Abstract: A method for producing steel products (1) with optimum surface quality wherein the molten steel (1b) is produced in a process route (10, 100; 12; 13) that is selected according to a desired final microstructure (9), by melting in a furnace (2b) with an electrode system (31), and in a vacuum degassing system; or by melting in a furnace installation (35) or an individual furnace vessel (30), in a ladle furnace (25), and in a differential-pressure vacuum degassing system (43); or by melting in a furnace (2b) with additions of alloying materials (26), a partial-quantity degassing in the ladle furnace (25), or a vacuum degassing system (27) and a ladle degassing (27).

Abstract: The invention relates to a production line for the production of cast parts (M) from a metallic melt, in particular a light molten metal, which takes place in a continuous cycle, comprising a plurality of functional units, including a core production unit (2) for the production of casting cores, a mould assembly unit (3) for assembling casting moulds (G) formed as core packages, a casting unit for filling the molten metal into the casting moulds (G), a cooling unit (5a) for cooling the molten metal respectively contained in the casting moulds (G), and a demoulding unit (5b) for destructive removal of the casting mould (G) from the cast part (M).

Abstract: A two tiered mold handling system for use in a sand mold casting machine which comprises a two tiered conveyor for pouring and cooling, or a two tiered conveyor for cooling only. The two-tiered conveyor has an upper linear track and a lower linear track disposed at a lower vertical elevation. The tracks carry a plurality of mold pallets along an endless path around the upper and lower linear tracks. The application is directed toward several concepts including two tiered pouring conveyors in combination with two tiered cooling conveyors, two tiered combination pouring and cooling conveyors, and one tiered pouring conveyors in combination with two tiered cooling conveyors to provide a lower pouring elevation.

Abstract: A two tiered mold handling system for use in a sand mold casting machine which comprises a two tiered conveyor for pouring and cooling, or a two tiered conveyor for cooling only. The two-tiered conveyor has an upper linear track and a lower linear track disposed at a lower vertical elevation. The tracks carry a plurality of mold pallets along an endless path around the upper and lower linear tracks. The application is directed toward several concepts including two tiered pouring conveyors in combination with two tiered cooling conveyors, two tiered combination pouring and cooling conveyors, and one tiered pouring conveyors in combination with two tiered cooling conveyors to provide a lower pouring elevation.

Abstract: A pouring conveyor in the form of a continuous loop receives sand molds on pallets or other mold carriers and conveys the empty molds to a pouring station wherein molten material is deposited therein to form castings. Each mold is provided with a supportive weight and jacket before pouring. Thereafter, the molds with the weight and jacket surrounding them, pass through a primary cooling line, at the end of which molds and weight and jacket are separated in a jacket transfer station. The weighted jacket is removed and transferred to an on-coming freshly made mold while the castings pass through a secondary cooling zone for further cooling and subsequently discharged said conveyor. The process allows for a substantially smaller number of weight jacket combinations and floor space than previously known molding processes.

Abstract: A simplified mold handling system has a linear flowpath with adjustable throughput, variable cooling cycle capability, and minimized equipment and cost. The system has a mold handling conveyor with upper and lower levels on which pouring and cooling of the molds occur. The upper level of the conveyor receives sand molds and conveys the empty molds to a pouring station wherein molten material is deposited therein to form castings. After the castings have been poured, the molds are transferred to the lower level of the pouring conveyor for cooling purposes, and then back to the upper level. The sand molds are then either pushed to another row of the pallet, or are pushed down a ramp to a vibrating conveyor for removal of the sand. Such features allow adjustability in the dwell time required for cooling of the given metal.

Abstract: The upper level of the pouring conveyor receives sand molds and conveys the empty molds to a pouring station wherein molten material is deposited therein to form castings. Each mold is provided with a supportive weight and jacket before pouring. After the castings have been poured, the molds are transferred to the lower level of the pouring conveyor for cooling purposes, and then back to the upper level to remove the weight and jacket. The sand molds are then transferred to the upper level of the cooling conveyor and are deposited into trays provided on the cooling conveyor. Each tray is adapted to receive a plurality of molds to enable the molds to move from serial to parallel movement. An indexable pusher arm is provided to accurately place each mold in a respective tray to insure proper spacing for uniform cooling. After each tray has traversed the upper and lower levels of the cooling conveyor, the molds are removed from the trays and the sand is broken away to reveal the castings for harvest.

Abstract: In a string of molds (32) with vertical parting surfaces, each mold cavity (35) is connected through a wide throat with its own after-feeding reservoir (36). When the mold has been poured, a gas pressure is applied through a channel (43) and a passage (41) to a lower metal surface in the after-feeding reservoir (36). This gas pressure is not allowed to exceed the metallostatic pressure in the mold at the surface, at which the pressure is applied, until the metal in the ingate (37) has solidified or the ingate has been blocked in some other way. At the location where the passage (41) opens into the after-feeding reservoir, it is covered by an element (42) that is impermeable to the metal having been poured but permeable to the pressurized gas. When the metal in the ingate (37) has solidified or the ingate has been blocked in some other way, the gas pressure may be increased.

Abstract: Light alloy metal products are cast by introducing the molten metal into a sand mold having a vertical parting line, characterized in that the mold is bottom filled.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system and method for the automated spin-casting production of molded articles. The system includes a casting turntable and a processing turntable which are rotatively mounted, immediately adjacent to one another. The casting turntable has several spin modules mounted thereon for rotatively supporting mold assemblies. Casting preparation and pouring mechanisms are mounted around the periphery of the casting turntable. The turntable indexes the mold assemblies and positions the assemblies for preparation, pouring and solidification of the cast products. The processing turntable receives the mold assemblies and solidified castings from the casting turntable. Multiple processing stations are mounted around the periphery of the processing table for the removal of the castings from the mold assemblies and preparation of the mold assemblies for additional casting operations. The mold assemblies are returned to the casting table from the processing table for additional casting processes.

Abstract: An ejector is coated with a thin, hard, low friction, lubricous coating for use in a mold to eject molded articles from the mold without the use of liquid lubricants. The preferred ejector has a thin, low friction, coefficient coating with a thickness on the order of 0.00004 inch to 0.0001 inch. This coating provides long lasting, dry lubrication for low friction reciprocation of the ejector within a bore in the mold. The thin lubricous coating allows the ejector to be inventoried and sold in nominal sizes and cut down to the desired size by the mold builder to suit a specific application, and the cut ends are then deburred by the mold builder and finish ground to size, with the lubricous coating remaining intact at the cut end of the ejector. The coating is so thin that the nominal size of the ejector is essentially unchanged. The very thin coating does not chip or flake at the cut end, as would result in cavities into which the plastic could flow and form flashing on the plastic part being molded.

Abstract: In an automatic foundry plant were the molds are made in a molding station (11), and the metal is poured into the molds while these are in a pouring station (21), information concerning the characteristics of the individual molds is sensed from the molds in the molding station (11), and possibly also in a core setter (13). This information is recorded by parameter recording units and control signals based thereon are transmitted to the pouring station (21), and used in controlling the function of the latter at the time when the mold to which the information in question relates is in the pouring station (21). This arrangement prevents, without human surveillance, the occurrence of faulty operations such as pouring of casting metal outside the mold or pouring into defective molds.

Abstract: In an automatic foundry plant of the kind in which two or several sideways switchable switching conveyors (31,32) are placed between the pouring station (21) and the extraction station (41) in order to obtain the requisite cooling of the poured molds before these arrive to the extraction station (41) and at the same time to limit the length of the plant, the new feature consists in automatic equipment (51-53), which controls the crosswise movements of the switching conveyors (31, 32) to take place at times when the risk is as small as possible of damaging molds situated in the transition region between the mold conveyor (22) and the switching conveyor in question (31 or 32). When molds are used of the kind where two mold sections co-operate in forming a mold cavity between them, the automatic equipment (51-53) may also be adapted to control the function of the pouring station (21), thereby preventing pouring in the molds which at the conveyor switch happen to be situated in the transition region.

Abstract: The method and apparatus are based on the use of a casting process in which expendable patterns are made of a low density material, then evaporated by molten metal as the metal advances into the cavity created by the evaporation of the pattern material. The outer supporting material of the cavity is an unbonded granular material of sufficient grain size distribution. This unbonded material is vibrated in defined partial volumes of the whole volume of a holding vessel called a pouring container and compacted to a predetermined density around the expendable pattern so that it fills all cavities of the expendable pattern prior to the introduction of molten metal into the container to displace the pattern. The compacting vibration is performed in several independent zones to achieve uniform compaction and to prevent pattern deformation. The pouring container follows a loop via a conveyor system preferably through four operation stations.

Abstract: A production casting line includes a foam pattern former producing destructible foam patterns for the forming of cast parts. A pattern clusters inventory station is provided immediately adjacent to the process line having a plurality of different preformed foam pattern clusters which are immediately available for introduction and insertion into the production line by interposing of the same into the process line. A substantial number of different patterns are stored. The foam patterns are stable, can be inventoried for long periods and are relatively inexpensive. The versatility with the inventoried patterns increases the operating efficiency and reduce the overall cost of the manufacturing operation. The cast line includes flasks within the pattern clusters and are mounted at a receiving station. Sand is compacted about the foam pattern.

Abstract: A mold handling system and method wherein cars are moved along a closed vertical loop. A first elevator positions an empty car adjacent a mold-supply conveyor, whereupon a mold is pushed onto the car, after which the car is transferred into a pre-pour mold storage. The mold-bearing car is then moved onto a second elevator which lifts the car upwardly adjacent an elevated pouring deck. As the mold is elevated, a jacket and weight are automatically deposited thereon, and the mold is poured while the car rests on the second elevator. The mold-bearing car is then moved forwardly through a jacket-and-weight transfer station, after which the jacket and weight are automatically removed and recycled back for positioning on another mold arriving on the second elevator. The mold-bearing car is moved through a cooling region, and this is then transferred onto a third elevator which is tiltable so that the mold is dumped from the car.

Abstract: In a method for reduced-pressure mould production, a plurality of mould flasks are simultaneously evacuated by evacuating means, and in which production of the moulds is carried out while moving the mould flasks sequentially through a mould shaping position, a pouring position and a mould disintegrating position. Evacuation is effected by first evacuating means during a period from the beginning of mould shaping to the beginning of mould pouring and a period after pouring, and evacuation is effected more strongly by second evacuating means during the period of pouring.

Abstract: An improved method for the production of castings is disclosed, according to which the flasks are stripped from the sand moulds subsequently to pouring the molten metal in the moulds and the initial cooling of the castings, the flasks are directly forwarded to a moulding machine, the stripped moulds with the castings held therein being forwarded along a longer cooling path on a rotating guide. The implementation is composed by two straight conveying paths connected at the respective ends by a semicircular path along the straight guide sections the stripping machines and the moulding machines are arranged.