Factors affecting shell thickness and strength in investment casting

In this thesis, factors affecting shell thickness and strength in lost-wax process have been investigatedin order to examine these factors, the properties of the contents of the shell mold must be known. For this reason a wide information about these contents has been given in this project. The ceramic slurry's viscosity, ceramic slurry's contents, the number of dipping action and the amount of dry time between dips are the main factors affecting shell mold integrity and thickness.An experimental study has been done in order to determine how these factors affect shell mold integrity and thickness. The ceramic slurry's viscosity, the number of dipping action and the amount of dry time between dips have been taken as control parameters.Three experiments have been done in order to investigate the effects of these parameters on shell mold strength and thickness.After the experiments the thickness and the strength of the shell molds are measured. As a result, it has been determined how these factors affect shell strength and thickness. Keywords : Ceramic shell casting, viscosity, dry time, dipping number, shell strength XI