Investment castings and plastic prototypes from single pieces to series production, including machining and surface finishing
NRU GmbH
Neukirchen (Saxony) · Südstraße 3New on Amplifa
About NRU
NRU GmbH is a foundry in Neukirchen near Chemnitz that produces investment castings in steel, aluminium, cast iron and special alloys as well as plastic prototypes via 3D printing and PUR vacuum casting. Founded in 1992, the company combines classic foundry technology with rapid prototyping methods: components are investment cast from printed synthetic resin models and then machined, heat-treated and surface-treated in-house. Production starts from a quantity of 1, with metals up to 35 kg and 500 x 500 x 500 mm, and with vacuum-cast plastic parts up to 3 kg and 900 x 600 x 400 mm. The melting capacity at the Neukirchen plant is 2 x 75 kg. Price-sensitive series parts are produced via an extended workbench in European and non-European countries abroad, coordinated by NRU GmbH. Customers include companies from the automotive, plant engineering, electrical engineering, medical and rehabilitation technology, decorative casting and research sectors. In addition, the company offers CAD design, reverse engineering with optical digitisation and quality assurance ranging from visual to X-ray inspection.
- Site
- Neukirchen
- Processes
- Steel/iron investment casting, Aluminium investment casting, Cast iron castings, Special alloys (blending of individual alloys), 3D printing (additive manufacturing) of plastics, PUR vacuum casting, Heat treatment (hardening and tempering, hardening, normalising annealing, solution annealing), Machining (milling, turning, grinding, EDM, drilling)
- Materials
- Cast steel (all steel and cast alloys), Aluminium casting (cast and wrought alloys), Cast iron (casting alloys), Special alloys, Plastics for 3D printing (over 20 material variants), PUR for vacuum casting (over 30 material variants), Silicones, Synthetic resin (printed, base material for investment casting)
- Certificates
- ISO 9001
- Founded
- 1992
- Industries
- Automotive, Plant engineering, Electrical engineering, Medical & rehabilitation technology, Decorative casting, Research institutions
- 01
Consulting & Planning
- 02
CAD Design / Reverse Engineering
- 03
3D Printing / Vacuum Casting
- 04
Investment Casting
- 05
Heat Treatment
- 06
CNC Machining
- 07
Surface Treatment
- 08
Quality Assurance
- 09
Series Production via Company Network
Materials & Processes
Cast steel (all steel and cast alloys)
Investment castings up to 35 kg and 500x500x500 mm, from a quantity of 1.
Aluminium casting (cast and wrought alloys)
Light-metal investment castings up to 25 kg for weight- and precision-critical applications.
Cast iron
Iron castings up to 35 kg in a broad range of casting alloys.
Special alloys
Standard alloys as well as individual blending of customised materials according to customer requirements.
3D printing plastics (over 20 variants)
Fast plastic prototypes with delivery from 2 working days, from a quantity of 1.
PUR vacuum casting (over 30 variants)
Plastic parts up to 3 kg and 900x600x400 mm within 5 working days.
Silicones
Materials for housings, devices and aids in medical and rehabilitation technology.
Synthetic resin (printed)
Base material for printed investment casting models in rapid prototyping.
Sites
Neukirchen
DEProduction and Administration
- Part weight / size
- Metal up to 35 kg (500x500x500 mm); plastic up to 3 kg
- Lot size
- from a quantity of 1
- Materials
- Cast steel, aluminium casting, cast iron, special alloys, plastics, silicones
- Melting furnaces (2x75 kg)
- 3D printing systems
- CNC machining machines
Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel/iron investment castingCasting | – | 500 mm × 500 mm × 500 mm | 35 kg | 1 | all steel and cast alloys |
| Aluminium investment castingCasting | – | 500 mm × 500 mm × 500 mm | 25 kg | 1 | all cast and wrought alloys |
| Cast iron castingsCasting | – | 500 mm × 500 mm × 500 mm | 35 kg | 1 | casting alloys |
| Special alloys (blending of individual alloys)Casting | – | 500 mm × 500 mm × 500 mm | – | 1 | special alloys |
| 3D printing (additive manufacturing) of plasticsAdditive | – | – | – | 1 | over 20 material variants for 3D printing |
| PUR vacuum castingPlastic | – | 900 mm × 600 mm × 400 mm | 3 kg | 1 | over 30 material variants for PUR vacuum casting, silicones |
| Heat treatment (hardening and tempering, hardening, normalising annealing, solution annealing)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | steel and cast alloys |
| Machining (milling, turning, grinding, EDM, drilling)Machining | – | – | – | – | independent of material |
| Surface treatment (painting, powder coating, anodising, electropolishing, sandblasting,Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| CAD design (preparation and new design for investment and sand casting)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reverse engineering (reproduction, digitisation with optical scanners)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Visual inspection in accordance with DIN EN 13018Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dimensional inspection with 3D scanner in accordance with VDG Information Sheet P690Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Leak testing up to 5 bar under waterTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dye penetrant testing (red-white test)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| X-ray inspection (radiographic testing)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chemical analysis of the alloysTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Hardness testing according to Brinell (DIN EN ISO 6506)Testing | – | – | – | – | metallic materials |
| Series production via extended workbench (domestic and abroad) incl. project managementAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
3 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melting furnace | – | – | Melting capacity 2x75 kg | 2021 (Erwe | Neukirchen |
| 3D printing systems | – | – | – | erste Anla | Neukirchen |
| CNC machining machines | – | – | – | 2015 (Inst | Neukirchen |
Additional services
Quality
Every process step is documented and evaluated; testing includes visual inspection in accordance with DIN EN 13018, dimensional inspection using a 3D scanner in accordance with VDG Information Sheet P690, leak testing up to 5 bar, dye penetrant and X-ray inspection, chemical alloy analysis as well as hardness testing according to Brinell (DIN EN ISO 6506).
| Evidence | Neukirchen |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 1992
Foundation of NRU Präzisionstechnologie GbR by Dr. Jürgen Jahn, Dr. Ludwig Kant and Dr. Hubert Zeidler in Neukirchen near Chemnitz
- 1993
Installation of the first 3D printing systems for plastic prototypes
- 1999
Conversion to a GmbH (limited liability company) and initial ISO 9001 certification
- 2006
Move to the newly built company building at Südstraße 3 in Neukirchen
- 2010
Expansion of production floor space by 600 m², installation of additional melting furnaces and 3D printers
- 2015
Expansion of the value chain with in-house CNC machining
- 2020
Transfer of ownership from the founding families to EMK Industriebeteiligungen GmbH
- 2021
Expansion of melting capacity to 2x75 kg
- 2022
Implementation of trading operations within the company network to supply series components