JP3493580B2 - Method of casting thin die-cast products and casting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to casting of thin-walled die-cast products, in which, for example, a battery case or other die-casting housing can be molded to a thin wall thickness of about 0.1 to 0.4 mm. The present invention relates to a method and a casting apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Aluminum has been traditionally considered to have excellent lightness, plastic workability and corrosion resistance. Therefore, aluminum, copper, magnesium, zinc, silicon, lithium, nickel, chromium, manganese, iron, zirconium, etc. are added to it. It is known that alloying can impart improved mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, low thermal expansion coefficient, and the like. These aluminum and aluminum alloys are widely used by being cast into various molded products in various fields including household products and industrial products by, for example, the die casting method.

The die casting method is, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a fixed die plate 10 to which a fixed die 102 is attached.
1, the movable die plate 103 to which the movable die 104 is attached is movably arranged so as to face each other, and the sleeve 105 provided on the fixed die plate 101 is followed by the die sleeve 106 provided on the fixed die 102. , Fixed type 1
02, in the cavity 107 formed corresponding to the die-cast product G on the mating surface of the movable mold 104, the ladle 10
Molten metal M such as aluminum alloy, zinc alloy, magnesium, or brass, which has been supplied to the sleeve 106 from 8 or the like, is forcibly injected and supplied by the injection cylinder 109. A tip 110 that slides back and forth inside the sleeves 105 and 106 is provided at the tip of the injection cylinder 109, and the molten metal M is filled in the cavity 107 at high speed and high pressure by the operation of the injection cylinder 109. Is there.

Further, the molten metal M supplied through the gate in association with the injection supply at high speed and high pressure by the injection cylinder 109.
In order to discharge the gas or the like caught in the sleeve 105 and the cavity 107, an overflow portion 111 is provided continuously from the cavity 107 as shown in FIG. 6 or a chill belt portion 112 is provided as shown in FIG. I am doing it. In the figure, reference numeral 113 is a runner, 114 is a gate, and 115 is a biscuit.

[0005]

However, when a thin product having a small wall thickness, for example, about 0.4 mm is cast by the conventional die casting method, the sleeves 105 and 106 into which the molten metal M is injected because the injection speed is high. The gas in the inside, the gas in the cavity 107, etc. were entrained, the filling time was extremely short, and the gas was left as it was inside the product because it solidified during that time, and it was inevitably a defective product. Moreover, the conventional thin-walled product is disclosed in
000-218357, its wall thickness is 0.4
The thickness is about mm, and it is extremely difficult to mold a thin product having a thickness of less than 10 mm by the conventional casting system and casting process as described above.

Further, when forming a thin product, it is necessary to complete the filling in a short time because the molten metal M must be formed before it is solidified.
At the conventional gate position, the molten metal M is not sufficiently filled in the entire area of the cavity 107, resulting in a defective product in which the molten metal M is partially not filled. Not only that, but in the case of die-cast products with an open hollow structure, for example, because the molten metal M contracts during molding and cooling, it is necessary to set a draft in the core, etc., so the product shape, design, etc. are restricted. Met.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above existing circumstances, and improves the flow of molten metal into the cavity to enable the casting of thin products.
A thin die cast product having a thin wall thickness of, for example, 0.4 mm or less and up to about 0.1 mm can be cast, and the shrinkage action of the molten metal can be reduced by reducing the product wall thickness. It is an object of the present invention to provide a casting method for a thin die cast product and a casting apparatus for the product, which enables casting of a product which does not require setting of a draft, which is a common knowledge in products.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, in the casting method according to the present invention, the first is
Molten metal M is injected into the cavity 3 and solidified to cast a thin die cast product G. The molten metal M is directly injected into the cavity 3 through the runner 2 and communicated with the runner 2. The molten metal M is injected from each direction of the cavity 3 via the press-fitting gate 12 communicating with the sub-gate 11 arranged around the cavity 3, and the molten metal M is arranged on the opposite side of the cavity 3 from the injection side by the runner 2. Overflow provided in communication with
The molten metal M is pressed into the overflow 13 side along the injection direction from the runner 2 to the cavity 3 side.
The molten metal M flows entirely inside the cavity 3
The molten metal M is injected into the inside. Second, the auxiliary cavity portion 21 is placed in communication with the runner 2 that guides the molten metal M into the cavity 3 through the discharge gate 22 at a position opposite to the runner 2, and the molten metal M to be injected into the cavity 3 is injected into the cavity 3. It is pressed into the auxiliary cavity portion 21 through the discharge gate 22. The volume of the auxiliary cavity portion 21 is determined by the die cast product G to be cast.
The volume can be approximately the same as or about 1/2 of the volume. Thirdly, in casting the die-cast product G having an open hollow structure by sliding the core member 35 forward and backward in the cavity 3 formed in the fixed mold 31,
Molten metal M that is injected and guided through the runner 2 is injected into the cavity 3 through an injection gate 32 that is arranged along a diagonal line of one side surface of the rectangular shape of the die-cast product G having an open hollow structure that is to be cast. It is to inject up to the overflow 33 provided so as to communicate with 3.

In the casting apparatus used in the above casting method, the first is to solidify the molten metal M injected into the cavity 3 formed corresponding to the die cast product G to be cast. A thin die casting product G is cast with a runner 2 for guiding and injecting the molten metal M into the cavity 3, and the runner 2 is arranged around the cavity 3 so as to communicate with the runner 2 and communicates around the cavity 3 through a press-fitting gate 12. And the overflow 13 which is arranged above the sub-gate 11 and communicates with the sub-gate 11, and which presses the molten metal M press-fitted into the cavity 3 from the runner 2 and the sub-gate 11 through the cavity 3. Be prepared. Secondly, the auxiliary cavity portion 2 passes through the discharge gate 22 at a position opposite to the runner 2 for injecting and guiding the molten metal M into the cavity 3.
The auxiliary cavity portion 21 may have a volume that is substantially the same as or approximately half the volume of the die-cast product G to be cast. Thirdly, inside the cavity 3 formed in the fixed mold 31,
The die-cast product G having an open hollow structure is cast by sliding the core member 35 back and forth, and the die-cast product G having an open hollow structure is cast on the cavity 3 surface along one side surface of the rectangular shape of the die-cast product G having an open hollow structure. The injection gate 32 is arranged along the diagonal line of one side, and the cavity 3
An overflow 33 is provided so as to communicate with the.
Further, the die 1 and 31 are provided with an extruding pin material 14 for reducing the extruding pressure per unit area of the die casting product G at the extruding tip surface so that the solidified die casting product G is extruded from the die 1 and 31 and taken out. It can be configured by wearing.

In the method and apparatus for casting a thin die cast product according to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure,
The injection of the molten metal M into the cavities 3 and 42 causes the molten metal M to uniformly and evenly spread over the entire cavities 3 and 42, and the thin die-cast product G conforming to the inner shape of the cavities 3 and 42. To cast. General injection along the injection direction into the cavity 3 via the press-fitting gate 12 from the sub-gate 11 arranged around the cavity 3, and press-fitting into the auxiliary cavity portion 21 via the discharge gate 22 accompanying the injection into the cavity 3. Does not allow the molten metal M to remain in the cavity 3 and allows the molten metal M to be supplied and left in the cavity 3 during injection solidification, which is more stable in quality than the molten metal M in the initial stage of injection, for example, gas that has been entrained. ,
A die-cast product G having stable quality is cast. When the die cast product G having an open hollow structure is cast by the core member 35 moving forwards and backwards inside the cavity 3, the injection gate 32 arranged along the diagonal line of the die cast product G.
The molten metal M injected by passing through is smoothly fluidized in its entirety even in the slight gap between the core member 35 and the cavity 3 to cast a thin product. In the forward embossing by the molding part 44 to the molten metal M portion in the runner 43, the embossed thin-walled product is driven and cast into the molten metal M during the process of pouring and solidifying which is stable in quality. The extruded pin material 14 for extruding the solidified die-cast product G from the dies 1 and 31 and taking it out is smaller than the die-cast product G at the time of taking-out because the extruding pressure on the die-cast product G at the extruding tip surface is small. It does not cause distortion or deformation.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, in order to explain an embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.
Is a fixed or movable mold in which the cavity 3 is formed on the mating surface of each other, and is shown as a fixed mold in the drawing. Then, in the mold 1, the molten metal M supplied from the ladle is forcedly injected into the cavity 3 by the runner 2 through the sleeve and the mold sleeve as in the conventional case, and the die cast product G along the cavity shape is molded. It is like this. The cavity 3 is recessed into a concave shape corresponding to the shape of the die cast product G to be molded, and the wall thickness of the die cast product G is 0.4 mm.
In the following, the depth is about 0.1 mm and the depth of the depression is slight. Of course, the thickness may be 0.4 mm or more as long as it corresponds to the required thickness of the die-cast product G.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the molten metal M is injected into the cavity 3,
By the sub-gate 11 which is communicated with the runner 2 and arranged around the cavity 3 and is communicated with the periphery of the cavity 3 through the press-fitting gate 12, the overflow 13 is arranged above the sub-gate 11 and communicated with the sub-gate 11. The molten metal M from the cavity 3 is press-fitted. Then, the molten metal M is pressed into the overflow 3 side into the cavity 3 from the periphery thereof via the runner 2, the sub-gate 11 and the gate 12 or along the injection direction from the cavity 3 which is directly injected into the cavity 3. It is assumed that the molten metal M is rapidly injected by totally flowing in the cavity 3. For example, when the cavity 3 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, the gate 12 is arranged and formed on each side thereof, and one side is a gate by the runner 2 and the other three sides communicate with the sub-gate 11. It is as a thing.

In taking out the die-cast product G after casting in the first embodiment, the cavity 3 is used.
An extrusion pin material 14 protruding and retracting so as to project inward is provided in the mold 1. This extrusion pin material 14 has an extrusion tip surface abutting the die-cast product G different from that in a conventional round pin material for extrusion. For example, it is formed into a rectangular shape having a rectangular cross section (see FIG. 2) so as to be large, and the extrusion pressure per unit area for the die-cast product G by the extrusion tip surface is made small. That is, when the number of pins is small, the extrusion tip area of one extruded pin material 14 is increased, or the number of pins is increased so that the extrusion pressure of the extruded tip surface of one extruded pin material 14 is reduced. . By doing so, the extrusion contact area with respect to the die-cast product G is widened, so that it is possible to reduce distortion and deformation of the die-cast product G when the thin-walled die-cast product G is extruded and taken out after cooling with water cooling, for example.

The extruded pin material 14 may be formed such that the extruded tip end surface is wider than the base portion in area, for example, in a T shape when viewed from the side, a flared end, or the like. However, the extrusion pressure per unit area for the die-cast product G is set to be small, and in some cases, the shape of the extruded tip of the extruded pin material 14 is not made into a horizontally (longitudinal) long one-letter shape as shown in the drawing. It is also possible to change it to an appropriate shape such as a disk shape or a disk shape. In the figure, reference numeral 15 is an extruding plate for advancing and retracting the extruded pin material 14 having a reduced extruding pressure per unit area.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the cavity 3 formed corresponding to the die cast product G is formed.
In addition, an auxiliary cavity portion 21 is arranged to communicate with the runner 2 which guides the molten metal M into the cavity 3 through the gate 4 via the discharge gate 22 at a position opposed to the runner 2. Then, the molten metal M injected into the cavity 3 through the runner 2 is pressed into the auxiliary cavity portion 21 through the discharge gate 22 from the cavity 3 to smoothly inject the molten metal M into the cavity 3. There is.

The volume of the auxiliary cavity portion 21 is substantially the same as or about half of the volume of the die cast product G to be cast, and the casting conditions for the auxiliary cavity portion 21 as the die cast product G are set. By performing the above, the cavity 3 has a role similar to that of the conventional runner 2. By doing so, the injected molten metal M flows in the cavity 3 without stopping at the cavity 3 and enables casting of a thin product.

At the time of taking out the die-cast product G in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the push-out pin material 14 which can be retracted into and out of the cavity 3 installed in the mold 1 is removed. It is supposed to be used, and consideration is given to prevent the die cast product G from being distorted or deformed.

In the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an open hollow product is cast by a sliding core (35). Ie runner 2
A molten metal M, which is injected and guided via the injection gate 32, is disposed along a diagonal line of one side surface of the rectangular shape in the cavity 3 formed corresponding to the die-cast product G having an open hollow structure, for example, a rectangular box shape. An overflow 33 is formed by being formed in the split-type split mold 31 and communicating with the cavity 3 formed in the split mold 31. On the other hand, a taperless core member 35 which slides into the cavity 3 of the split mold 31 and enters or retreats into the cavity 3 is connected to a core movable cylinder 36. When the core member 35 is properly advanced and inserted into the cavity 3 without shaking, the gap between the inner surface of the cavity 3 and the outer surface of the core member 35 corresponds to the thickness of the die cast product G to be cast. They are separated by a minute (see FIG. 4 (B)). Reference numeral 37 in the figure is a biscuit.

The core member 3 is activated by the operation of the movable core cylinder 36.
The molten metal M is injected through the runner 2 and the injection gate 32 to press it into the overflow 33 in a state where 5 is introduced into the cavity 3 of the split mold 31.
The core member 35 is pulled out from the cavity 3 and retracted. At the time of injection into the cavity 3, the injection site is diagonal to the core member 35 and is in the injection direction along the advancing / retreating direction of the core member 35. Since the pressure becomes low and it is not necessary to set the draft, it is possible to make the die cast product G taperless.

Split mold 3 in the third embodiment
1 is a die-cast product G after solidification molding as shown in FIG.
Is formed so that it can be taken out, for example, it is formed so as to be divided into two parts, and its mating surface is the cavity 3
It is set at a position along the injection gate 32 arranged along the diagonal line on one side surface of the rectangular shape. In the figure, reference numeral 38 is an extruding plate for advancing and retracting the extruding pin material 14 having a small extruding pressure per unit area, and 39 is an inlet for the molten metal M.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 6, an appropriately shaped cavity 4 formed in the fixed mold 41.
By moving the molding portion 44 back and forth with respect to the molten metal M portion of the runner 43 communicating with 2, the thin die cast product G is molded into the molten metal M portion by embossing. In general, during casting, the runner 4 which has the slowest solidification time of the molten metal M and is structurally stable
The thin die cast product G is molded on the molten metal M portion in 3 even by the embossing method. The moving of the molding portion 44 is performed by the operation of the moving cylinder 45 in which the molding portion 44 is arranged and connected at the tip, and the molding portion 44 moves relative to the runner 43 at the same time when the filling of the molten metal M into the cavity 42 is completed. And move forward to perform molding,
By setting a gap corresponding to the wall thickness of the thin die cast product G between the inner surface of the runner 43 and the outer surface of the molding portion 44, the molding portion 44 is advanced and retracted. Reference numeral 47 in the figure is a biscuit.

The forming part 44 and the advancing / retreating cylinder 45 may be provided in either the fixed type or the movable type mold 1, and the forming part 44 can be moved forward and backward with respect to the runner 43 in which the molten metal M is left to be poured. You can
For example, it is arranged in the mold 1 in a hollow shape.

In any of the embodiments, in order to form a thin die cast product G, it is essential to prevent distortion and deformation during the extrusion operation and the mold opening operation. The die-cast product G is taken out after being sufficiently solidified by cooling. Further, the extruding pin material 14 used at the time of taking out the extruding pressure per unit area of the extruding tip surface with respect to the die-cast product G is formed by increasing the extruding tip area into, for example, a square shape or increasing the number of pins. It is set to be small.

[0024]

The present invention is configured as described above,
For this reason, the wall thickness of the cast product is made extremely thin, for example, 0.
It can be cast and molded as 4 mm or less and about 0.1 mm, and can be taken out without causing distortion after the molding, and the molten metal M in the cavities 3 and 42 can be taken out.
Not only can the strength of the product be increased because the filling rate can be increased, but there is no need to set a taper for the draft in the case of an open hollow structure, such as a box-shaped container, so a product with a good appearance can be obtained. It is possible to provide.

Further, when the molten metal M is injected into the cavity 3, the molten metal M is injected along the injection direction and is also injected into the sub-gate 11 which is in communication with the cavity 3 and is located on the side of the cavity 3 and injected. Since the molten metal M is press-fitted into the overflow 13 which is arranged on the side opposite to the side and communicates with the sub-gate 11, the molten metal M can be evenly and uniformly spread over the entire inside of the cavity 3 within the cavity 3. It is possible to cast a thin die-cast product G conforming to the shape.

The auxiliary cavity portion 21 passes through the discharge gate 22 at a position opposite to the runner 2 attached to the cavity 3.
Since the molten metal M is press-fitted from the cavity 3 to the auxiliary cavity portion 21 via the discharge gate 22, the molten metal M is not retained in the cavity 3 and the molten metal at the initial stage of injection, for example, gas Molten metal M, which is more stable in quality than M in the middle of injection, can be supplied and left in the cavity 3 and can be made stable in quality, and a thin die-cast product G is cast. Moreover, by making the volume of the auxiliary cavity portion 21 approximately the same as the volume of the die-cast product G to be cast or about 1/2 thereof, the quality can be made more stable.

Further, when the core member 35 is slid into and out of the cavity 3 to cast the die-cast product G having an open hollow structure, the die-cast product G having an open hollow structure is cast on a diagonal line on one side surface of the rectangular shape. Since the molten metal M is injected into the cavity 3 through the injection gate 32 arranged along the same, even in a slight gap between the core member 35 and the cavity 3 which are advanced in the cavity 3, there is no unevenness in the overall structure. It is possible to spread the molten metal M, and it is possible to stably cast, for example, a box-shaped product which is strong even if it is thin.

Simultaneously with the completion of the filling of the molten metal M into the cavity 42 with respect to the molten metal M portion of the runner 43 communicating with the cavity 42, the molding portion 44 is moved forward and backward, and the molding portion 44 impresses the molten metal M portion. Since a thin die-cast product G is formed into a mold by molding, it is possible to form a cast product using the molten metal M which is stable in quality during injection solidification, and efficiently casts an embossed thin product. it can.

Further, to the molds 1 and 31, the die-cast product G after solidification is pushed out from the molds 1 and 31 and taken out.
Since the extrusion pin material 14 for reducing the extrusion pressure per unit area of the die-cast product G on the extrusion tip surface is provided, even a thin die-cast product G does not cause distortion or deformation, The die-cast product G after cooling and solidification can be taken out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of an essential part showing a flow of molten metal and a die cast product at the time of molding in a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the die cast product according to the first embodiment when taken out.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of an essential part showing a flow of molten metal and a die cast product at the time of molding in the second embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a schematic perspective view of an essential part showing a flow of molten metal and a die-cast product at the time of molding in the third embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a split mold according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of an essential part showing a flow of molten metal and a die-cast product at the time of molding in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a mold during hot water supply and molding in a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view of an essential part showing a flow of molten metal and a die cast product at the time of molding in the same conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view of a main part showing a flow of molten metal and a die cast product at the time of molding in another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

G ... Die-cast product M ... Molten metal 1 ... Mold 2 ... Runner 3 ... Cavity 4 ... Gate 11 ... Sub gate 12 ... Press-fit gate 13 ... Overflow 14 ... Extrusion pin material 15 ... Extrusion plate 21 ... Auxiliary cavity 22 ... Exhaust gate 31 ... Split mold 32 ... Injection gate 33 ... Overflow 35 ... Core member 36 ... Core movable cylinder 37 ... Biscuit 38 ... Extrusion plate 39 ... Injection port 41 ... Fixed mold 42 ... Cavity 43 ... Runner 44 ... Molding section 45 ... Forward / backward cylinder 47 ... Biscuit 101 ... Fixed die plate 102 ... Fixed die 103 ... Movable die plate 104 ... Movable die 105 ... Sleeve 106 ... Mold sleeve 107 ... Cavity 108 ... Ladle 109 ... Injection cylinder 110 ... Chip 111 ... Overflow part 112 ... Chill belt Part 113 ... Runner 114 ... Gate 15 ... biscuits

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP 2001-198662 (JP, A) JP 8-168870 (JP, A) JP 8-197188 (JP, A) JP 6-210440 (JP, A) JP-A-9-267161 (JP, A) JP-A-1-104454 (JP, A) JP-A-62-54541 (JP, A) Actually open Sho-56-87239 (JP, U) Actually open flat −24357 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B22D 17/00 B22D 17/22 B22C 9/06 B22C 9/08

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for casting a thin-walled die-cast product in which molten metal is poured into the cavity and solidified to cast a thin-walled die-cast product. In the casting of the molten metal into the cavity, the molten metal is directly fed into the cavity via a runner. The molten metal is injected from each direction of the cavity through the press-fitting gate that communicates with the runner and communicates with the sub-gate that is placed around the cavity, and is placed on the opposite side of the cavity from the injection side by the runner. The molten metal is pressed into the overflow side along the injection direction from the runner to the overflow side provided in communication with the sub-gate, and the molten metal is entirely flowed in the cavity so that the molten metal is A method for casting thin-walled die-cast products, characterized by pouring. 2. In a method for casting a thin die casting product, in which a molten metal is injected into a cavity and solidified to cast a thin die casting product, a discharge gate is provided at a position opposite to a runner for injecting and guiding the molten metal into the cavity. A method for casting a thin-walled die-cast product, characterized in that the auxiliary cavity portion is communicated with the auxiliary cavity portion through a hole, and the molten metal to be injected into the cavity is pressed into the auxiliary cavity portion from the cavity through the discharge gate. 3. The method for casting a thin die casting product according to claim 2, wherein the volume of the auxiliary cavity portion is substantially the same as or about half the volume of the die casting product to be cast. 4. A method of casting a thin die casting product, in which molten metal is injected into a cavity and solidified to cast a thin die casting product, wherein a core member is slid into and out of a cavity formed in a fixed mold. When casting a die-cast product with an open-hollow structure in, the molten metal that is injected and guided through the runner is passed through the injection gate that is arranged along the diagonal line of one side of the rectangular die-cast product with the open-hollow structure that is cast. A method for casting a thin-walled die casting product, which comprises injecting into a cavity and injecting to an overflow provided in communication with this cavity. 5. A casting apparatus for a thin-walled die-casting product for casting a thin-walled die-casting product by solidifying a molten metal injected through a runner into a cavity formed corresponding to the die-casting product to be cast. A runner that guides and injects metal, a subgate that is arranged around the cavity so as to communicate with the runner, and communicates with the periphery of the cavity through a press-fitting gate, and is arranged above the subgate and in communication with the subgate. An apparatus for casting a thin-walled die cast product, comprising: an overflow that causes a molten metal that is press-fitted into the cavity from a subgate to be press-fitted through the cavity. 6. A thin-walled die casting product casting apparatus for casting a thin-walled die-casting product by solidifying the molten metal injected into the cavity formed corresponding to the die-casting product to be cast, and injecting the molten metal into the cavity. A casting device for thin-walled die cast products, characterized in that an auxiliary cavity portion is arranged to communicate with each other through a discharge gate at a position facing the runner to be guided. 7. The apparatus for casting a thin die cast product according to claim 6, wherein the volume of the auxiliary cavity portion is substantially the same as or about half the volume of the die cast product to be cast. 8. A die casting having an open hollow structure, which is cast in a casting apparatus for a thin die casting product, in which a die member having an open hollow structure is cast by sliding a core member into and out of a cavity formed in a fixed mold. On the cavity surface along one side surface of the rectangular shape of the product, an injection gate is arranged along the diagonal line of the one side surface of the rectangular shape, and an overflow is provided in communication with the cavity. Casting equipment.