Abstract: A casting machine die evacuation system has a vacuum source for evacuating the die cavity during casting connected to a chill block vent passage through a vacuum cut-off plug driven by a high pressure hydraulic system into an evacuation position at the start of casting and into a vacuum cut-off position in response to fast shot plunger operation. The tip of the plug is held in contact with the chill block so that cast material flow into the chill block vent passage will flow around the diameter of the plug without acting to unseat the plug from its vacuum cut-off position.

Abstract: A support stirrup 7 is rotatably mounted by horizontal shaft 8 at one end of a machine for centrifugally casting iron pipes 41 having end sockets 42a in a chill-mould 1. A ring assembly 31, CL is mounted between the arms of the stirrup for rotation about an axis Z--Z perpendicular to the shaft axis, but the plane of the assembly is tilted from its rotation axis by an acute angle D via an offset arm 34. With the stirrup raised to an intermediate position and the ring assembly rotated 90.degree. (FIGS. 3, 6) an operator can easily and safely mount a relatively heavy socket core 36 to the ring assembly, whereafter the latter is reverse rotated 90.degree. and the stirrup lowered to position the core in the end of the mould (FIGS. 1, 4). The stirrup can be fully raised (FIG. 2) to enable pipe extraction and visual inspection during casting.