In-line rotational casting apparatus

Claim 1

Spin casting apparatus for molding hollow objects comprising: a. loading conveyor adapted to receive at fixed intervals and to transport continuously a sucession of lower mold halves, b. conveyor-synchronized fill dispenser including a dispenser head having at least one fill nozzle adapted to dispense a castable liquid adapted to form a hollow object by spin-casting into said lower mold halves in the course of the transporting thereof by said loading conveyor, said dispenser including means to lower said dispenser head from a starting position to a fill elevation position, to transport said head in said fill elevation position, in synchronization with said loading conveyor, to raise said dispenser head to a return elevation position, and to return said dispenser head in said return elevation position to said starting position, said dispenser including further means to dispense said fill liquid in said recepticle in the course of said synchronized movement. c. loader for receiving sucessive mold assemblies comprising lower mold halves, castable liquid therein, and upper mold halves mated therewith and upper and lower mold half clamping means, from said loading conveyor and transferring said mold assemblies to successively presented traveling chucks, said loader including a dead plate onto which said mold assemblies are transferred by said conveyor, including a stop member to limit the travel of said mold assemblies and push bar loading means to push each of said mold assemblies perpendicularly with respect to said conveyor motion in timed sequence with said traveling chucks whereby each of said successively transferred mold assemblies is engaged to one of said successively presented chucks, d. continuous spin caster comprising an elongated carrier means for said traveling chucks, said chucks being linearly spaced from one another along a horizontally disposed carrier means center line, further including means for continuously moving each of said chucks in a helical path about said carrier means center line, from a chuck loading position to a chuck unloading position at a predetermined rate such that the elapsed time for travel of a chuck from said loading position to said unloading position is not less than the time required for said casting material to harden in said mold, said spin caster further including means for continuously rotating each of said chucks about an axis radially projecting from said carrier means center line; e. semi-automatic piercer adapted to form vent holes in all of molded objects disposed in said mold assemblies, said piercer comprising a tabletop adapted to receive a mold assembly with at least one perforation corresponding to the position of a molded object in said mold assembly and stop members adapted to receive and abut said mold assembly on three sides thereof, said piercer further including a manually activated swinging arm assembly having a piercing element disposed beneath said tabletop perforation and adapted upon upward swinging thereof to protrude through said perforations and to pierce hollow molded objects disposed thereat.