Systems, devices, and/or methods for manufacturing castings
Certain exemplary embodiments can provide a composition, system, machine, device, manufacture, circuit, and/or user interface adapted for, and/or a method and/or machine-readable medium comprising machine-implementable instructions for, activities that can comprise, after removing a cast device from a stack-lamination-derived mold, said cast device formed from a molding composition, applying a desired shape to said cast device to form a shaped cast device, said molding composition comprising: a ceramic composition comprising silica; an cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition, said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition; a silicone composition comprising a siloxane resin, said silicone composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition; and a solvent composition adapted to dissolve said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition and said silicone composition.
1. An investment casting molding composition comprising:
a ceramic composition comprising a plurality of crystalline forms of silica, a first crystalline form of silica from the plurality of crystalline forms of silica being cristobalite in an amount greater than 2.5% and less than 10% by weight of the molding composition;
an cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition, said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition;
a silicone composition comprising a siloxane resin, said silicone composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition; and
a solvent composition configured to dissolve said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition and said silicone composition;
wherein:
components of said molding composition are selected such that said molding composition is, after cross-linking and sintering, substantially carbon-free;
components of said molding composition are selected such that said molding composition has a post-sintering apparent porosity of approximately 15 percent to approximately 35 percent.
2. The molding composition of claim 1 , wherein:
said cristobalite is in an amount of approximately 6 percent to approximately 10 percent cristobalite by weight of said ceramic composition.
3. The molding composition of claim 1 , wherein:
said ceramic composition comprises zircon.
4. The molding composition of claim 1 , wherein:
said ceramic composition comprises alumina.
5. The molding composition of claim 1 , wherein:
components of said molding composition are selected such that said molding composition, after cross-linking and sintering, is structurally stable when in contact with molten metal at temperatures of approximately 2700 degrees F.
6. The molding composition of claim 1 , wherein:
said cristobalite is in an amount of approximately 2.5 percent to approximately 6 percent cristobalite by weight of said ceramic composition.
7. The molding composition of claim 1 , wherein:
components of said molding composition are selected such that said molding composition is, after cross-linking and sintering, said molding composition is strong enough to retain its post-sintering shape during wax injection molding and metal casting.
8. The molding composition of claim 1 , wherein:
components of said molding composition are selected such that said molding composition is, after cross-linking and sintering, said molding composition is strong enough to retain its post-sintering shape during wax injection molding and metal casting and sufficiently weak to crush under loads associated with metal solidification.
9. An investment casting molding composition comprising:
a ceramic composition comprising a plurality of crystalline forms of silica;
an cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition, said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition;
a silicone composition comprising a siloxane resin, said silicone composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition; and
a solvent composition configured to dissolve said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition and said silicone composition;
wherein:
components of said molding composition are selected such that said molding composition is, after cross-linking and sintering, substantially carbon-free;
components of said molding composition are selected such that said molding composition has a post-sintering apparent porosity of approximately 15 percent to approximately 35 percent.
10. An investment casting molding composition comprising:
a ceramic composition comprising a plurality of crystalline forms of silica, a first crystalline form of silica from the plurality of crystalline forms of silica being cristobalite in an amount greater than 2.5% and less than 10% by weight of the molding composition;
an cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition, said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition;
a silicone composition comprising a siloxane resin, said silicone composition present in said molding composition in an amount up to 30% by weight of said molding composition; and
a solvent composition configured to dissolve said cycloaliphatic epoxy binder composition and said silicone composition, components of said molding composition selected such that said molding composition, after cross-linking and sintering, is substantially carbon-free.