The Vacuum Casting process is a vacuum forming process used to make thin-shell parts by pouring a liquid polymer or resin into a mold and curing it under vacuum to form a thin-shell part in the desired shape. Here are the steps of the Vacuum Casting process:Mold preparation: First, you need to prepare the mold. Vacuum Casting molds are usually made of elastic materials, such as silicone or rubber. Before the mold is ready, the necessary machine and tool debugging and calibration need to be carried out.Pour the liquid polymer: Next, you need to pour the liquid polymer or resin into the mold. PMMA, PC, PET and other plastics are usually used as raw materials.Vacuum: The mold is sealed and vacuumed to allow air to escape from the mold and the liquid polymer or resin to fully fill the mold cavity.Curing: After vacuuming, the liquid polymer or resin is allowed to cure in the mold. It is usually necessary to heat or use methods such as light curing to accelerate the curing process of the polymer.Demoulding: When the polymer is fully cured, the mold can be opened and the thin-shell part can be removed. It is usually necessary to strip the thin-shell part from the mold and place it on a cooling bed to allow it to cool further.Post-treatment: After removing the thin shell parts, post-treatment is required to complete the necessary cleaning and trimming. This includes using tools such as sandpaper, abrasives and polishers to sand and finish thin shell parts to achieve the desired appearance and surface finish.In short, the Vacuum Casting process is an efficient manufacturing process suitable for the manufacture of high-quality thin-shell parts. Through the control of the mold, the shape and size of the thin-shell parts can be precisely controlled. However, the Vacuum Casting process requires the use of a large amount of energy and raw materials and produces a high scrap rate, so its environmental and economic benefits need to be carefully considered.
