Forging-to-Investment-Casting Cost Reduction

The opportunity appeared on the factory floor

A Danish customer visited our factory and noticed a component being produced by investment casting that was similar in form to one of its own parts. The customer's existing component was manufactured from a forging. What changed the conversation was not a sales claim that casting was universally cheaper; it was seeing that a comparable level of geometric definition could be achieved with a cast starting form.

Soon after the visit, the customer sent the drawing and asked us to evaluate both price and casting feasibility.

Feasibility before price

The drawing was reviewed around the finished component requirements: overall geometry, sections, tolerances, machined interfaces and the features that would remain functionally critical after casting and machining. The objective was to determine whether the investment-casting route was appropriate for this specific part before making a commercial comparison.

Forging and investment casting are not automatically interchangeable. A forged route can remain preferable where directional properties, extreme loading, section requirements or specification constraints demand it. In this project, the review showed that the customer's required finished part could be produced with an investment-cast starting form.

Result

After technical and commercial evaluation, the component was converted from the existing forged route to investment casting. The customer achieved an approximately 30% reduction in component cost compared with the previous supply route.

Buyer takeaway

A mature component can still contain a process-selection opportunity. When geometry, required properties, machining content and volume allow it, changing the starting manufacturing process can create a larger saving than negotiating the existing process harder. The decision should be made by engineering review, not by assuming either forging or casting is inherently superior.