Abstract: Apparatus for forming a pour hole and main sprue in an investment mold for lost wax casting. A sprue having a flared base, a base member adapted to receive the flared base of the sprue for vertically supporting the sprue, and a flask for containing investment material immersing the sprue, define the casting apparatus of the present invention. The present investment casting sprue apparatus forms a pour hole in the hardened investment material suitable for smoothly introducing liquid metals into the cavity formed by the sprue, thereby reducing the number of casting defects related to turbulent filling. This is accomplished as a result of the flared base of the sprue, which forms a gentle transition into the sprue. The current practice, by contrast, uses a sprue having a cylindrical base which is simply inserted into a hole in a finger or button formed in the supporting base member for the sprue without regard to this smooth transition.

Abstract: Apparatus for forming a pour hole and main sprue in an investment mold for lost wax casting. A sprue having a flared base, a base member adapted to receive the flared base of the sprue for vertically supporting the sprue, and a flask for containing investment material immersing the sprue, define the casting apparatus of the present invention. The present investment casting sprue apparatus forms a pour hole in the hardened investment material suitable for smoothly introducing liquid metals into the cavity formed by the sprue, thereby reducing the number of casting defects related to turbulent filling. This is accomplished as a result of the flared base of the sprue, which forms a gentle transition into the sprue. The current practice, by contrast, uses a sprue having a cylindrical base which is simply inserted into a hole in a finger or button formed in the supporting base member for the sprue without regard to this smooth transition.

Abstract: Apparatus for heating and pouring metal and metal alloys. A metal melting and pouring apparatus suitable for graining the molten material is described. A graphite crucible having at least one exit orifice in its lower, tapered portion, a graphite barrier plate or disk having a plurality of orifices located within the crucible on the tapered portion thereof, and an element for heating the apparatus to temperatures sufficient to melt the metal, have been found to produce a steady stream of consistent droplet-size molten metal, while maintaining a choosen level of liquid metal in the crucible to prevent less dense impurity materials from passing through the exit orifice(s) of the crucible, and to improve the efficiency of melting additional metal subsequently introduced into the crucible.