Abstract: The chill mold is mounted on a support which is rotatable about the vertical axis of its casting cavity and is composed of a lower element, an upper element which has a pouring opening, and four peripheral elements arranged in two opposing pairs. The lower element occupies a casting position on the support and coaxial therewith, the upper element is movable between a casting position in which it overlies the lower element coaxially, and a shakeout position in which it does not interfere with the upward removal of the piece from the mold, and the peripheral elements are displaceable radially on the support to allow their movement from a casting position, in which together they surround the upper and lower element, to a shakeout position in which they are further removed from the axis of rotation.

Abstract: The machine has a casting ladle mounted rotatably on a movable support member which conveys the ladle between a filling station and at least one casting station. The movable member carries a motorized rotary disc cam cooperating with a cam-follower which controls rotations of the ladle. The cam profile includes a larger sector of increasing radius to cause a pouring rotation of the ladle at the casting station and a smaller sector of decreasing radius to cause a return rotation of the ladle to the upright position after casting. The cam has, between the two sections, a profile portion which is re-entrant towards the axis of rotation of the cam and in which the cam-follower is engageable selectively to cause a sharp rotation of the ladle from the upright position to an inverted position, so as to release the skin or crust of solidified metal from the inside of the ladle when the latter is at a cleaning station.