Production system for automatic casting of hollow bodies, in particular of concrete

Apparatus for the casting of a cylindrical hollow body in an upright position comprising an inner cylinder mold, an outer cylindrical mold, means for displacing the outer mold vertically up and down between a lower casting position for casting the hollow body where the outer mold is disposed concentrically around the outside of the inner mold and an upper free position, a bottom ring for supporting and molding a lower end part of the hollow body, a top ring for molding an upper end part of the hollow body, a cylindrical jacket-shaped gripping ring extending vertically upward from the top ring, the lower end of the gripping ring being secured to the top ring and the upper end thereof being free, a gripper for gripping and bringing the top ring into a molding position and retaining the top ring in said molding position during casting of the hollow body, said gripper including a clamping chuck having an opening for receiving said gripping ring, clamping means for clamping the chuck around the gripping ring and means for displacing the clamping chuck vertically up and down between a lower casting position where the top ring is in said molding position and an upper free position, the largest transverse dimension of said clamping chuck being smaller than the internal diameter of the outer mold.