Abstract

The main problems of the traditional foundry dewaxing processes in fine arts workshops are the emission of gases, the loss of 80% of the wax, the high electrical consumption, and the high risks for the operators. The introduction of the microwave technology for dewaxing of ceramic shell molds allows to minimize some of these problems, although the use of electromagnetic susceptors that capture the radiated energy and transform it into heat is required. This article describes different microwave dewaxing tests using TiO₂ and graphite as susceptors. The results obtained show that this technique is viable, allowing the casting process to be carried out with a low percentage of breakage problems in the mold and significantly reducing the emitted gases and electricity consumption. The technique allows to recover in the same operation around 90% of the wax used in small and medium format objects. The tests show that the selection of the material used as a susceptor, the area of application and the power regimes, are fundamental to enable a controlled, soft and non-aggressive dewaxing, both for the art molds and for the environment, as opposed to the traditional Flash Dewaxing technique. In this way, it is possible to change the foundry of ceramic shells for artworks to achieve high levels of performance and safety, and to save energy, time and materials.

摘要

美术车间传统铸造脱蜡工艺的主要问题是气体排放、蜡损失80%、电耗高、操作人员风险大。尽管需要使用电磁感应器来捕获辐射能量并将其转化为热量，但将微波技术用于陶瓷壳模脱蜡可以最大限度地减少其中一些问题。本文介绍了使用 TiO _{2的不同微波脱蜡测试}和石墨作为感受器。获得的结果表明，该技术是可行的，使铸造过程中模具破损问题的百分比很低，并显着减少了排放的气体和电力消耗。该技术允许在相同的操作中回收大约 90% 用于中小型对象的蜡。测试表明，用作感受器的材料的选择、应用领域和功率机制对于实现受控、柔软和非侵蚀性脱蜡对于艺术模具和环境而言都是至关重要的，而不是传统的快速脱蜡技术。通过这种方式，可以改变艺术品陶瓷外壳的铸造工艺，以实现高水平的性能和安全性，并节省能源、时间和材料。