2) United States Patent 6a om my 03) wo en @ (66) (en) 6s) G0) ‘Sep. 30, 2013 Gn Paraszezak et al. CASTING WAX Applicant: REMET UK LTD, Rochester, Kent (GB) Inventors Rochester (GB); Rochester (GB) Assignee Suibject to any dislaimer, the term of this patent is extended of adjusted under 35 Notice: US. 184¢b) by 0 days. Appl. No: 15/036,015 PCT Filed: Sep. 26, 2014 PCTNo: — PCT/EP2014/070666 § 371 (XI), (2) Date: May 11, 2016, PCT Pub. No. PCT Pub, Date: Apr: 2, 2015 wo215/044876 Prior Publication Data 201610326370. A1 Nov, 10, 2016 Foreign Application Priority Data (a) 13173000 Im. Cl. COBL 9108 CosL 91/06 Cos S702 (2006.01) (2005.01) (2006.01) Reguarwaxcortcias ate Rrecicay MscosityPas U 01005357882 (10) Patent No.: (4s) Date of Patent: US 10,053,578 B2 Aug. 21, 2018 (62) US.cL crc CUBE. 91/06 (2013.01): COBL S702 (G013 01): Cost 91/08 (2013.01), Cost 2205025 (2013.01) (58) Fleld of Clasifeation Search cre ‘COL 91/06; COSI. 91/08 (Comtinved) 66) References Cited US. PATENT DOCUMENTS. 3554908 A LISTE Burke B21TaRS A ¢ 21073 Larson R29 39192 (Continved) FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS cw 1765004 4s 2006 oN roww7s320 8112007 (Continsed) (OTHER PUBLICATIONS Intemational Search Report for RCTIER2014070665 dated Ape 2 2015.6 p98). (Continved) Primary Esaminer (74) Attornes, Agent, or Firm Rusell, LEP Ellen M MeAvoy Smit, Gambrell & 6 ABSTRACT A blended wax for lst wax casting comprises a blend of ‘ree or more paralinie oF similarly peteochemically derived wax cuts, Preferably each ofthe three oF more wax cuts have ‘different melting point, the meting point of each wax cut Giering from the ‘melting point of another wax cut by between 3 and 6 dex. C 22 Claims, 3 DrawingUS 10,053,578 B2 Page> (58) Pet of Casein Seareh 974880 2 32015 Seber an BAI3UO2 ere eae ‘2005/0086853 Al 4'2005 Hudson et al. si See application file for complete search histor 5 £2005 Hudson et a 7 ” 2O1OO28E194 AL* 11/2010 Stockwell B29€ 6710059 6) References Cited ae US. PATENT DOCUMENTS 3.880.790 A * 4/1975 McLaren B22C 702 ee A799619 A+ 71988 Kawano nn BOATS GH tN An igoane WO Sheng Ua SSSA * 91596 Mihi nnn BSCS OTHER PUBLICATIONS terse 6231686 81% 52001 Detet HOSES nace Opton of eran Seach Aue or FT INGE) Urinvevfc el 47,2015 Pm 6,262,153 B1* 7/2001 Webster avin International Pretiminary Report on Patentability Chapter I for 6526422 BL | 122001 Sus ta mio Baran pat er Aestalan Pot pleas No Sato 2+ “Vane aon uae) opel dat 7, 7G es) satse4s 2° 2m Halon cuttiSSs Gite once atonal Aap 507 orc 201480599902 cet (ues in ccs wi Engin eaten feA3e —* ete by euminerU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2018 Sheet 1 of 3 US 10,053,578 B2 Reguiarwaxcontofed rate Rheology MscosityPas Temperature FIGURE 1U.S. Patent MscosityPas Aug.21,2018 Sheet 2 of 3 US 10,053,578 B2 Muti-cutwaxcontollad ram rheology — om — 18cm womn 7 30 * 700 Temperature’C FIGURE 2U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2018 Sheet 3 of 3 US 10,053,578 B2 Contraction (mm) —— Tractoral tes pane wax 60-10% Fie) — New ther pater wax (20% Fee) 70 = © s = ro r) Ed Temperature °C FIGURE 3US 10,053,578 B2 1 CASTING WAX, BACKGROUND OF INVENTION ‘The control of dimensional change (shrinkage) i blended xxes employed for lost wax casting, also known in the art. as investment casting, has traditionally been achieved by the sition of ner, low ash organie filles o reduce the volume ‘of the formulation subjected to shrinkage. The remainder of the formulation comprises & small number of waxy compo- nents, compatible resins, aldtives and dyes It has now been discovered that similar results can be achieved witha lower level of file, oF in some applications Without fille, by careful blending of several individual outs” of crystalline wax components to achieve contol of the dimensional change by influencing the extent, crystal size and type of exysalisation occurring when the “cuts” solidity, PRIOR ART. US. Put, No. 3,854,949 (Burke) describes meltuble solid ‘waxes combined with rigid, non-meltable, non-soluble ‘cross-linked, collokdal-sized, vinylic filler panicles whieh provide improved physical properties such as ineressed hardness and strength, US. Pat. No, 5,518,537 (Muschio) describes fillers for wvestment wanes comprising thermoplastic cellulosic ‘acetate resin powders. US. Pat. No. 6326,429 (Sturgis et al) describes wax. ‘compositions that include polymeric onganic carbonate fille ‘ers. These filers eee shrinkage and also reduce emission ‘of volatile organic compounds during the forming. and melting processes which occur during casting, DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION ‘The so-called “lost-wax” process has been employed for the manufacture of castings for thousands of years. Essen tially, this process comprises forming a pattern of wax oF blends of various suitable waxes and resins and making @ metal copy therefrom. Commonly, the wax patter is pro- ‘duced by injecting hot liquid or paste wax into re-usable die. The injection process takes place via either a tanks Joaded hydcuulically driven injection piston and nozzle orby ‘a hopper of solid wax pastilles. sere thread loaded piston ‘and nove combination The operator oF process owner has @ degree of contol ‘over the injection equipment such that factors including: stored war, temperature of wax to. be re of nozile, Wax pressure and rate of flow can be optimised to get the best performance out ofthe wax used "After injoction the pattem is allowed sufiient time t0 ‘coo to state where it ea be handled before being removed fom the dic This finished pattem is then invested with a suitable medium, such as a ceramic or refractory stury, whieh is thea solidified and becomes a mold around the wax pattern, The pattem material or more commonly the wax i then removed from the mold by melting it andor by burning, and a molten mital is poured into the now empty mold to produce the fnished part. “The pettochemically derived waxes commonly vse inthe lost wax casting proces, have been note for many years as 0 o 2 being subject to shrinkage, inherent in the change in molar volume going from a Tiquid wax to a solid crystalline material Paraffin waxes in particular, have both an initial erystal- lisation shrinkage and a subsequent shrinkage induced by @ shift in erytalstacture, Polar materials such a6 urea have been used 19 make casting moulds without inherent shrinkage but have many isadvantages Thus the lost wax casting industry has employed organ illers as shrinkage neutral components within blended wax formulations (© mitigate the effects of the dimensional change associated with the shrinkage of crystalline wax ‘components when they change phase from liguid to solid ‘All ofthe employed types of filer have their own advan ‘ages and disadvantages in performance, behaviour and cos. Inthe last few years, with the instability of oil prices and the raw materials used 10 make filles, the eost of filler has become an inereasing burden. Furthermore, if fillers are included within the wax composition, the wax composition rust he safe to handle a8 a solid and must be capable of convenient melting or burn out of a mold Iti also highly preferred that the wax composition have a low ash content that is, less than about 0.1%, preferably about 0.02% by ‘weight or less when burned. It'is also necessary that sch ‘wax compositions be of sufficient strength and be hard ‘enough at room temperature, so thatthe pattems be self supporting and can be handled without damage. ‘The present invention comprises a method of relucing the inherent shrinkage of a petrochemical wax blend and the reed 10 employ traditional fillers by carefil selection of number aad nature of the wax euts used in the blend. ‘According to the prosent invention, there is provided a blended wax for lost wax ctsting in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention, ‘Aecoeding to the present invention, there is provided a blended wax for lost wax casting comprising blend of three ‘or more parallnie or similarly petrochemically derived wax Preferably, each of the three or more wax euts have a diferent melting point and wherein the meting point of cack wax eut differs om the melting point of another wax eut by between 3-6° C. Preferably, the three or more wax cuts are formulated wherein the ratio of one Wax eut relative to another wa eut is between I and 11:1 Tnone embostimeat, the blended wax comprises a blend of | four parallinie or similarly petrchemically derived wax cuts. In this embodiment, the fist wax cut preferably com- prises. melting point in the range 48-50" C. the second wax preferably cul comprises a melting point in the range S4-57° (Cthe third wax eut preferably comprises a melting point in the range 60-62" C. and the fourth wax cut preferably ‘comprises a milking point in the range 65-68" C. Preferably, the blended Wax comprises one’ or more organic resins. The one or more ongatic resins may be selected from the group comprising: Rosin, Resin deriva- tives, Rosin esters. Preferably, te Blended wax comprises one or more poly- mers. Moce preferably; the one or miore polymers comprises hydrocarbon polymers, "The blended wx may further comprise one of mote inert ‘organic fillers. The one or more onganic fillers may be Sloe from the group comprising: high melting point ‘onzanie aids, polyols, cross-linked polymers of unsaturatedUS 10,053,578 B2 3 monomers, cellulose derivatives, polyester resins, eross- Tinked or straight chain polyearbonate resins and bis-phenol derivatives Preferably; the blend ofthe or more wax cuts makes up 15-40% by weight ofthe total blended wax : ‘The blended wax may further comprise 1-16% miero- wax, 0-5% natural andor synthetic waxes, 20-50% resinous rateral, 05% polymers and 0-30% fillers by weight of the ‘otal blended wax. Preferably, the filles eomprise 20% or less by weight ofthe total blended wax. ‘The approach permits a substantial reduction in the amount of filler rquired to achieve a given shrinkage and thus reduces the disadvantages of using filler inthe blended Parallins and other petrochemically derived waxes ate supplied as “cus”, or “grades”, typified by soflesing point and containing a spread of individual compounds of dffer- ing alkyl chain length, structures and molecular weighs ‘Formolatoes skilled in the aat often seloct a particular melting point cut of paraffin wax to achieve the required ‘melting point and hardness characteristics and furthermore it has been known to blend fo ents to achieve intermediate melting points or for melting point contol when the waxes ‘are blended with resins with variable properties. ‘The applicants have found that by formulating 2 blended wax using a wider spread of paraline or sim cally derived wax “ens” rather than one paticwlar “ct” prevalence of any particular individual compound or cut ‘within the formulation is reduced. ‘Applicants have found that wax blends with 9 range of melting points can be achieved by blend formulation with three or more “cuts” (se table 1). TABLE 1 © 6 1 Fy 6 HS Blend A is the reference sample of a single wax grade Blends B-H are composed of various blend ratios. Cut {has melting point around 52-54° C., Cut 5 has a melting point (0 66-69" C. [Note that a range from the single mide eut of wax (3) melting point of 59.5°C. through to a milling point equiva- Jent to traditional blend composed of a 50:50 ratio of eut ¥ and cut $ can be achieved by using three and five ‘component blends "Note also thatthe blends here are all symmetrical around the reference “Cut 3°, and the above resus demonstrate that the blends are not necessarily behaving quite in aevordance with the law of mixtures (the most common rule of thumb used by those skilled inthe aet when formulating a blended +). ‘When the molten wax blend is cooled from the liquid stat, the point at which crystals are formed, andthe size and morphology of the crystals is influenced by the concentra- tions of the individual waxy compounds within the foem- lation 0 o 4 This can be seen reflected in the solidification enthalpy extracted ftom cooling Differential Scanning eaorimetry (DSC) traces for the wax blends (see table 2). DSC is a preferred technique for ascertaining the thermal behaviour ff wax mixtures, ‘Most of the dimensional change witha a casting wax is attibutable 10 the transition of liquid components to enystalline form, 2 process dircctly measurable from the enthalpy of crystallisation (AH, TABLE 2 eee De Renee eerie As the crystallisation enthalpy fora given molecule type enystalising into a particular form is fairy fixed and any ‘sida amogphous components also exhibit low variation in solidification enthalpy, the recorded variation above is almost entirely de tothe reduction in overall crystallisation stemming from the blending of the various wax euts. In aoconlance then with the expocted beluviour for ‘organi compounds, a wide spread of individual molecules cof varying stricture lowers the temperature at which erysals form, and modifies the amount, the type and the eventual size of any particular crystal formed, which is reflected Within the solidification entbalpy. According to the present invention, there is provided blended wax fr lost wax casting where the shrinkage of the wax on cooling from @ molten oF paste state can be con- twolled by Blending of a wide spread of wax “cuts” Cooling ether a liquid wax formulated in this fashion, or the paste wax from a similar formulation results in Tess mensional change than a wax formulated from a single, oF Timited solection of “cuts” of wax. A surprising efect of the multi-cut approach described Jprein is that wher erystallisation i reduced in temperatnre by the formulation, both the wax liquidity temperature and the temperature at which a workable paste is formed are reduced 1 and 2 show the rheology curves at different rates for regular easing wax and the multi ely. [Note that the degree of hysteresis berween heating and cooling bebaviour means tht the reduction in erystallinity does not have any effect on the heat stability of formed pattems. (See Melting point data in Table 1 above) For the experienced injection press operator, this unex: pectod advantage further contributes to reduetion of shrink- ‘age in the wax patterns, as the operator can work their press ata lower injection temperature fora given wax flow, ‘The ability to reduce the amount of solid fillers used is also contributory to wax liquidity, and consequently: to redcing shrinkage by injecting at lower temperatures sas an advantage. A second surprising eft ofthe muli-cut approach stat by injocting these lower solidification enthalpy formulations a lower temperatures, relatively large parts of the easting wax have much less heat to lose before solidification, reiting in a faster cycle time, Field tials have demon: strated this across a variety of production parts (table 3) respectUS 10,053,578 B2 5 TABLES Pan Nenber ‘yet tine mat wax eo De Tee be “The est pats in table 3 wore selected as complex to injot ‘with regular wax of 1 remove form # mould and are as allows: art One 30:30x5 em open square panel Past Two A 25%2030 em solid Caliper (with wax. chills) art TareeSimilar to part Two art Four —A 22%15x5 solid 12.5 mm thick U Section, with constraint aeross the top of the “U™ In formating a blended wax of this type, one might bogin with a mixture comprising 3-7 different paafin Wax ‘cuts (peelerably at least 4), each selected as having 2 36°C. Separation in melting point, preferably a 4-6° C. separation jn melting point, and formulated at ratios between 1:1 and 11:1, preferably between 1:1 and 10:1 IC is important that wax “cus” are supplied as direct, refinery pruets 50 that cach “cut” represents a distinct range of molecules and will leanly exhibit the effets ofthe rnut-cut wax blends described herein. “Traditionally, “cuts” offered in the open market are for- ulated by the supplying wax blender, thus there is no advantage in specifying wse ofa particular spread of eu as the supplied “cuts” may be themselves eomposite blends. "The mult-cut blends as herein deseribed may he used as 15-40% of @ blended casting wax formulation which may also contain 1-16% micro-waxes,0-5% natural andlor syne thetic waxes, 20-50% paraffin compatible resinous materi- als, 0-5% additive polymers, 0-30% fillers, preferably 20% ‘or less, and may further comprise dyes or pigments to colour the war ‘Miro-waxes are a type of wax produced by de-iling petrolatum, as part of the petroleum refining process. ln ‘contrast fo paafiin wax which contains mostly unbranched alkanes, miero-wax contains a higher perceatage of isopar- allnie (branched) hydrocarbons and naphihenie hydrocar- bons. It is characterized by the fineness of its estas in ‘contrast to the large crystal of paraffin wax, Tt consists of high molecule eight saturated aliphatic hydrocarhons and has a higher molecular weight and melting point The elastic ‘and adhesive characteristics of mimerystalline wanes are related to the non-taight chain components which they ‘contain. Typical microcrystalline wax erystal structure is ‘mall and thin, making them more flexible than paraifin wa. ‘Micro-waxes have Tong been used to moderate phase separation of paralin waxes, but evidence from the invest- ‘ment casting industry suggests that they do not affect the ‘extent ofthe crystallisation {i.e the shrinkage) but only the size of the erst ‘DSC experiments have shown an even increase of around ‘Ug forall waxiresin blends tested with mierowax ad tions. This increase in solidification enthalpy is offset by & reduction in the completion temperature of the erystallsa- tion process to below room temperature, implying that the use Of microwax Will pot inerease overall exysalinity at room temperature. Thus they ean enhance flexibility without ‘compromising the estetion of erysalinty. In order to harden the casting wax for application of the ‘ceramic mold, and to prevent damage to the wax mode, 0 o 6 aturaly derived candela or similar wax may be added to the formulation. Candellila wax coasists of mainly hydeo- carbons (about $0P%, eins with 29-33 carbons), esters of higher molecular weight (20-20%), free acids (7-9), and resins (12-1496, mainly triterpenod esters) Additives such ae branched polyolefins may be add to the formulation, Such additives are potentially capable of retarding syneress (lquid/gel phase separation), and further controling phase separation. Care must be taken 0 ensnre that those additives are not used at levels where the erys- ‘alisation inherent within these products aso eliminates the sesired reduetion in shrinkage! Fumber DSC experiments have demonstrated that branched polyolefin additives canbe introduced at levels up to 7.5% without compromising the crystallisation elfet rived from the mulki-eut approach As an example, Wax Blend A (Pure Cut 3)—see table 1-formulated With such an additive and a CS resin (oe below) exhibited a solidification enthalpy of 87-5 Jig. Wax Blend B (even blend of 5 paraffin cuts), formulated in a similar fashion, exhibited a solidification enthalpy of $2.7 we. (C5 Hydrocarbon resins may also be added tothe formu Jaton, The choice of resins is critical. Inthe melt, resins ean ‘behave as the solvents from which the crystals of wax emerye. Even if the choive of wan is perfetly eoeret 10 exhibit the effects described here, incorrect choice of resin fan indo the effect (able 4) TABLE 4 Desens ite cn Ne 5 re eat c an 08 r 6618 ast Table 5 shows that dere is clearly a diference between 3 wax blend with an ation of good resin compared to bad, and also shows that when good and bad resins are blended, the results are dificult (© predict, and non-intuitive. Note that whether a resin is “good” or “bad” can only be assessed by senttnising the performance in conjunetion with pre- ‘ered wan blends by. DSC. Reclaim wax might also be included as part of the ‘formulation, with the level being determined by the quality and origin ofthe reclaimed material With a reclsim blend from regular waxes, the level of claim wax that can be tolerated will be limited by the ‘composition ofthe relsim product, Reclaim derived from the mul-cut wax blend described herein will be tolerable at a Tar higher level than wax which is derived trem other Wwaxes using a smaller number of cus ‘Thus a wide range of fomblation components can be carefully used without destroying the mult-cut effect, although verification of the effect by DSC andlor rheology should be used as a formulation toolUS 10,053,578 B2 7 From this understanding blended waxes witha wide range ‘of melting point, hardness, elasticity etc, can be Formulated such that they exhibit the advantages of the multi-cut approach EXAMPLES An investment casting wax was made by blending a range ‘of the components, in particular a range of different cuts of Parallia waxes all having diferent melting point ranges. Formulation of Example Waxes am Chaat hie hwy Whersin Mio ax 1 Cong. 71.76 C, Vib(9" C.) 1-4 eS, ven 35" ©2028 dn, Pon 3 © 10180 dn eo) Mao Vian 2 Cong 727°C, Vise" C) 1248 et ven 35°C. dn (ASTM, Bon 2" C.2838 cam, ssi Foeltn 1: Mel 685.77, Vise(09°C) 260.390 eps, ven 26" 3:7 (ASTM), Color 20 Maw. (ASTRA Biso0) Ce Resin I: Sof PE (RRB) 96-104, AVIMER) 1.0 maki Mat Vine <0 tan 200 Ce 800 ein 2 Sof Pe (RD) 97-108, AVN) 1.0 ImgKOllp Ml ise (Bt) 100 cpt CMe 6400, NM 240 hn 9507, 30° Me iat: Bp Wick 948° C. Vise" C) 138. 17 be eSuten 25°C, 3030 dm (ASTM ter Wan 3 Dp Mele 289 Vins" C) >168 St, Pen 2st 0 dn (AST) (cS tatn® Soh PL 10" C. AV 048 mgKOU Tone “aloe #12, Garo ctor § (3 ren Soft De UTIOS" C. Vise (nc) 1300 inal" Nw 2100, Ma 130, Te Micra 6 Cong, PCa U9") 12.55, Pen ship ann dP) Fon. C97 dm 0) ve Ninesiy Dp nen. Drops pie Me Pranenge resi meet No ‘Wap avenge lea weight Na ‘eter serge molar et ‘The formulation of Example I was then tested to ascertain shrinkage in comparison 10 a tational investment wax having high filler level. The comparison is shown in FIG. 3, The contraction ofthe waxes from softening pont down- ‘wards Was measured af fie contraction by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) ofa 9 mm sample 0 o 8 The invention claimed is 1A blended wax comprising at leat three wax cul, ‘where the wax cuts comprise parine or petrochemcally dived sane, wherein ech of heat Teas thre wa cuts comprise diferent meting pints, wherein the meting point ofeach ofthe a east he wax et dif rom the ming point of another wax cut hy between 36° C, and wherein the a last three wax cuts comprise 15 to 40 percent by ‘welt ofthe ttl blended wax "EA blended wx according to claim 1, wherein dhe ameking pot of each ofthe at Teast tree wan cus difers {fom the meting point of nother wax eut by between 46° e 3. A blended wax according to cio 1 wherein the three or more wat cuts are formulated wherein the ratio of ne ‘wax ei eave to another wax cui between [1 and 11:1 “4A blended wax accom wo claim I comprising atleast four wae cu 5. Abblended wax sconting to claim I furtber comprising “6 Ablended wax according to clsim 5 wherein the one or snore oginie resins comprixe one of more selected rom the ftmup comprising: Rosin, Rosin derivatives, Rosin exer “Tend wax seconling to claim I further compas cone oF more polymers '-Ablended vax seconting wo claim 7 wherein the one or more polymers comprise hydrocarbon polymers. 9. A blended wax seconling wo claim 1 further comprising one ot more inert organ filles 10. blended wax aecording to claim 9 whore the one or amore organic files sleced from the grmup comprising igh meling pot organi aids, polyols, eros-inked poly ‘mers of unstured monomer, clilore derivatives, poly ster resins, crse-laked or saight chain polycarbonate ‘eae and bie penol derivatives: 1A blended wax acording to claim 1 furer compe ing I-16% mieto-w, 05% natal andor synthetic wos, 20-50% resinos material, 0.5% polymers, and 0.30% les ty weight ofthe total blended wax 12. blended wax aecorting to claim 1 wherein the fillers comprise 20% ols by weight ofthe otal Mende 1. A wax blend comprising: 151940 percent by weight ofthe wax blend ofa pray Of panlfine or petrochenically derived wax cus ‘wherein the plurality of wax cuts comprises 2 fit wax eit having a frst melting point 8 second war tt having second melting point 2 thd wax cut having 2 thied melting pont ‘wherein the fist melting. point is ess than the second ‘cling point by 36°C andthe second melting pot ess tan the third melting point by 3-6" C 14. The wax Blend of claim 1, fier comprising res nos material present in an amount of 20 1 50 percent of by weigh ofthe wax blend 18: The wax blond of els 13, frher comprising micro wax present nan amount of Io 16 percent by weight othe vex blend 16. The wax blend of clsim 13, futher comprising a fourth wax cut having & fourth meling point wherein the third melting points Tess than the fourth mefing pot by sere 17. A wax blend comprising 15 to 40 perent by weight ofthe wax ben of spray of parafinie or petrochemically derived wax cts ‘vhdrein the play of wax cus compres: ‘lint wax et having rst melting point of 48-50? CsUS 10,053,578 B2 9 4 second wax cut having a second melting point of S457, third wax cut having third melting point of 604622 C3 and 4 foun wax cut having a fourth melting point of 65-68" C. 18, The wax blend of claim 17, Further comprising micro- wax present in an amount of L 10 16 percent by weight ofthe ‘wax blend 19, The wax blend of claim 17, furher comprising res- ‘nos material present in an amount of 20 to 50 percent by ‘weight of the wax blend. 20, The blended wax of elaim 2, wherein the at least three wax cuts comprise a first wax cut having a first melting point, a second wax eut having a second melting point, and ‘third wax cu having third melting point, and wherein the first melting point is less than the second melting point by 46° C- and the second melting point is less than the third melting point by 46°C, 721. The blended wax of claim 3, wherein the at least three wax ents comprise a fist wax cut having a first melting point, a second wax eut having a second melting pont, and ‘third war eut having a thind melting point, and wherein the first meting point is less than the second melting point by 346° C. andthe second melting point is less than the third ‘melting point by 3-6". 22. The blended wax of claim 8, wherein the at least three wax cuts comprise a first wax cut having a first melting second melting poi ting point, and wh Sethi war et ba fist melting point is less th by 3+6° C- and the second melting point is less than the third melting point by 36°C,