Metal-casting method and apparatus, casting system and cast-forging system

Abstract

[Purpose] To provide, in relation to casting of materials to be subjected to plastic working such as cold forging, hot forging, enclosed forging, rolling, extrusion, and roll-forming of metals, including nonferrous metals, such as aluminum and magnesium (inclusive of respective alloys), and ferrous metals (i.e., iron and steel) or to direct casting of products (i.e., castings), a metal casting method which is capable of yielding cast ingots of healthy interior metallographic structure with no cut surfaces, by making the solidification interface smooth so as to prevent generation of cracks in cast ingots which are otherwise unavoidable due to concentration of solidification shrinkage stress caused by the solidification interface becoming locally concave when the solidification interface arrives at the top surface of the mold to ultimately complete solidification, or by effecting local control of removal of heat from the mold so as to prevent generation of casting defects such as cavities and microshrinkages which are otherwise unavoidable due to the solidification interface of the molten metal in the mold forming a closed surface inside the cast ingot; a casting apparatus; and cast ingots. [Means for Solution] In a method for casting metal by charging molten metal 6 into a closed-space-definable mold 2 which includes a cooling member 1 and in which an end surface of an open/close plug 5 serves as a portion of an inner wall of the mold 2, removal of heat from a mold member 2 comprising the cooling member 1 is locally controlled in accordance with the shape of cast ingot and the location and number of the molten metal inlet(s) 4, to thereby solidify the molten metal in such a manner that the solidification interface 6b advances to arrive at an end of an inner surface of the mold 2.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.