Vacuum Casting

Tuowei Precision offers vacuum casting for low-volume production and rapid prototyping, ensuring high-quality cast components.

Custom Vacuum Casting Services for Production-Grade Parts

At TUOWEI Precision, we provide custom vacuum casting services designed to deliver high-quality parts with exceptional accuracy and consistency. Backed by our ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485, ISO 14001:2015, and IATF 16949:2016 certifications, we ensure strict quality standards are met throughout the process. Using silicone molds, we replicate master patterns—often produced through CNC machining or 3D printing—allowing us to create prototypes and low-volume production parts.

We work with a wide selection of polyurethane resins and elastomers, enabling us to mimic the look, feel, and performance of production-grade plastics. With our advanced capabilities, experienced team, and commitment to precision, TUOWEI Precision is your trusted partner for efficient and cost-effective vacuum casting solutions.

Vacuum Casting Capabilities

Tuowei provides precise vacuum casting services that enable the production of high-quality, consistent parts with excellent surface finish and color flexibility.

Details	Specifications
Tolerance	Replicated casts follow ISO-2768-CL standards. Local tolerances reach ±0.15 mm, with small holes achieving up to ±0.10 mm precision.
Color and Finishing	Supports a wide range of colors, transparency levels, and surface finishes.
Maximum Part Size	Up to 2.3 × 1.3 × 0.6 meters.
Daily Capacity	Up to 200 pieces per day.
Lead Time	Depends on part complexity and order volume. Simple single parts can ship in under 5 days; larger batches require more time due to prototype making, silicone mold creation, casting, and finishing.

Materials for Vacuum Casting

Engineers and leading manufacturers trust TUOWEI for fast iterations and durable, high-performance parts. Whether for prototyping or full-scale production, our extensive material selection ensures precision, strength, and reliability for any CNC machining project.

Polyurethane (PU) Resins

Rigid

Flexible

Rubber-like

High-Temperature Resistant

ABS-like Resins

High-impact

Durable

Machinable

Polypropylene (PP)-like Resins

Lightweight

Chemical-resistant

Tough

Rubber-like Resins

Soft

Flexible

Elastomeric

Transparent Resins

Optical-grade

High Clarity

UV-resistant

Surface Finishes For Silicone Vacuum Casting

The surface finishing techniques that are commonly applied to silicone casted parts are:

Polishing

Polishing removes imperfections and burrs from the surface, providing a smooth, glossy finish on the molded parts.

Bead Blasting

Bead blasting creates a consistent matte surface finish that helps mask any mold lines or imperfections on quick-turn parts.

UV Coating

UV coating provides a clear protective finish to silicone cast parts, improving resistance to wear and UV light degradation.

Painting

Painting is used for silicone cast parts that require color application, allowing for a consistent finish across large production runs.

Laser Engraving

Laser engraving adds intricate details, markings, or logos to the silicone surface, ensuring precision and durability.

Electroplating

Electroplating applies a thin metal coating, enhancing the part’s appearance, wear resistance, and corrosion protection.

Advantages

Advantages of Vacuum Casting

Vacuum casting provides manufacturers with an affordable and flexible solution for producing high-quality prototypes and small production runs.

Cost-Effective for Low Volumes: Vacuum casting delivers precise, high-quality parts without the need for expensive tooling, making it an economical choice for startups, product testing, and small-batch manufacturing.
Superior Surface Quality: The process produces smooth finishes and accurate details, giving parts an appearance close to injection-molded components while minimizing additional post-processing.
Material Versatility: With compatibility across a wide variety of polyurethane resins, vacuum casting can replicate properties of ABS, PP, or elastomers, enabling diverse applications across industries.
Design Flexibility: It allows the creation of complex geometries, fine details, and even undercuts that are difficult to achieve with traditional manufacturing techniques.
Rapid Prototyping: Vacuum casting accelerates product development cycles by enabling quick turnaround times for prototypes and functional testing models.
Consistency & Repeatability: The process ensures that every part maintains the same dimensional accuracy and mechanical properties, providing reliability across multiple batches.
Reduced Risk Before Mass Production: By testing products under real-world conditions before moving to expensive mass-production tooling, companies can minimize risk and improve design confidence.

Applications

Applications of Vacuum Casting

Vacuum casting is widely applied across industries to deliver high-quality prototypes, functional parts, and product testing solutions.

Prototypes: Vacuum casting transforms design ideas into both functional and visual prototypes quickly, offering surface finishes and performance close to final injection-molded parts.
Low-Volume Production: It enables the creation of small batches of parts efficiently, making it ideal for startups, pilot projects, or products with limited market demand.
Medical Devices: The technology is used to manufacture custom medical housings, enclosures, and testing models with the precision required for healthcare applications.
Automotive Components: Vacuum casting produces interior parts, design validation models, and covers for automotive development with a balance of strength and aesthetics.
Consumer Goods: The process allows the delivery of unique products such as home appliances, wearable devices, and decorative items while maintaining high surface quality.
Electronics Enclosures: It is used to build durable housings and casings for electronic devices, ensuring accurate dimensions and appealing visual finishes.
Marketing & Presentation Models: Vacuum casting generates visually realistic models for trade shows, client demonstrations, or investor presentations to showcase product designs.

Let’s Build What’s Next Together

Partner with TUOWEI to Shape Your Vision

From detailed prototypes to high-volume production runs, TUOWEI is your trusted partner for precision CNC machining. Reach out today and take the first step toward streamlined, high-quality manufacturing solutions.

Get In Touch With Us!

Prompt response guaranteed within 12 hours

What is the process of Vacuum Casting?

The vacuum casting process blends precision and craftsmanship, turning a single master model into multiple flawless replicas with speed, accuracy, and remarkable surface quality.

Master Model Creation

The process starts with a high-quality master model, usually made using CNC machining or 3D printing. This model serves as the template, capturing all the fine details that will be reproduced in the final parts.

Silicone Mold Making

The master model is placed in a casting frame and surrounded by liquid silicone rubber. Once the silicone cures, it is cut open to form a cavity that perfectly matches the shape of the master model.

Mold Preparation

The silicone mold halves are reassembled and placed in a vacuum chamber. This step removes any trapped air, ensuring the resin will fill every detail without bubbles or voids.

Resin Pouring Under Vacuum

A polyurethane resin is mixed and poured into the mold while under vacuum conditions. The vacuum ensures the resin spreads evenly, capturing sharp edges and fine textures accurately.

Curing

The filled mold is placed in an oven for controlled heating, typically for 2–4 hours. It allows the resin to harden and achieve its intended strength and durability.

Demolding

Once cured, the silicone mold is opened carefully to remove the finished part. Each mold can usually produce between 15–25 parts before losing its precision.

Finishing

The part is cleaned, trimmed, and given any necessary surface finishes such as painting, polishing, or texturing, making it ready for functional use or display.

What Are The Challenges in Vacuum Casting?

Vacuum casting can produce parts with injection-mold–like quality for short runs, but factors like mold wear and resin behavior can affect cost, accuracy, and production time.

Limited Mold Lifespan

Silicone molds in vacuum casting have a relatively short service life, usually producing only 15–25 parts before they lose precision. Over time, the mold surface wears out, affecting detail accuracy and surface finish quality. This makes the process best suited for small-batch runs.

Material Limitations

Vacuum casting mainly uses polyurethane resins, which can imitate the appearance and feel of common plastics. However, they can’t fully replicate the mechanical properties of high-performance engineering materials like PEEK or fiber-reinforced polymers, limiting their use in demanding applications.

Shrinkage and Dimensional Variations

During the curing process, polyurethane resins shrink slightly around 0.2–0.5%. If designers don’t account for this, it can result in parts that are slightly smaller or off-spec, requiring adjustments in the master model.

Detail Degradation Over Time

As silicone molds are reused, fine textures and sharp edges gradually degrade. This loss of detail affects both the functional precision and the visual appeal of the parts, especially for designs that rely on intricate patterns.

Time Constraints for Complex Designs

Complex parts may require additional mold-making steps, vacuum cycles, or finishing work. These extra processes can extend lead times, particularly for intricate geometries or multi-part assemblies.

Tuowei Proto's Solutions

Whether you’re creating a small batch of custom parts or scaling up for high-volume production, Tuowei Proto services offer the flexibility you need.

Rapid Prototyping

CNC rapid prototype machining is perfect for creating engineering or production prototypes that closely resemble the final product in both appearance and functionality. At Tuowei, we offer instant quotes and fast delivery, providing you with precise, high-quality CNC machined prototypes for your needs.

Low Volume Manufacturing

Low volume CNC machining often acts as a bridge between prototyping and mass production for new and emerging production. With Tuowei, this process becomes easier, more efficient, and cost-effective, allowing you to scale production quickly while maintaining high-quality standards.

End-use Production

CNC production machining is the best solution for producing a thousand parts or more efficiently. Leveraging a diverse selection of materials and automation and multi-axis capabilities, Tuowei delivers high-volume production with tight tolerances, superior dimensional accuracy, high reliability and fast turnaround times.

Explore Insights & Innovation

Stay ahead with expert tips, industry trends, and precision manufacturing insights from the team at Tuowei. Read our latest blogs to gain valuable knowledge and discover how we’re shaping the future of CNC production.

What’s the Difference between Overmolding and Insert Molding?

8 10 月, 2025

Plastic Injection Molding Machines: Types, Parts, and Uses

7 10 月, 2025

Everything You Need to Know About Polycarbonate Injection Molding

6 10 月, 2025

What Are the Main Components of an Injection Molding Machine?

3 10 月, 2025

3D Bioprinting Revolutionary Guide to Creating Living Tissue and Blood Vessels

2 10 月, 2025

How to Create 3D-Printed Molds for Casting: Mold Making and 3D Print Tips

30 9 月, 2025