Casting machine with changeable length of mold

Claim 2

In a wheel-band type continuous casting machine for casting molten metal into a continuous bar comprising a rotatable casting wheel having a casting groove formed in the periphery thereof which is closed along a portion of its length by an endless band forming a casting mold therewith, said band having inner and outer surfaces and being guided about said casting wheel by a plurality of guide wheels with said inner surface engaging said guide wheels and said outer surface engaging said casting wheel, said band initially engaging the periphery of said casting wheel at a first point defining a mold inlet and disengaging said casting wheel at a second point defining a mold outlet; the improvement comprising means for synchronously moving at least two of said guide wheels for varying the angular position of said second point with respect to said casting wheel during the casting operation to substantially change the length of band covering said casting groove.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1 wherein said plurality of guide wheels are disposed at predetermined angular positions with respect to said casting wheel for guiding said endless band about said casting wheel, and wherein said synchronous moving means includes means for moving at least two of said guide wheels into angular positions different from said predetermined angular positions.

Claim 4

The combination of claim 2 wherein said guide wheels include a presser wheel for guiding said band into initial engagement with said casting wheel to define said mold inlet, a counter wheel for guiding said band away from said casting wheel to define said mold outlet and a tension wheel for guiding said band between said counter wheel and said presser wheel to maintain tension in said band, and wherein said means for synchronously moving include means for moving said counter wheel and said tension wheel.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for moving include means for rotating said counter wheel through an arc about an axis coincident with the axis of rotation of said casting wheel, and means for translating said tension wheel along a line of motion perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said casting wheel.

Claim 6

The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for moving include means for rotating said counter wheel through an arc about an axis coincident with the axis of rotation of said casting wheel, and means for rotating said tension wheel through an arc about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said casting wheel.

Claim 7

The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for moving include means for translating both said counter wheel and said tension wheel along lines of motion perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said casting wheel.

Claim 8

The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for moving include pivot arm means for rotating said counter wheel through an arc about an axis coincident with the axis of rotation of said casting wheel.

Claim 9

The combination of claim 7, and further including stripper shoe means for guiding the cast bar out of said mold outlet, said stripper shoe means being mounted on said pivot arm means whereby the angular position of said stripper shoe means with respect to said mold outlet will be maintained constant as said pivot arm means is rotated to vary the position of said mold outlet.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 7, and further including roller means for supporting the cast bar after it exits said mold outlet, said roller means being mounted on said pivot arm means whereby the angular position of said roller means with respect to said mold outlet will be maintained constant as said pivot arm means is rotated to vary the position of said mold outlet.

Claim 11

The combination of claim 2, said casting machine further including cooling means including arcuate side spray headers disposed about a portion of the periphery of said casting wheel for emitting a cooling fluid spray against the outer sides of said casting groove and an arcuate band spray header disposed about a portion of the periphery of said casting wheel for emitting a cooling fluid spray against said band, and wherein said band spray header as well as said side spray headers are mounted to the sides of said casting wheel thereby facilitating unobstructed movement of at least one of said at least two guide wheels about said casting wheel during changing of the length of said mold.

Claim 12

In a wheel-band type continuous casting machine for casting molten metal into a continuous bar comprising a rotatable casting wheel having a casting groove formed in the periphery thereof which is closed along a portion of its length by an endless band forming a casting mold therewith, said band having inner and outer surfaces and being guided about said casting wheel by a plurality of guide wheels with said inner surface engaging said guide wheels and said outer surface engaging said casting wheel, said band initially engaging the periphery of said casting wheel at a first point defining a mold inlet and disengaging said casting wheel at a second point defining a mold outlet, the improvement comprising means for synchronously moving at least two of said guide wheels to vary the angular position of said second point with respect to said casting wheel and reduce the length of the casting mold to any one of a number of different mold lengths using the same endless band.

Claim 13

In a wheel-band type continuous casting machine for casting molten metal into a continuous bar comprising a rotatable casting wheel having a casting groove formed in the periphery thereof which is closed along a portion of its length by an endless band forming a casting mold therewith, said band having inner and outer surfaces and being guided about said casting wheel by a plurality of guide wheels with said inner surface engaging said guide wheels and said outer surface engaging said casting wheel, said band initially engaging the periphery of said casting wheel at a first point defining a mold inlet and disengaging said casting wheel at a second point defining a mold outlet, the improvement comprising means for synchronously moving at least two of said guide wheels to vary the angular position of said second point with respect to said casting wheel and reduce the length of the casting mold to any one of a number of different mold lengths using the same endless band.

Claim 14

In a wheel-band type continuous casting machine for casting molten metal into a continuous bar comprising a rotatable casting wheel having a casting groove formed in the periphery thereof which is closed along a portion of its length by an endless band forming a casting mold of a given length therewith, said band initially engaging the periphery of said wheel at a first point defining a mold inlet and disengaging said wheel at a second point defining a mold outlet; the improvement comprising means for rotating the casting wheel at a first rate of rotation, means positioned adjacent the mold inlet for pouring molten metal into said inlet at a rate consonant with the first rate of rotation of the casting wheel, means associated with the casting machine for applying a cooling medium against the mold surfaces to obtain a cooling gradient across the molten metal in the casting mold to at least partially solidify the molten metal therein, means operatively associated with said pouring means and applying means for controlling the pouring means and the cooling medium applying means to establish an equilibrium casting condition, means operatively associated with said rotating means for increasing the rotation rate of the casting wheel to a second rate of rotation after establishment of said equilibrium casting condition, means associated with said endless band for decreasing the length of the band covering the casting groove during the casting operation and after establishment of said equilibrium casting condition, and means associated with said casting machine for applying a cooling medium directly against the at least partly solidified metal in the casting groove exposed by the decreasing of the length of the band covering the casting groove to thereby maintain said cooling gradient at the increased casting rate.

Claim 15

In a wheel-band type continuous casting machine for casting molten metal into a continuous bar comprising a rotatable casting wheel having a casting groove formed in the periphery thereof which is closed along a portion of its length by an endless band forming a casting mold of a given length therewith, said band initially engaging the periphery of said wheel at a first point defining a mold inlet and disengaging said wheel at a second point defining a mold outlet; the improvement comprising means for rotating the casting wheel at a first rate of rotation, means positioned adjacent the mold inlet for pouring molten metal into said inlet at a rate consonant with the first rate of rotation of the casting wheel, means associated with the casting machine for applying a cooling medium against the mold surfaces to obtain a cooling gradient across the molten metal in the casting mold to at least partially solidify the molten metal therein, means operatively associated with said pouring means and applying means for controlling the pouring means and the cooling medium applying means to establish an equilibrium casting condition, means operatively associated with said rotating means for increasing the rotation rate of the casting wheel to a second rate of rotation after establishment of said equilibrium casting condition, means associated with said endless band for decreasing the length of the band covering the casting groove during the casting operation and after establishment of said equilibrium casting condition, and means associated with said casting machine for applying a cooling medium directly against the at least partly solidified metal in the casting groove exposed by the decreasing of the length of the band covering the casting groove to thereby maintain said cooling gradient at the increased casting rate.

Claim 20

A method of casting molten metal as defined in claim 14 wherein the step of decreasing the length of band covering the casting groove is accomplished by moving the position of the mold outlet closer to the position of the mold inlet.

Claim 21

A method of casting molten metal as defined in claim 15, and further including synchronously maintaining the same band tension during the step of moving the position of the mold outlet whereby a portion of the band is continuously maintained in contact with the casting groove as the length of the mold is reduced, thereby facilitating said reduction in mold length during the casting operation.