Nozzle guide vanes and compressor wheel wax dies.

[Rodrigo]

Dear Sirs

Does anyone know how the dies to produce the wax patterns for turbocompressors / turbojet compressor wheels and nozzle guide vanes look like ?

Please post any information you have, if you have pictures of the dies please post them.

See the attached pictures of the components cast from wax patterns.

[mc_n_g]

The best thing I remember is something relted to investment casting of propellers. YouTube - How It's Made:Boat Propellers
If you have an original you can create a silicone rubber 2-4 piece mold to get teh details you need. Use the silicone rubber mold to create the wax form of the casting. Just understand you may have some shrinkage of the part as cast if you do not account for it in the wax form.
You can also see examples on:
http://www.smooth-on.com/
http://www.freemansupply.com/

[Rodrigo]

Thank you Mc n g for your help.

I understand that those parts must be made by the lost wax process, but, a wax pattern must be made before.

Supposing I'm not trying to replicate any part, how a permanent mould ( metallic ) could be made to create a wax ( poured or injected ) pattern that can be used with the lost wax process to produce parts like those shown in my first post ?

I understand that it must be a multipart mould, but I can't imagine the number and shapes of the mould parts, do you have pictures of " real " moulds of this type ?

Do you know about sites that have pictures or cover this subject ?

The links to the sites you posted in your reply are very interesting !


Thank you.

[mc_n_g]

No I don't have any pictures or sites dealing with this.

The silicone rubber can be hard enough to make the wax parts if you choose the right material and durometer of silicone. Some of teh material can even be infused with aluminum powder for additional strength and density.

If it was easy everyone would be doing it and the market would be flooded. It all comes down to how good you are at using your imagination. This is not something you just pick up quickly, this is where experience with mold making comes in and understanding the process you are utilizing.

I have never done any lost wax casting. I am just familiar with the process as I have worked on plastic injection and rubber molding.

[Rodrigo]

Thank you Mr. Mc n g for your reply.

I agree with you, it must be extremely difficult to design and make dies to produce those wax patterns.

Maybe some day, someone familiar with the process come across this post and then spend some minutes to teach us.