GB1160934A - A Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Wire and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

1,160,934. Continuous casting machines. BATTELLE DEVELOPMENT CORP. 4 July, 1967 [6 July, 1966], No. 30633/67. Heading B3F. [Also in Divisions F4, G1 and G3] In the continuous casting of products such as metallic wire or strip, molten material M is fed from a reservoir 1 through a pipe 7 and nozzle 10 under constant pressure and temperature conditions to form a convex meniscus at the orifice of the nozzle which is continually wiped away by the upward moving surface of a cooled constant temperature drum 16 on which the material soldifies. At the start of casting a meniscus is formed at the nozzle 10 and the reservoir 1, mounted in a chamber 2 resting on an adjustable support 6, is adjusted vertically and/or horizontally until the moving surface of the drum 16 touches the meniscus and starts to form the continuous product. The chamber 2 includes electrical heaters 5 and 9, thermocouples 14 and 15, and control devices 12 and 13 for keeping the molten material in the reservoir 1 and the pipe 7 at a constant temperature above its melting point. Constant pressure at the nozzle 10 is achieved by either controlling the level of the molten material above the level of the nozzle 10 or by varying the pressure in the chamber 2, e.g. starting at a pressure less than atmospheric and gradually raising it. To keep the level of the molten material constant a piston 29 is gradually lowered into the reservoir 1, or alternatively a bar (43), (Fig. 2, not shown), of the same material as being cast is gradually lowered into the molten material and melted thereby. Detecting electrodes 38, 39 switch off, by means of relay 37, the motor 30 lowering the piston 29 or bar 43 when the level of molten material rises to a predetermined level. The rotating drum 16 is kept at a constant temperature by providing a coolant flow therethrough of water from a bath 18 containing a cold water coil 19, an electric heating element 20 and a thermocouple 26 that keep the water temperature constant. The cast product solidifies on the drum 16 and appropriate take-off means, e.g. roll systems, may be used to separate the product from the drum. The speed of rotation of the drum may be adjusted to control the solidification of the cast product. The shape of the cast product is determined by the shape of the nozzle 10 and a rolling operation may be carried out on the drum 16, by means of a separate roller, to flatten or reduce the thickness of the east product. The drum 16 is cleaned by a wiper 36. Inert gas, e.g. argon, may be provided in the chamber 2. The method of casting may be used to produce aluminium fibres by rotating the drum 16 at high speeds, and for casting materials such as brittle intermetallic compounds or metallic oxides.