The wax loss method is a great creation of early metal civilization, which occupies an important historical position in the history of metallurgy in the East and the west, and plays an important role in promoting the evolution of casting technology.

Ancient civilizations such as Iran, Mesopotamia, Egypt, etc. used wax losing method to cast ornaments and small devices in the middle or earlier of the thirteenth-century BC.

The wax loss method in China is relatively new. The unearthed objects that have been confirmed show that this technique has been relatively mature in the Chu culture area in the 6th century BC. Its beginning should be far before this. As its precursor, the burning method can be traced back to the middle of the Shang Dynasty at the latest.

Similarities

The process principle of the wax loss method is the same between China and the West. They all "use wax as a mold" and apply slurry molding materials (fabrics) and backing materials to form an integral mold without a parting the surface. After heating the wax to form a cavity, bake it at high temperature to form a mold, and inject liquid metal to obtain a formed casting.

Differences

The biggest and most important difference between Chinese and Western wax loss methods lies in the preparation method of wax and the production technology of wax mold, which also affects the process flow and even the artistic style of castings.

The traditional wax in China consists of beeswax (or insect wax, paraffin), rosin and vegetable oil (or butter, lanolin), which are composed of different proportions according to the climatic conditions. During preparation, wax, rosin, and oil are put into the heated container in turn, and mixed into a paste while melting; Take it out after cooling a little, and draw it repeatedly to become a suitable wax. This technological measure is of decisive significance.

The plasticity of a multiphase system consisting of a solid dispersed phase and a liquid dispersed medium depends on the dispersion and uniformity of the solid and liquid phases when the composition is certain. Through repeated mechanical drawing, the solid wax is fully mixed with liquid rosin and oil, and the color changes from dark yellow to light yellow, becoming a wax with excellent plasticity. It can be twisted, bent, rolled into flakes, pinched into stems, and rolled into strips under pressure. Wax with such good plasticity gives the caster a great degree of freedom of operation. According to different situations and needs, it can be kneaded and formed by hand (the word "kneading wax" comes from this), molded and formed with a "pick" (commonly known as "pulling wax"), or pressed and formed with a wooden template ("stripping wax"). That is to say, the wax mold making of the traditional wax losing method in China uses the wax processed by special methods to be made and formed in the solid-state. In ancient China, whether liquid or semi-liquid wax materials were used to make wax molds by pouring, lining, brushing and other techniques have not been proven, which may have been introduced from the West in modern times.

Take the button-shaped ornament of the Yu Gai Department of the king of Chu, which was cast in the earliest time (about 576~547 BC) in the wax lost castings of the pre-Qin Dynasty as an example. This ornament is tied in a narrow space with a diameter of 11.8 cm and a height of 2 cm. It is formed by connecting three inner and outer copper rings and 32 copper stems interleaved between them. Its outer edge is divided into two layers, the upper layer is composed of 24 lace by copper stems in a similar braiding way, and the lower layer is composed of 24 braided units to form a copper ring, which corresponds to the lace. The top of the copper stem is decorated with 32 animal heads of 8 species. The cross-sections of all the copper stems are irregular oblate, with a diameter of about 3 mm, and there are grooves on the back, which obviously have the characteristics of manual kneading and molding and then turning into copper parts.

The whole button ornament, including between the ring and the stem, between the stem and the stem, and between the stem and the animal head, has no trace of casting, forging, or welding. The wax preparation and forming techniques in this period are difficult to study in detail, but it can be inferred from the process characteristics and production signs of the button-shaped decoration details that the non-wax loss method is almost impossible to achieve. Compared with the Zhechuan copper ban and Zeng Houyi Zupan, this device shows certain originality, belonging to the early Chinese style wax lost castings, and the wax materials and techniques used are homologous and inherited from the later generation of wax kneading and pulling methods.

In the Western wax losing system, wax and rosin are used to prepare wax. To improve plasticity, a small amount of animal and vegetable oil must be added. Wax molds are formed by pouring, enameling, or brushing with liquid or semi-liquid wax materials. Some wax molds are pressed into pieces and attached to the inner surface of the mold. Details are decorated with the help of carving. Over the years, the author has checked the relevant literature and asked many experts for advice, and has not found that there are similar Chinese traditional wax materials and wax mold-making techniques such as kneading, plucking, and stripping in ancient Western times.

Throughout the 5000-year history of world casting, the evolution from mold casting method to wax loss method is a general example of its technological development. All roads lead to Rome. Although China and the West use different wax materials and production techniques, they have made brilliant achievements and met their respective social needs.

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