PolyCast™ Wax-Alike | Polymaker™
PolyCast™ is a Wax-Alike filament designed to be used for the creation of 3D models for lost wax casting (or investment casting). We personally consider PolyCast as a top-tier filament for this purpose as it features a very clean burnout and the ability to be easily smoothed (exactly like PolySmooth) simply with Isopropyl alcohol (> 90%). Read the Wax material description below for more information about the creation of cost and time-effective metal parts with 3D printing.
Technical informations
Thermal properties | |
| HDT-A | 52.7 °C |
| HDT-B | 66.5 °C |
| Glass transition (Tg) | 70 °C |
| Vicat softening temperature | 67 °C |
| Drying settings | 50 °C for 12 h |
Filament properties | |
| Country of origin | China |
| Filament density | 1.1 g/mm3 |
| Diameter tolerance | 0.05 mm |
| Recommended adhesive | 3DLac - Bestselling adhesive sprayMagigoo Adhesive – The Original 50ml |
Spool weight and dimensions |
How to store filaments
Humidity and UV light can decrease the filament quality and weaken its mechanical properties. We strongly recommend storing open filaments in a dry and dark place. You can find a complete guide on how to properly store your filament here
Where to throw print fails and supports?
We kindly ask our customers to cope with plastic waste responsibly. Failed prints, support material, rafts, or brims should be liquidated according to the local guidelines. Paradoxically, in most cases, it is better to throw this waste in the regular trash can, as most of the material waste created in 3D printing is not identified, which causes more problems than benefits in the waste sorting facilities.
PolyCast™ Wax-Alike | Polymaker™
PolyCast™ is a Wax-Alike filament designed to be used for the creation of 3D models for lost wax casting (or investment casting). We personally consider PolyCast as a top-tier filament for this purpose as it features a very clean burnout and the ability to be easily smoothed (exactly like PolySmooth) simply with Isopropyl alcohol (> 90%). Read the Wax material description below for more information about the creation of cost and time-effective metal parts with 3D printing.
The specific technology beyond the clean burnout is called Ash-Free™ which allows it to burn off cleanly without any residue, enabling defect-free metal parts. 3D printing has been used to produce investment casting patterns as it cuts down both the cost and lead time for small-volume production runs.
General information about WAX :
Creating metal parts from wax-alike filaments provides an economically interesting alternative to the manufacturing of metal parts with 3D printing. It can be used to drastically reduce the time and cost of small series manufacturing of cast parts or to provide a proof of concept before manufacturing expensive casting tool molds. It enables to the creation of complex metal parts with complex geometry that wouldn't be possible to manufacture without 3D printing and without the need to buy or invest in an expensive metal 3D printer.
Wax (wax-alike) filaments are filaments designed to be used as models for lost wax casting (or investment casting). Wax filaments like PolyCast have a much cleaner burnout when used for lost wax casting compared to plastic filaments. Wax filaments have generally better postprocessing properties, meaning that it is also easier to polish, machine, and carve, making them much more appropriate for lost wax casting with regular plastic filaments.
It is important to remember that although those filaments are in the wax category, there are not necessarily made from natural or synthetic wax.
Please keep in mind that the result will by 95% rely on your foundry partner. Each foundry uses its own technological process which may vary across foundries. Some foundries use standard natural wax, other synthetic wax, and some even some other wax-alike materials. One of the most crucial parts of the process of manufacturing cast parts with the lost-wax method is the burnout phase. Depending on the commonly used wax by your foundry, the burnout process may vary thus leading to different results across foundries using the same wax-alike filament.
The main purpose of wax-alike filaments is to ensure the cleanest and purest possible burnout of the printed model leaving as less ash and impurities as possible in the mold.
Our experience
As mentioned before, our experience may vary from yours, mostly dependent on the burnout method used by your foundry.
We have personally tried two types of wax-like filament and also regular PLA for lost wax casting: PolyCast and Moldlay.
- With regular PLA, the ash remaining after burning out the PLA caused impurities in the mold and thus an uneven and imperfect metal part.
- With Moldlay we, unfortunately, didn't manage to obtain satisfying results at all. That doesn't necessarily mean that this is a bad filament, and we do not want in any case to harm the brand of Moldlay.
- We obtained the best results with the PolyCast filament. Apart from a very clean burnout, PolyCast has the ability to be very easily smoothed with isopropyl alcohol after printing thus giving the mold and the final metal part a layer-free finish.
Browse all wax filaments in stock in our warehouse in Senec, Slovakia. For comparison, see also PLA and PVB.
PolyMaker is a premium quality 3D printing filament manufacturer. They're known for "hacking" 3D printing materials where their materials overtake any competition. With 7 registered technologies, their 3D printing filaments widen the range of applications of any desktop 3D printer. One of the most interesting is PolySmooth's layer-free technology, where when combined with the Polysher, you can obtain a perfectly smooth and perfectly layer-free print. Recently, PolyMaker decided to lower its impact on the planet and released PolyTerra™, an ecological breakthrough among filaments, where the filament, the package, and the spool are biodegradable. In addition, a tree is planted for each sold filament!
Material Comparison Chart
A comprehensive and extremely valuable resource provided by PolyMaker is the comparison chart. The chart is a true goldmine allowing easy comparison between materials with each mechanical and thermal property. It also includes data about the ease of printing.
Print Profiles
On Polymaker's download page you can find print profiles for most commercial 3D printers like Prusa, Flashforge, Raise3D, Ultimaker, Lulzbot.. also tweaked for different slicers, like Prusa Slicer, Cura or even IdeaMaker.
Browse all Polymaker™ filaments in stock in our Senec warehouse. PolyDryer, PolyBox and the Polysher smoothing machine are in 3D printing accessories.