#  Lost-Wax Casting 

 



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Lost-wax casting is a technique normally applied to cast metal. The process begins by producing a duplicate of the final part made from wax. This wax part is then placed in a box, which is filled with cement. After curing, the cement block is heated up and the wax melts and pours out. The remaining cement is now a negative of the final part. This negative mold is then filled with melted metal. After cooling, the cement mold is destroyed and removed, leaving a cast metal part.

#### Virtual lost-wax casting 

Our fabrication process uses the same casting idea but uses other materials than metals. We virtually design a part and then create a virtual mold by inverting the part design (see [Computer Aided Actuator Design](/book/cda-computer-aided-design)). This mold is then 3D printed and filled with uncured silicone. After curing, we destroy the mold by dissolving it in solvent.

   ![cda-lostwax-1.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum4601/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/sorotoolkit/files/cda-lostwax-1.png?itok=1wQZLqgn) 

 

### Bibliography

Loepfe et al. (2015) [Contrast Agent Incorporation into Silicone Enables Real‐Time Flow‐Structure Analysis of Mammalian Vein‐Inspired Soft Pumps](/publications/contrast-agent-incorporation-silicone-enables-real-time-flow-structure).

Loepfe et al. (2015) [An Untethered, Jumping Roly-Poly Soft Robot Driven by Combustion.](/publications/untethered-jumping-roly-poly-soft-robot-driven-combustion)

Loepfe et al. (2014) [Design, Performance and Reinforcement of Bearing-Free Soft Silicone Combustion-Driven Pumps.](/publications/design-performance-and-reinforcement-bearing-free-soft-silicone-combustion)

Schumacher et al. (2014) [3D printed lost-wax casted soft silicone monoblocks enable heart-inspired pumping by internal combustion.](/publications/3d-printed-lost-wax-casted-soft-silicone-monoblocks-enable-heart-inspired)

Shepard et al. (2013) [Using Explosions to Power a Soft Robot.](/publications/using-explosions-power-soft-robot)

Stergiopulos et al. (2014) [A Soft Combustion-Driven Pump For Soft Robots.](/publications/soft-combustion-driven-pump-soft-robots)

### Contributors

Michael Loepfe