System and method for additive metal casting

A casting system for casting of an object additively by producing multiple production layers having mold regions and object regions defined by the mold regions, one currently-produced production layer after the other, comprising:

• a mold construction unit operative to construct the mold regions of the currently-produced layer;
• at least one deposition system, operative after said mold construction unit produces the mold regions of the currently-produced layer, to construct the object regions of the object, each deposition system comprising
• a movable deposition unit for depositing molten metal in a working area at the object region of the currently-produced layer according to a building plan defining a deposition velocity and a deposition path among a plurality of working areas,
• a first induction heating unit for sequentially heating a plurality of melt pools in a current working area of said working areas to a target temperature for receiving the molten metal
• wherein said movable deposition unit and said first induction heating unit share a travel unit moving along the deposition path, and
• an induction heating power supply unit coupled to the first induction heating unit for providing current at a desired magnitude and frequency, said first induction heating unit to generate from said current a magnetic field;
• sensors to measure at least one of:
• a height of the deposition unit above the working area and a height of the first induction heating unit above the working area;
• and
• a controller to define said deposition path and, based on input from said sensors, to control said deposition system to move along said deposition path while maintaining the first induction heating unit at a working distance to said current working area, wherein said working distance is greater than a height of a current one of said mold regions, and, prior to deposition by said movable deposition unit, to provide said magnetic field at said working distance such that said magnetic field extends to the current working area and heats a current one of said melt pools.