Method and apparatus for sand moulding composite articles with a die made of light alloy and a fibrous insert

Apparatus for casting a composite of a light alloy metal with a fibrous insert, comprising:

• (a) a sealed enclosure fitted with a first pipe connecting the enclosure with a means for increasing and decreasing the pressure within said enclosure;
• (b) a sealed chamber within said enclosure, said chamber fitted with a second pipe connected to a means for increasing and decreasing the pressure within said chamber;
• (c) a differential manometer connected between said first and second pipes;
• (d) a sand mold having walls defining a mold cavity and located within said sealed chamber, said cavity having seats equipped on their surfaces with juxtaposed metal sheets which extend along the walls of the cavity and which are adapted to hold a fibrous preform in the cavity separate from the walls;
• (e) an electrically heated furnace in said enclosure below said chamber, said furnace including a receptacle for containing a molten bath of a light alloy metal;
• and
• (f) a tube rigidly connected to the mold and communicating with the mold cavity at one end and the receptacle at the other end.