Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for investment casting companies.
A checklist built from how investment casting companies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Wax die and pattern register
- Tree assembly and wax stock
- Shell build log
- Dewax, firing and pour
- Cut-off, finishing and heat treatment
- Inspection and certificates
- Yield and costing by part number
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For plant heads
- For wax room staff
- For shell room staff
- For foundry and finishing leads
- For quality and dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Yield by part number from wax injected to castings accepted
- Trees by stage: wax, shell, dewax, poured, cut off
- Die shot count and next service date
- Shell rejects and cracked shells by cause
- Rework hours by part and finishing step
- Inspection rejects by defect and alloy
- Open orders by promised date and customer
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Spectrometer readings by import
- Accounting export
- Barcode labels for trees
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can a tree carry patterns for several customers?
- How does it handle a cracked shell at pour?
- Does it track wax dies by shot count?
- Can we record coats and drying times?
- How are inspection results kept?
- Can outside heat treatment be recorded?
- How would we move our die register?
- Who owns the production data?
- What decides the price?
- Does it show yield for one part number?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Wax dies are hard to account for
- Shell coats are logged on paper
- Yield is a guess
- Heats and trees do not meet
- Rework hides in finishing
Prefer to talk it through? See the investment casting companies page.