What do I need to know about how my clamps are fabricated?

Investment casting produces more reliable hygienic clamps than sand-cast ones. Investment cast tooling uses durable molds, leading to a higher repeatability of tool quality than tools from a sand-casting process. Sand-casting molds gradually degrade with each abrasive sand pouring, reducing repeatability and thus clamp quality. One question to ask, beyond whether your clamps are created using investment casting or sand casting, is whether the materials are fabricated according to the ASTM A351 industry standard specification for pressure-containing parts.