Quiescent-flow metal pourer

A machine for pouring molten, substantially gas-free, inclusion-free aluminum into a series of advancing sand molds comprising:

• a train of carriages each carrying a mold while travelling through an arcuate pouring zone from a starting position to a finishing position;
• a vessel for containing a supply of said aluminum, said vessel having a cover, a first outlet for discharging said aluminum from beneath the surface of the aluminum in said vessel into a trough underlying said first outlet, and a valve associated with said first outlet for controlling said discharging;
• at least one trough located between said vessel and said train for conveying said aluminum from said vessel to a said mold in said train while maintaining a prescribed level of molten aluminum in said trough, said trough having a first end registered with such mold and moveable with such mold from said starting position to said finishing position and a second end adapted to receive said aluminum from said first outlet and rotatively moveable beneath said first outlet so as to permit said first end to move with said mold, said first end having a second outlet for dispensing said aluminum from beneath said level in said trough into said mold, and a valve associated with said second outlet for controlling said dispensing;
• a cover for said trough;
• a spout depending from said first outlet for discharging said aluminum from said vessel into said second end of said trough, said spout having a discharge end extending into said trough beneath said level;
• a motor operatively associated with said trough for returning said trough from said finishing position to said starting position after said mold has been poured;
• and
• a coupler coordinating the movement of said first end with said mold so as to maintain said first end registered with said mold as they move together in unison through said zone.

A machine for pouring molten metal into a series of advancing sand molds comprising:

• a train of mold-carriages each carrying a mold while travelling through an arcuate pouring zone from a starting position to a finishing position;
• a vessel for containing a supply of said metal, said vessel having a first outlet for discharging said metal from said vessel into a rotatable tundish from beneath the surface of the metal in said vessel and a valve associated with said first outlet for controlling said discharging;
• said tundish comprising a plurality of troughs located between said vessel and said train and extending radially from a common hub for conveying metal supplied to said hub from said vessel to a set of molds in said train while maintaining a prescribed level of molten metal in said troughs, said troughs each having a first end registered with a mold in said set and moveable with such mold from said starting position to said finishing position, said common hub being adapted to receive said metal from said outlet beneath said prescribed level, said first end having a second outlet for dispensing said metal from beneath said level into a mold registered therewith and a valve associated with said second outlet for controlling said dispensing;
• a spout operatively associated with said first outlet for discharging said metal from said vessel into said hub beneath said level;
• a motor operatively associated with said tundish for returning said tundish from said finishing position to said starting position after said set of molds has been poured;
• and
• a coupler coordinating the movement of said first ends of said troughs with said set of molds so as to maintain said first ends registered with the molds of said set as they move together through said zone.