Means and technique for forming the cavity of an open-ended mold

In an open ended mold for casting metal, the cavity of which has a peripheral wall formed about the axis extending between the end openings of the mold,

• a plurality of individually discrete wall-defining members assembled adjacent the peripheral wall of the cavity,
• means including a clamping device arranged about the outer periphery of the assembly of wall-defining members, externally thereof, to clamp the members together and form a casting ring, the aperture of which has an angulated cross sectional outline at the inner peripheral surface of the ring, and
• means for securing the ring about the axis in a plane extending perpendicular thereto, so that when a mass of molten metal is fed through the cavity along the axis, the ring confers an angulated cross sectional outline on the molten metal mass corresponding to that at the inner peripheral surface of the ring.

In an open ended mold which is to be used in casting metal by the step of feeding the metal in molten condition through the mold along an axis extending between the end openings thereof,

• a case arranged about the axis of the mold and having a generally rectangular opening in the body thereof, and an annular rabbet about the peripheral edge of the opening at one axial end thereof, and
• a set of spaced clamping elements which are movably mounted on the body of the case at points spaced about the outer periphery of the rabbet substantially externally thereof, and operable to apply clamping forces transverse the opening in the plane of the rabbet, so that they can be used to clamp a ring which is disposed on the rabbet, within the ambit of the set of clamping elements, to form the casting surface of the mold at the case.

In an open ended mold which is to be used in casting metal by the step of feeding the metal in molten condition through the mold along an axis extending between the end openings thereof, means for forming the cavity of the mold comprising:

• a pair of annular casing members which are relatively reciprocally arranged about the axis to form an annular joint between the respective end openings of the mold, and
• a casting ring which is arranged about the axis between the casing members and clampable between the casing members at the axial ends thereof to form the cavity at the inner peripheral surface of the joint when the casing members are reciprocated relatively toward one another to form the joint,
• there being an annular support between the casing members having an axially extending annular lip upstanding about the inner periphery thereof, and the casting ring being arranged on the support about the lip.

In an open ended mold which is to be used in casting metal by the step of feeding the metal in molten condition through the mold along an axis extending between the end openings thereof, means for forming the cavity of the mold comprising:

• a pair of annular casing members which are relatively reciprocally arranged about the axis to form an annular joint between the respective end openings of the mold, and
• a casting ring which is arranged about the axis between the casing members and clampable between the casing members at the axial ends thereof to form the cavity at the inner peripheral surface of the joint when the casing members are reciprocated relatively toward one another to form the joint,
• there being an annular recess between the casing members having a pair of spaced, axially opposing lips at the inner periphery thereof, and the casting ring being arranged in the recess about the lips, to be clamped therebetween.

In an open ended mold which is to be used in casting metal by the step of feeding the metal in molten condition through the mold along an axis extending between the end openings thereof, means for forming the cavity of the mold comprising:

• a pair of annular casing members which are relatively reciprocally arranged about the axis to form an annular joint between the respective end openings of the mold,
• a casting ring which is arranged about the axis between the casing members and clampable between the casing members at the axial ends thereof to form the cavity at the inner peripheral surface of the joint when the casing members are reciprocated relatively toward one another to form the joint,
• the casting ring comprising a plurality of individually discrete pieces which interconnect with one another to form the ring, the pieces being arranged in a plane extending perpendicular to the axis of the mold, and there being a set of clamping devices which are arranged about the pieces, and relatively reciprocable in the plane of the pieces to clamp the pieces together and form the ring.

In an open ended mold which is to be used in casting metal by the step of feeding the metal in molten condition through the mold along an axis extending between the end openings thereof, and wherein during the molding operation, the body of molten metal is fed along the axis from one end opening of the mold to the other, means for forming the cavity of the mold comprising:

• a pair of first and second annular casing members which are relatively reciprocally arranged about the axis to form an annular joint between the respective end openings of the mold, and
• a casting ring which is arranged about the axis between the casing members and clampable between the casing members at the axial ends thereof to form the cavity at the inner peripheral surface of the joint when the casing members are reciprocated relatively toward one another to form the joint,
• the first casing member being disposed adjacent the aforesaid one end opening of the mold and the mold further comprising means for introducing liquid coolant into the first casing member at one pair of opposing sides thereof, and discharging the coolant at another pair of opposing sides thereof, so that the cooling effect on the first casing member is balanced between each pair of sides.

A casting ring for use in forming the cavity of an open ended mold which is to be used in casting metal ingot of angulated cross sectional outline, comprising:

• a plurality of individually discrete pieces of wall-defining material which are assembled in a common plane so that they have pairs of relatively adjacent ends in the plane thereof, and which are adapted so that sides thereof abut one another adjacent said pairs of ends, to form a ring, the aperture of which has an angulated cross sectional outline at the inner peripheral surface of the ring.

In an open-ended mold for casting metal of angulated cross-sectional outline, a wall-defining member for use in forming a casting ring comprising:

• an elongated piece of wall-defining material which is generally rectilinear in length and quadrilateral in cross section transverse its length, and which has surfaces on one longitudinally extending side thereof, adjacent the opposing ends of said one side, which are mitered relatively toward one another in the direction of the central cross sectional plane of the piece, transverse the length thereof.

In the process of forming the cavity of an open ended mold which is to be used in casting metal by the step of feeding the metal in molten condition through the mold along an axis extending between the end openings thereof, the steps of:

• assembling a plurality of individually discrete pieces of wall-defining material about the axis of the mold at a point between the end openings thereof so that the pieces form a ring of said material which is disposed in a plane extending perpendicular to the axis,
• applying forces to the pieces in said plane at the outer periphery of the assembly to clamp the pieces together in said ring, and
• clamping the ring between a pair of annular casing members which are relatively reciprocally opposed to one another about the axis and interengageable with the axial ends of the ring to form an annular joint between the respective end openings of the mold which defines the cavity of the mold at the inner peripheral surface thereof.

In the cavity of an open ended mold for casting metal ingot by the step of feeding the metal in molten condition through the cavity along an axis extending between the end openings of the mold,

• an annular support which is formed about the axis adjacent the peripheral wall of the cavity in a plane extending perpendicular to the axis,
• a plurality of individually discrete wall-defining members which are clamped together on the support to form a casting ring, the aperture of which has an angulated cross sectional outline at the inner peripheral surface of the ring, and
• means securing the ring about the axis in the aforesaid plane so that when the molten metal transmigrates through the cavity along the axis, the ring confers an angulated cross sectional outline on the molten metal mass corresponding to that at the inner peripheral surface of the ring.