Chill Preventing Arrangement for Use in Centrifugal Casting and Method for Preventing Chill Thereby

The present invention relates to centrifugal casting and more particularly, to a chill preventing arrangement for use in centrifugal casting and method for preventing chill thereby.

Generally, in the centrifugal casting of metal, especially that of metal tubing or pipes and the like, there is employed a metal mold D or die as shown in FIG. 1 which normally includes a hollow cylindrical main body 1, an end plate E fitted into one end 1a or spigot portion of the main body 1 and having a central opening Ea substantially smaller in diameter than the internal diameter of the main body 1, and another end plate C releasably fitted into the other end 1b of the main body 1 and having a central opening Ca also smaller in diameter than the internal diameter of the main body 1 for preventing molten metal from running out of the ends 1a and 1b during casting. The molten metal m is poured into the mold main body 1 rotated by suitable means (not shown) at high speeds, via a spout S which enters the main body 1 through the central opening Ca in the end plate C, and the metal is distributed evenly over the entire inner surface of the main body 1 to form a hollow cylindrical or tubular casting as indicated at mc through centrifugal force. In the process of the centrifugal casting as described above, it is known to apply a coating composition including a parting agent onto the inner surface 1c or molding surface of the mold main body 1 prior to pouring the molten metal m into the mold 1, so as to form a refractory coating or lining (not shown) on such molding surface 1c for protecting the mold D from fusing by the heat of the molten metal m, and also for preventing the metal m from excessively rapid cooling which will give rise to formation of undesirable chills in the resultant castings. Such coating composition is normally sprayed, through a nozzle (not shown) mounted at one end of a supply pipe or applicator lance (not shown), onto the molding surface 1c of the rotating mold D in a direction perpendicular to or somewhat inclined to the molding surface 1c as the applicator lance advances horizontally into the hollow interior of the mold main body 1.

In the conventional arrangement as described above, known as the one coating-one casting method wherein the coating is renewed at each casting, however, it is difficult to sufficiently apply the coating composition onto the inner surface Eb of the end plate E whose surface is directed at right angles to the molding surface 1c whether the coating composition is sprayed onto the molding surface 1c in a direction perpendicular or rather inclined thereto, since the spraying is mainly directed toward the molding surface 1c, thus resulting in the formation of chills particularly at the corresponding end or spigot portion of the resultant casting which contacts the inner surface Eb of the end plate E due to rapid cooling imparted by plate E. Although the drawbacks as described above may be overcome by applying the coating composition separately onto the inner surface Eb of the end plate E at each casting, such a procedure is actually impractical, not only complicating the working process, but also resulting in reduction of productivity to a large extent. Accordingly, it is naturally required that the coating for the inner surface Eb of the end plate E, if to be formed, should be of a durable nature.

In order to meet the above requirements, there have conventionally been proposed various countermeasures wherein refractory material mainly of molten silica embedded in grooves formed in the inner surface Eb of the end plate E is calcined or wherein durable coating of known caking agents, for example, of phosphate, soluble glass and the like is applied onto the inner surface Eb or in which refractory ceramic material is applied through flame spraying onto the surface Eb to a thickness of 0.45 to 0.7 mm. Each of such countermeasures, however, has its weak point either in durability of the coating or in chill prevention effect, thus there being none which fully meets the desired requirements.

Accordingly, an essential object of the present invention is to provide a chill preventing arrangement for use in centrifugal casting and a method for preventing chill formation thereby which is capable of positively imparting a chill preventing effect of sufficient durability to an end plate of a metal mold.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a chill preventing arrangement of the above described type and a method for preventing chill formation thereby in which a coating of ceramic material is applied onto an inner surface or molten metal contacting surface of an end plate for the prevention of chill formation at corresponding end portions of resultant castings.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a chill preventing arrangement of the above described type and a method for preventing chill formation thereby in which ceramic material is embedded in an annular groove formed at an inner surface or molten metal contacting surface of an end plate for the prevention of chill formation at corresponding end portions of resultant castings.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the end plate to be fitted into a spigot portion of a metal mold for use in centrifugal casting of tubular castings includes a circular metallic base plate having a central opening substantially smaller in diameter than the internal diameter of a main body of the metal mold, an intermediate layer of metallic alloy such as nickel-chromium alloy or molybdenum formed by flame or plasma spraying on a surface of the metallic base plate which contacts molten metal for casting in the metal mold, and a coating of ceramic material such as alumina, zirconia and the like more than 0.7 mm thick formed on the intermediate layer by flame or plasma spraying, by which arrangement, tubular castings free from chilling especially at the corresponding end portions or spigot portions thereof are advantageously obtained through provision of the ceramic coating having high durability and heat insulating properties, with substantial elimination of the disadvantages inherent in the conventional arrangements for preventing chill formation.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which;

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a metal mold for use in centrifugal casting fitted with a conventional end plate which has already been discussed,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but with the metal mold fitted with an end plate according to one embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a similar view to FIG. 2, but with the metal mold fitted with a modified end plate according to the present invention, and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the modified end plate employed in the metal mold of FIG. 3, with the metal mold removed for clarity.

Before the description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be noted that like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the several views of the attached drawings.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown an end plate 10 of the invention which is fitted into the one end 1a of the main body 1 of the metal mold D. The end plate 10 of circular disc-like shape has a central opening 10a smaller in diameter than the internal diameter of the main body 1 as described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be noted here that the present invention is directly related to the application of ceramic coating 10c onto the inner surface or molten metal contacting surface 10b of the end plate 10 which contacts the molten metal m so as to utilize the heat insulating properties and durability of the ceramic coating 10c for preventing chill formation in the corresponding end portion of the resultant tubular casting mc. The heat insulating properties of the ceramic coating 10c are particularly effective for reducing heat emission from the molten metal m and the corresponding end portion of the resultant tubular casting mc to prevent chilling at such end portions. For the application of the ceramic coating 10c onto the surface 10b of the end plate 10, it is necessary to prevent deterioration of peel resistance of the ceramic coating 10c, due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of the metallic base material of the end plate 10 and the ceramic coating 10c. According to the present invention, the inner surface 10b of the end plate 10 is preliminarily made rough, for example, by shot blasting, with the subsequent application of a nickel-alumina or nickel-chromium powdered alloy (For example at the ratio of 80 to 20 by weight percentage) onto the surface 10b by flame or plasma spraying to form an intermediate layer 10d thereon, onto which layer 10d, the ceramic material is applied through flame spraying to form the ceramic coating 10c of more than 0.7 mm in thickness. The ceramic coating 10c thus formed on the end plate 10 through the intermediate layer 10d is superior in peel resistance, with excellent durability and chill preventing effect. In addition, if the known coating composition described with reference to FIG. 1 is applied, through the one-coating method, onto the ceramic coating 10c, further improvement in the durability and chill prevention effect can be achieved. Tabulated hereinbelow are comparative test results of actual castings wherein the end plates applied with the conventional durable coating and the end plate coated with the ceramic material according to the present invention are employed.

As is clear from the foregoing description, by the employment of the end plate coated with the ceramic material according to the present invention, hollow cylindrical or tubular castings free from chilling especially at the end portions thereof are readily obtained by centrifugal casting, thus contributing to improvements in the quality of such cylindrical castings to a large extent. Furthermore, the ceramic coating according to the invention having by far the higher durability than the conventional durable coatings is quite advantageous from the viewpoint of productivity.

It should be noted here that the present invention is particularly characterized in that the excellent chill preventing effect with high durability is obtained by the combination of the intermediate layer of metallic alloy formed on the molten metal contacting surface of the end plate and the coating of ceramic material more than 0.7 mm thick further formed on the intermediate layer.

It should also be noted that although the present invention is mainly described with reference to the centifugal casting employing the so called one coating-one casting method, the concept of the present invention is readily applicable to other centrifugal casting methods, and that the ceramic coating described as effected to the inner surface of the end plate in the above embodiment may further be applied onto the molding surface of the main body of the metal mold for increasing the chill preventing effect thereof, depending on necessity.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 2. In this modification, the ceramic coating 10c described as applied onto the entire surface 10b of the end plate 10 is replaced by a ceramic layer 10c' of alumina, zirconia or the like embedded, through flame or plasma spray coating, into a groove g concentrically formed in the molten metal contacting surface 10b' of the end plate 10', with the surface of the ceramic layer 10c' being flush with and exposed from the surface 10b' of the end plate 10'. For the formation of the ceramic layer 10c', the groove g approximately 10 mm wide and more than 0.7 mm deep is formed concentrically in the surface 10b' of the end plate 10' by machining means such as a lathe or the like. Prior to embedding of the ceramic material into the groove g, for example, by the flame spray coating, the entire inner surface of groove g is roughened, for example, by shot blasting, and thereafter, powdered nickel-chromium alloy or molybdenum and the like is flame-sprayed into the groove g to form an intermediate layer 10d' in the groove g for preventing peeling of the ceramic material due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of the metallic base material of the end plate 10' and the ceramic material. Subsequently, the ceramic material such as alumina, zirconia or the like is flame-sprayed onto the intermediate layer 10d' to form the ceramic layer 10c' more than 0.7 mm in thickness thereon so that the surface of the ceramic layer 10c' exposed from the molten metal contacting surface 10b' is flush with surface 10b'. In this case, if the surface of the ceramic layer 10c' is required to be particularly smooth, it is preferable to finish the same surface for smoothness with a diamond grinding wheel or the like. It should be noted here that in the present invention, the thickness of the ceramic layer 10c' is determined to be more than 0.7 mm, since any thicknesses less than 0.7 mm are hardly effective for chill prevention. Tabulated hereinbelow are comparative test results for chill prevention effect and durability in actual castings wherein the conventional end plates and the end plate of FIGS. 3 and 4 are employed.

As is seen from the foregoing description, the modified end plate 10' of FIGS. 3 and 4 shows best result in the chill preventing effect and durability of the end plate itself. Furthermore, in the modified end plate 10' of the invention, since the ceramic material such as alumina, zirconia or the like is embedded in the groove formed in the molten metal contacting surface of the end plate through the flame spray means, unlike the conventional refractory materials which inevitably require calcination, the superior refractory and heat insulating properties of the embedded ceramic material advantageously prevent the chill formation in the resultant castings. In addition, the rigid adhesion of the ceramic layer into the groove in comparison with the formation of the ceramic coating on the flat surface of the end plate makes it possible to increase the ceramic layer to sufficient thickness without danger of peeling, thus resulting in improved durability, with the chill prevention effect lasts for a longer period of time. Moreover, according to the end plate of the invention, not only castings of stable quality without chilling are readily obtained, but the durability of the metal mold itself is largely improved.

It should be noted that the present invention is particularly characterized in that the excellent chill preventing effect with high durability is obtained by the formation of the intermediate layer of metallic alloy in the groove formed in the molten metal contacting surface of the end plate and the formation of the coating of ceramic material more than 0.7 mm thick on the intermediate layer.

It should also be noted here that although the present invention is mainly described with reference to the end plates 10 and 10' to be fitted into the spigot portion 1a of the metal mold D, similar arrangements may of course be made to the end cap C to be fitted into the other end 1b of the metal mold D, depending on necessity, in which case, however, if a known core member (not shown), for example, of resin-sand (silica sand fixed by phenolic resin and the like) is disposed in the end portion 1b of the metal mold D in a position adjacent to and in contact with the end plate C with the opening Ca of the end plate C acting as a vent hole, formation of such ceramic coating on the inner surface of the end plate C is not particularly necessary.

It is needless to say that the concept of the present invention is not limited in its application to the metal mold for the centrifugal casting referred to in the foregoing description, but is readily applicable to any other casting molds wherein the prevention of chilling is required.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example with reference to the attached drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as included therein.