GB2045131A - Mould element for use in the casting of steel chain - Google Patents

Abstract

The mould element (10) for use in the casting of steel chain using a plurality of such elements, has the impression (12) of a half chain link at each end, the mould element in addition having apertures (14) opening from its opposite ends within the confines of the mould impression (12). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION An improvement in or relating to the casting of steel chain The invention relates to the casting of steel chain and has for its object to provide an improvement therein.

It is already known to pre-cast what are to be the alternate links in a steel chain and then to connect the pre-cast links using a complicated arrangement of cores for casting connecting links which then need to be fettled. The object of the present invention is to cast a complete length of chain using a simple construction of connected mould elements, the mould elements being such that the links of the finished length of chain require less fettling than hitherto and such that by virtue of their simple form the mould elements can be produced very easily and assembled together very easily.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a mould element for use in the casting of steel chain, the mould element having the impression of a half chain link at each end, that is to say, each impression being of substantially half the length of a link and half the thickness of the link, and the mould element in addition having appertures opening from its opposite ends, said apertures being within the confines of the mould impressions at the opposite ends of the element, the arrangement being such that a plurality of such elements can be assembled together for the casting of a continuous length of steel chain, some pairs of the elements being arranged end to end in a particular plane and the remaining pairs of elements being arranged in a plane substantially at right angles thereto but in staggered relation, that is to say, the longitudinal disposition of the mould elements in one plane being offset by half the length of each element from the disposition of the pairs of mould elements in the other plane. The mould element will preferably be a thin walled plate-like element and may be made of an inert fibre material.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of casting steel chain, the method including the assembly together of a plurality of the mould elements described above, that is to say the assembly together of some of the pairs of mould elements end to end in a particular plane and the assembly together of the remaining pairs of elements in a plane substantially at right angles thereto but in staggered relation, the longitudinal disposition of the mould elements in one plane being offset by half the length of each element from the disposition of the pairs of mould elements in the other plane. The method may include the assembly together of the mould elements, in the manner described, in a mould box and the surrounding of the assembled mould elements with sand or with any other convenient filling material capable of holding the mould elements together.In addition, the method may include the steps of covering the mould box with a sheet of synthetic plastics material, inducing a reduced pressure in the material surrounding the mould elements in the mould box and thereby sealing the covering sheet against the upper edges of the mould box and compacting the said material, and pouring moulten metal to product a length of steel chain whilst maintaining the reduced pressure in the mould box.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of exampie only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mould element for producing cast chain by the inventive method, Figure 2 is a schematic view of a plurality of such mould elements assembled together prior to the casting of a length of steel chain, and Figure 3 is a schematic view of the end of the mould box in which a plurality of the mould elements have been assembled together.

Referring now to the drawings, the mould element illustrated in Figure 1 is in the nature of a thin walled plate-like element 10, the wall thickness of the element being in the region of 1 Om.m. The mould element illustrated has been made of an insert fibre material, and has the impression 12 of part of a chain link at each end, each impression being of half the length of a link and half the thickness of the link. It will be seen that to cast a complete chain link four such mould elements are required, that is to say a further mould element such as shown in chaindotted lines in Figure 1 and a further pair of similar mould elements laid upon them in inverted relation.

Referring now in particularto Figure 2, it will be seen that the mould elements are such that whilst pairs of elements are arranged in a particular plane other pairs of the elements can be arranged in a plane at right angles or substantially at right angles thereto but in staggered relation. That is to say, the longitudinal disposition of the pairs of mould elements in one plane is offset by half the length of each element from the disposition of the pairs of mould elements in the other plane.This is possible by virtue of the fact that each mould element has apertures 14 opening from its opposite ends, the apertures being within the confines of the mould impressions at the opposite ends of the elements, the arrangement being such that when the mould elements are assembled together, the central part of each element is disposed within the space provided by adjacent apertures 14 of the pairs of elements disposed on each side of it.

As best shown in Figure 3, the pairs of mould elements can be arranged in mutually perpendicular planes in a mould box 16 filled with sand 18 (or with any other conventient filling material capable of holding the mould elements together). In addition, the pairs of mould elements in one plane are shown to be provided with respective risers 19, which are in contact with casting cavities 12, for the feeding of the molten metal into the link cavities. The various cores, passages and channels in the mould elements, indicated 22, 24 and 26 in the drawings, are all part of a runner system through which molten metal is able to flow from the pairs of mould elements in one plane to the pairs of mould elements in the other plane.

Thus there is provided a novel method of casting steel chain which it is thought will be advantageous over methods at present employed for casting steel chain. By virtue of the fact that all the mould elements are alike, except for differences dictated by the manner in which molten metal is to be fed to the mould elements through the runner system, their assembly together is a very simple operation and one which can-be carried out by semi-skilled work ers. The preformed mould element can of course be made of various materials but can be produced very cheaply in an inert fibre material. The surface finish of the mould elements may be such that the resulting chain links will require no extensive fettling but only the removal of the metal elements which have solidified in the runner and riser system.

It should perhaps be made clearthatthe required thickness of the mould elements will depend upon the size of the chain links being produced, the smallest dimension probably being in the region of 5m.m. thick. The mould elements required for the production of very large chain links may need to be substantially thicker but the elements will still be thin walled in relation to their overall size.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, although not essential it will probably be advantageous to use the known technique of covering the mould box with a sheet of synthetic plastics material, inducing a reduced pressure in the material 18 surrounding the pattern elements in the mould box and thereby sealing the covering sheet against the upper edges of the mould box and compacting the material 18, and pouring molten metal to produce a length of steel chain whilst maintaining the reduced pressure in the mould box. It will also be understood that various means may be employed for facilitating the assembly of the pairs of mould elements in the mould box, that is to say including dowel elements for ensuring the exact location of each mould element upon ensuring the exact location of each mould element upon another element constituting its opposite mould half. In addition, various clamps and pins may be used for locating the mould elements together end to end.

It will be understood that instead of employing a runner and riser system in the mould box 16, there could be separate risers connected to the pairs of mould elements, but of course in this case the pouring of the molten metal would be much slower process and one which would probably not besuitable for casting a relatively long length of chain.

Claims (8)

1. A mould element for use in casting of steel chain, the mould element having the impression of a half chain link at each end, that is to say, each impression being of substantially half the length of a link and half the thickness of the link, and the mould element in addition having apertures opening from its opposite ends, said aperatures being within the confines of the mould impressions at the opposite ends of the element, the arrangement being such that a plurality of such elements can be assembled togetherforthe casting of a continuous length of steel chain, some pairs of the elements being arranged end to end in a particular plane and the remaining pairs of elements being arranged in a plane substantially at right angles thereto but in staggered relation, that is to say, the longitudinal disposition of the mould elements in one plane being offset by half the length of each element from the disposition of the pairs of mould elements in the other plane.

2. A mould element according to claim 1, formed -as a thin walled plate like element, that is to say- having awall thickness in the region of 10m.m.

3. A mould element according to claim 2, made of an inert fibre material.

4. A method of casting steel chain, the method including the assembly together of a plurality of the mould elements according to any one of the preced ing claims, that is to say the assembly together of some of the pairs of mould elements end to end in a particular plane and the assembly together of the remaining pairs of elements in a plane substantially at right angles thereto but in staggered relation;the longitudinal disposition of the mould elements in one plane being offset by half the length of each element from the disposition of the pairs of mould elements in the other plane.

5. The method according to claim 4, including the assembly together of the mould elements, in the manner described, in a mould box and the surrounding of the assembled mould elements with sand or with any other convenient filling material capable of holding the mould elements together

6. The method according to claim 5,-including the further steps of covering the mould box with a sheet of synthetic plastics material, including a reduced pressure in the material surrounding the mould elements in the mould box and thereby sealing the covering sheet against the upper edges of the mould box and compacting the said material, and pouring molten metal to produce a length of steel chain whilst maintaining the reduced pressure in the mould box.

7. A mould element for use in the casting of steel chain, the mould element being constructed arranged and adapted to be used substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

8. A method of casting steel chain, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.