work on-site from design, through manufacturing, with quality tests and checks at every step. Quality Commitment We believe manufacturing a casting that meets or exceeds the customer's specifications is absolutely critical. For that reason, we have implemented two Internationally recognized quality system standards; ISO-9001, and the aerospace version, AS-9100 which enable us to track the entire manufacturing process, isolate discrepancies and corrective actions. Visit Us AlCuMet's facility is conveniently located at Manchester Boston Regional Airport (MHT), the largest airport in the state. We invite you to take advantage of our accessibility and visit our plant to see firsthand our commitment to quality investment casting. Aerospace Castings Since it's founding in 1975, AlCuMet has provided unparalleled service to its customers in producing high quality aerospace investment castings composed of a variety of materials AlCuMet Home Alcumet, Inc. was founded in 1975 as an investment casting leader in the production of investment castings and rapid prototype castings. Aluminum Investment Castings Aluminum investment castings by AlCuMet, the industry leader since 1975, provides unparalleled service to a wide range of casting industry clients. Casting Precision Investment Casting, Precision Beryllium Copper Casting and Prototype Casting. Military Castings Whether during peacetime, surge or mobilization, Alcumet, Inc. has been a preferred investment casting contractor for the U.S. Military for their investment casting application needs since 1975. Precision Beryllium Copper Casting Precision Prototype Casting Capabilities include Beryllium Copper Aerospace Casting, Beryllium Copper Investment Casting and Beryllium Copper Prototype Casting. Precision Investment Casting Our aluminum investment casting services includes; electronic data transfer, product design assistance, SLA and LOM rapid prototype, cast prototype development, tool making, complete casting production, non-destructive, physical and chemical Testing, heat treating, secondary machining, plating, painting, coating and casting assembly. Privacy Policy AlCuMet Inc. is dedicated to providing its clients with a high quality experience. We understand that privacy is a major concern for web users. We work to enforce ethical policies that govern the gathering and usage of sensitive information on our website. Prototype Casting At AlCuMet, we have upheld our reputation as a leader in the prototype castings industry due to our ability to successfully respond to our customers' prototype casting needs, whether complex or simple in design. Contact AlCuMet Inc. 3 Planeview Drive Londonderry, NH 03053 Toll Free: 800.221.0419 NH Call: 603.432.6220 Fax: 603.434.7880 Email: (info@alcumet.com) Technical Info Advantages The cost of any part increases in direct proportion to the precision of its dimensional tolerance requirements. This is true of castings, as well as fabricated and machined parts. Investment castings are designed to minimize the cost of producing close tolerance parts... Angular Holes Angular holes are usually formed by metal cores within the die, normal tolerance bands usually apply. If the angle formed by two centerlines is greater than 120°, the hole can be sized. If it is less, a diameter tolerance of ±.005" per inch is necessary... Angularity Investment casting angularity tolerance depends on the configuration forming the angle. Concentricity Any two cylindrical surfaces sharing a common point or axis as their center are concentric. Any dimensional difference in the location of one center with another is the extent of the concentricity... Contours Radii and Cams When dimensioning a casting radius, it must be remembered that volumetric shrinkage occurs during cooling which affects external radii and contours. In a flat casting, concavity is easily illustrated and understood (refer to the Flatness section). The same concavity affects castings that have contours, but with more dramatic results... Curved Holes Since curved holes are formed by either soluble wax or preformed ceramic cores, normal tolerance requirements tend to double. Flatness Flatness and straightness are so closely related that confusion may arise unless the foundry and purchaser clarify the definitions before production... Hole Tolerance A cast hole's roundness is affected by the surrounding metal. If an uneven mass is adjacent, the hole will be pulled out of round. If the surrounding metal is symmetrical, holes up to ½" diameter can be held to ±.005" based on a plug gage check... Internal Radii and Fillets These require the widest tolerance possible. They are difficult to control and can receive approximate checks by radius gages, or at a premium with an optical comparator. Out Of Roundness Further details can be found in the Investment Casting Handbook. Contact AlCuMet or your sales representative for more information... Parallelism Casting parts with parallel prongs supported at only one end, and yoke castings, are very specialized problems which should be discussed fully with the foundry before production... Perpendicularity When specifying perpendicularity, use the longest plane for reference, establishing the datum plane with three tooling points... Positioning Hole and boss position tolerance depends on parent casting configurations. Holes or boss position on the periphery of concentricity examples shown will be affected by the degree of eccentricity. The position of holes or bosses on a flat plate will be affected by linear tolerances. A new factor enters here, however, Linear tolerances are based on volumetric shrinkage, and holes and bosses disturb this shrinkage... Roundness "Out of round" is defined as the radial difference between a true circle and a given circumference. It is the total indicator reading when the part is rotated 360°, half the difference between the maximum and minimum condition. The inspection method, however, should be specified by the purchaser. Standard Linear Tolerances As a general rule… normal linear tolerance on an investment casting can be ±.010" for up to 1", and ±.005" for each additional inch thereafter. Normal tolerances can be expected for production repeatability of all casting dimensions. Straightness Mil. Std. 8 specifies "a tolerance covering the straightness of an axis is the diameter or width within which the axis must lie." Thus, to correctly measure axial straightness of a shaft, bar, or plate, the tolerance zone within which the axis or axial plane lies must also be measured. Surface Textures "Surface texture includes roughness, waviness, lay, and flaws" as defined in ASA B 46.1.1962. Industry uses the term Root Mean Square (RMS) and Arithmetic Average (AA) interchangeably. RMS gives values about 11% higher than AA, which is an insignificant difference. Tapered Holes The general comments on Hole Tolerance apply (see that section). Such holes should be dimensioned at the lesser diameter and the angle given. The angle can be held to ±½°... Variables Casting size and shape determines the tolerance required to allow for process variables. These allowances will vary by foundry, depending on foundry experience or specialty. Many process factors affect investment casting tolerances including... Request for Casting Quote To request your custom casting or metal forms quote please call us Toll Free at 800.221.0419 or Email: (info@alcumet.com) The Casting Process Tour Casting Process We invite you to have a look at how AlCuMet performs the Investment Casting Process. We've put together a presentation in words and photos to guide you, step-by-step, through our process. Casting Design Begin with a drawing or an existing prototype part. Our engineers can help you develop a solution for your individual situation. Mold Making From your drawing or prototype we create an injection mold. Wax pattern injection molds are machined using CAD / CAM on our CNC machining centers. Wax Pattern Injection Molds Wax pattern molds are carefully checked for compliance to all detail. All pattern molds are maintained to the highest standards and are ready for use when the customer places an order for castings. Wax Patterns A number of wax patterns are injected to make up a production lot. The patterns are carefully inspected before moving to the next operation. Pattern Assemblies Multiple wax patterns are assembled on a sprue or tree. Ceramic Shell, Prime Slurry The wax assemblies are coated with a fine ceramic liquid called slurry. Application of Sand Then covered with fine sand while the slurry is still wet. Dry Time: The wax assembly with a coat of ceramic is allowed to dry. Dry time is respective of part configuration. Shell Slurry and Sand Subsequent layers of slurry and sand are applied and allowed to dry, to make a strong ceramic shell. Depending on the size and shape of the casting, 6 or more layers of ceramic are applied. Completed Ceramic Shells Finished ceramic shells are now ready for the next process to remove the wax from inside. Autoclave De-wax: Ceramic shells are placed on a tray and processed in a steam autoclave to melt out the wax. High Temp Burnout De-waxed shells are fired at high temperature to cure the ceramic. Fired Ceramic Molds Fired ceramic molds are now ready for preheat and casting. Metal Melting Metal melting is done in crucible lined furnaces. Preparation of molten metal is critical to casting quality. Alloying and degassing is done to bring the melt up to optimum properties. Metal Casting Metal is then cast into the ceramic mold. Aluminum Casting Aluminum is cast in a vacuum casting machine. Post-Cast Ceramic Shells The metal casting has now taken the shape of the wax patterns and assembly. After the assembly cools to room temperature, the shell will be removed. Shell Removal Ceramic is removed from the cast metal assemblies using high pressure water. Cut Off Begin with a drawing or an existing prototype part Gate Grinding Saws are used to remove the unwanted gates and risers. Finishing the Casting Other de-burring and any hand-finishing by grinding is performed now. Heat Treating Subsequent processing usually includes heat treating to improve the physical properties of the alloy castings. Sand Blast Finish In most cases, a sand blast finish is used to blend the surfaces and present a clean and uniform finished casting. Other finishes such as steel shot, wheelabrate, glass bead and vibratory finishing may also be used. Inspections Although parts are inspected throughout the process, a final inspection is done on every casting prior to shipping. Dimensional Inspections Dimensional characteristics are measured for 100% compliance to the original print. Fluorescent Penetrate Inspection Further processing through FPI may be required when castings must meet strict MIL-spec's. This non-destructive testing process will detect surface flaws, if any, that may not be visual to the eye. X-Ray Inspection X-ray is used, when required by the specification, to detect flaws that may be below the surface of the casting. Test Bars Mechanical properties are determined by pulling a test bar on tensile test machine. Secondary Machining: AlCuMet offers even further processing such as machining, plating, coating, painting and assembly. Here are 2 of our machining centers. The Investment Casting Experience Now you can see that the finished casting resembles the injected wax pattern in every detail.This process offers the designer or engineer tremendous flexibility in their design and materials selection. Send Us Your Casting Challenge! We take pride in our facility and expertise in the investment casting process. Let the experts at AlCuMet, Inc. evaluate your casting requirements. We can take your next project from rapid prototype through low, medium or high volume production. Press Room Questions about Brass, Beryllium Copper, Aluminum, Prototype Casting? Contact us today for all your prototype casting needs.

Aerospace Castings \| Aluminum Investment Castings \| Angular Holes \| Angularity \| Copper Alloy Investment Castings \| Concentricity \| Contours, Radii, Cams Curved Holes \| Flatness (Dish) \| Hole Tolerance \| Internal Radii, Fillet \| Investment Casting Advantages \| Investment Casting Capabilities \| Military Castings Out of Roundness \| Parallelism \| Perpendicularity \| Precision Investment Castings \|Positioning \| Prototype Castings \| Roundness \| Standard Linear Tolerances Straightness \| Surface Textures \| Tapered Holes \| Variables \| Investment Casting Site Map Londonderry, NH Website Design Development Alcumet, Inc. is a leader in the production of aerospace castings, military castings, prototype castings, aluminum investment castings and beryllium copper investment castings. MA, Massachusetts, NH, New Hampshire, CT, Connecticut, RI, Rhode Island, VT, Vermont, ME, Maine, New England, USA