Abstract: A lifting device includes a base, a mast coupled to the base, a carriage coupled to the mast, and a lifting assembly configured to move the mast and carriage in a first direction to a desired elevation relative to the base. The lifting device includes an electric motor, a battery pack for providing electrical power to the electric motor and a spool with a cable to alternately raise and lower the carriage in the first direction. The lifting device includes means for detecting a weight and/or a center of gravity of a load to be lifted by the lifting device, and a user interface operable to communicate information about the weight and/or the center of gravity of the load to a user of the lifting device.

Abstract: Aluminum pellets are ejected from the nozzle of an elongated tube into a stream of liquid steel flowing from a tundish into a continuous casting mold. Protective gas is utilized to propel the pellets of aluminum from the elongated tube into the molten stream. A special nozzle structure for the elongated tube insures that the aluminum pellets will properly impinge upon and mix with the molten stream. The elongated tube is retained within a larger cylindrical tube that directs low velocity, protective gas at the molten stream. The protective gas, such as nitrogen or argon, provides essentially nonreactive atmosphere that envelops the molten stream of steel.