APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CASTING

摘要

The present invention relates to casting and more particularly to an improved apparatus and method of aluminum casting. The casting system (10) includes a furnace (12), a pump (14) and a mold (16). A semi-permanent mold cope (30) is mounted to the top of the mold (16) to quickly cool the adjacent portion of the casting (20). The semi-permanent mold cope (30) is movable with respect to the mold so that it can be moved between an open and closed position. The mold (16) can be brought to the semi-permanent mold cope (30) when the semi-permanent mold cope (30) is open and the semi-permanent mold cope (30) can then be closed onto the casting (20). The molten metal is then pumped into the mold (16) with the semi-permanent mold cope (30) in place. A laser (34) monitors the rate of mold fill by monitoring the fill rate of the riser (28). After the mold (16) has been filled with molten metal, the mold sprue is closed and a turntable (32) can be rotated to bring the next mold (30) into position with the furnace (12) and rotate the filled mold away from the furnace (12) to allow it to cool.