Abstract

The technical paper at the 2012 ICI technical conference by Japan High Comm (JHC) presented that we developed an innovative proprietary technology to dry lost wax molds using microwave including microwave drying chamber and a complete shell making line with incorporation of it. It has been put into practical use and now they are practically applied at some leading foundries worldwide.

The technical paper in 2013 then presented JHC microwave effectively dries molds with complicated cavities with combination use of supplemental drying mechanism, which optimizes drying efficiency, and it allows molds to be drastically dried in short time. Other practical experiments have been repeatedly conducted to this day, and it has demonstrated JHC microwave is also capable to dry molds with strict technical requirements in short time. Some of its results were presented at the 14th World Conference in Investment Casting in April 2016.

This JHC microwave mold drying system is not only an effective way of reducing drying time, but also effective for reducing lead time of new product development period, improving prototype yield rate, and saving energy costs.

The use of microwave is also effective to dry plaster molds and ceramics in addition to lost wax molds. For example, a prototype maker who is using plaster mold is always pressed for time, and they are spending 20 to 45 hours to dry their plaster molds at the temperature of approximately 280C/536F. Our recent drying test achieved 90% reduction in dry time of plaster molds.

This paper will present technical details of improved drying efficiency and reduced drying time of plaster molds.