3NTR zWAX

zWAX by 3NTR is a 3D printing polymer designed for printing molds for lost wax casting. Molds 3D printed with the zWAX filament make it possible to produce parts with metal alloys in no way inferior to the same parts produced with the SLS technology. On the contrary, the zWax filament by the Italian filament and industrial 3D printer manufacturer 3NTR can yield parts with even more density and tenacity.

Image 1: Metal parts produced with zWAX molds. Source: 3NTR.

Lost wax casting, also known as investment casting, precision casting or lost mold casting (if a material other than wax is used) is an ancient technique of duplicating objects. In traditional manufacturing, the entire process from preparing the model to obtaining the final duplicate is quite complex and costly, and can involve up to 12 steps. Additive manufacturing offers a trimmed down and simpler way of performing the lost mold casting procedure, with only 6 straightforward steps:

1. First, a model of the object is 3D printed with the 3NTR zWax filament.
2. Next, the model is surrounded with sand, concrete or plaster.
3. Once the surrounding material has dried and hardened, everything is placed in an oven to burn out the zWax model.
4. Subsequently, the empty mold is filled with the desired metal alloy.
5. Once the alloy has hardened, the mold is broken and removed to reveal the metal object.
6. The ready object can be cleaned with citric acid to remove the sand, concrete or plaster rests, and polished, sanded or plated for a better surface finish.

The 3NTR zWax filament is yet another example of how additive manufacturing contributes to the evolution of already existing technologies to make them better, faster and more affordable. The zWax filament is an opportunity for manufacturers and craftsmen to make molds for metal alloys with only half the effort and saving half the time and resources compared to traditional manufacturing.