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AssigneeCMI International, Inc.
InventorsWilliam W. Seaton, Richard A. Gillette, Mark T. Salgat
Estimating the term…
A bottom pour casting apparatus (100) includes a vessel (114) having a bottom nozzle (118). A stopper rod (112) is coupled to a programmable controller (250) by linkage mechanism (250) for controlling the movement of the stopper rod (112) according to a pouring schedule. An LDT position sensor (216) is coupled to the stopper rod (112) by a cable (238) and also electronically to the controller (250) for sensing the actual position of the stopper rod during a pouring cycle and conveying this information directly to the controller (250) thereby bypassing any backlash present in the linkage mechanism (116) to enable precise control of the stopper rod movement. A method includes rezeroing the position sensor (116) at the beginning of each pouring cycle to account for slag build-up on the nozzle (118).
An apparatus for controlling molten metal discharge through a nozzle of a bottom pouring vessel, said apparatus comprising:
A method for controlling the pour of molten metal into molds utilizing a bottom pour casting apparatus including a pouring vessel (114) provided with a bottom nozzle (118), a stopper rod (112) extending into said vessel (114) for communicating with the nozzle (118), and a stopper rod control mechanism which is programmable for raising and lowering the stopper rod (112) in relation to a zero reference position of the stopper rod (112) corresponding to a fully closed condition of the stopper rod (112) wherein the stopper rod (112) is seated against the nozzle (118), said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.