Pipe core clean out system

In a plant for making ductile iron pipe with a bell end, a hollow interior and an interior surface, the plant having a casting station for casting the iron pipe with a sand core to define the shape of at least a part of the interior surface of the pipe at the bell end of the pipe, the plant also having a heat-treating station downstream from the casting station to heat treat the pipe, a system for removing the sand core from the cast iron pipe before the cast pipe reaches the heat-treating station comprising:

• a brush assembly including a shaft having a central longitudinal axis and a brush mounted on the shaft, the brush assembly being rotatable about the central longitudinal axis of the shaft to clean core sand from the pipe;
• and
• an exhaust system positioned to move core sand away from the pipe after the core sand has been cleaned from the pipe, tie exhaust system including a hood;
• wherein at least part of said brush is positioned within said hood.

In a plant for making ductile iron pipe with a bell end, a hollow interior and an interior surface, the plant having a casting station for casting the iron pipe with a sand core to define the shape of at least a part of the interior surface of the pipe at the bell end of the pipe, the plant also having a heat-treating station downstream from the casting station to heat treat the pipe and a crane for moving a pipe from the casting station to the heat- treating station while rotating the pipe about its central longitudinal axis, a system for removing the sand core from the cast iron pipe before the cast pipe reaches the heat-treating station comprising:

• a brush assembly including a shaft and a plurality of annular brushes mounted concentrically on the shaft, the shaft having a central longitudinal axis and the shaft and annular brushes being rotatable about the central longitudinal axis of the shaft;
• a linearly-movable cart;
• a tiltable frame supported on the cart, the tiltable frame being tiltable about a tilt axis, the brush assembly being supported on the tiltable frame with the shaft central longitudinal axis spaced from and parallel to the tilt axis of the tiltable frame, the shaft and annular brushes extending out beyond the tiltable frame and cart;
• a motor on the tiltable frame for rotating the shaft;
• a drive mechanism for moving the cart, tilting frame and brush assembly toward and away from the pipe, the annular brushes being movable into the interior of the pipe;
• a powered tilting device connected to the cart and the tiltable frame to tilt the tiltable frame about its tilt axis to thereby move the brush assembly toward and away from the interior surface of the pipe;
• an exhaust system positioned to move core sand away from the pipe after the core sand has been cleaned from the pipe, the exhaust system including:
• a hood and a movable duct supported to move with the cart, the hood overlying the annular brushes of the brush assembly and moving into and out of the interior of the pipe;
• a stationary duct connected to receive exhaust from the movable duct when the hood is within the interior of the pipe, the stationary duct being stationary as the cart, movable duct and hood move;
• and
• an air-moving device for moving air and sand from the sand core into the hood and through the movable duct to the stationary duct;
• wherein at least one of the stationary duct and movable duct is received inside the other of said stationary duct and movable duct in a telescoping manner.