Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for metal casting and can be used in producing castings with directional and single crystal structure. The apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber inside which there is disposed an induction melting furnace, a mold preheating furnace with a ceramic mold, and a water-cooled tank being shaped as a truncated cone having a bottom portion and an upper portion which is opened towards a heating zone. The heating zone and the cooling zone are separated by a baffle articulating in a horizontal plane and consisting of segments or sectors. The apparatus allows the production of high quality castings having the directional and single crystal structure including the large sized castings by both the method of radiation cooling and the method of liquid metal cooling.

Abstract: The present invention relates to metal casting and can be used in producing large sized blades with directional and single crystal structure having large horizontal shoulders. The apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber inside which there is positioned a mold preheating furnace with a ceramic mold and a vertical shield disposed therein, and a crystallizer. The shield is positioned concentrically to the casting vertical axis and is fixed on the mold upper portion or on a hanger. The shield can be made integral or as a row of members having projecting flanges which telescopically insert into each other. The shield is made of a graphitized foil or a carbon/carbon based composite material.