US1376403A - Ingot-mold and method of making same - Google Patents

Description

R. 8. GOAHZS. SNGOT MOLD AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME, APPLICATION nuzu nqv. 13. 1918.

1,376,403. Patented May 2-5, 19231,

Uurrso stares PATENT OFFICE.

RAY G. COATES, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOE 'lO VAIilIiEY MQULD AND IRON CORPORATION, OF SI-IARPSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INGOT-MQLD AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

1 376 4()3 Specification of Letters latent. Patented luay If, 1921 Application filed November 13, 1918. Serial No. 262,279.

T aZl wiwm it WIdJ/COflUFH. lleretotore in the art it has been the prac- Be it known that- I, RAY (i. Cos'rns, a cititicc to cast ingot molds, used for making zen of the United States. and a resident of steel ingots, by casting these molds upright the city of Pasadena, in the county of Los from direct metal or cupola iron. Direct 5 Angeles, State of California, have invented metal (blast furnace metal) is better suited new and useful Improvements in Ingotfor ingot molds than is cupola iron for the l .lolds and Methods of lilaking Same, of reason that blast furnace metal will stand which the following is a specification. more heats before becoming useless than This invention relates broadly to metalwill molds made from cupola metal. Direct lurgy, more specifically to an ingot mold metal or blast furnace metal, such. as is 65 and the method of making the same. usually made into pig iron, throws oil a The principal object of the present invenlarge amount of graphite or free carbon tion is a lagged ingot mold of direct metal, when cast into molds. ,When the molten iron. that is iron directly from the blast furnace, from the blast furnace slowly cools, carbon and wherein the lugs and head of the mold is released as graphitedand a part rises to are of increased strength and both the top the surface through the still fluid iron, just and bottom of the mold are of a smooth as particles of cork would rise through fi ish. I I water. A certain portion of very light An equally important and primary object graphite, which is completely released from of the present invention is the method I for the molten iron, is caught by the strong con- 75 producing the above specified ingot mold, vectional currents of air that always rise which method comprises casting the ingot above the molten iron. and floats oit through mold in inverted position with the lugs near the air to be deposited by gravity elsewhere the bottom of the. sand mold in which the in the foundry. A larger portion of the ingot mold is cast. graphite, however, does not leave the sur- 39 This invention possesses many other adface of the metal but accumulates upon, and vantageous features, some of which, to in, the upper strata of metal so that this porgether with the foregoing, willbe set out tion of the metal is apt to be porousor, to. more at length in the following description use a term in the art, is rotten.

wherein will be outlined in full that form This accumulation of excess free carbon of the invention which I have selected for is more or adjacent the surface of the an illustration in thedrawings accompanymolten metal and does not extend in like ing and forming a part of the present speciproportion downward through the body or. fication. a relatively deep mass of molten metal. The

35 In the drawings and specification I have longer the metal remains in fluid condition, 9 described only the preferred form of my the greater the opportunity for the freed generic invention. but it is co-.he understood carbon to rise. v that I do not limit myself to such form be In view of the tendency to release free cause my invention may be embodied in a carbon, it is desirable that any large casting multiplicity of forms each being a species of such as ingot molds from direct'metal shall 95 my invention. it being understood that by be done in open molds, because if a cover or the claims succeeding the description of my cope be placed over the mold-to form a invention I desire to cover the invention in finished top to the casting, the graphite will whatsoever fornr it may be embodied or be trapped on the top of the casting and will practised. accumulate to a greater extent than if the 100 Figure l is a sectionalview through the top were cast open. It is, therefore, cus-. sandmold which may he used in carrying tomary in making ingot molds to cast from out my invention. direct metal in open molds and attempt to Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the sand remove accumulated graphite by raking oil l mold taken at substantially right angles to or skimmin the mold when it is nearly 105 the section shown inl ig. l. and illustrating filled, and tlicn to fill the mold to its final the arrangement for pouring or casting in height. After the casting has cooled somecarrying out my invention. what. but while it is still hot, a hole is broken,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an ingot into the shrinkage pipe adjacent the sill mold in accordance with my invention. face of the casting and fresh hot metal 'is/ilo poured into this hole so as to fill the shrinkage pipe as much as possible. '1 his refilling ot the shrii'ikage pipe from the ladle, in substantially all cases, is accompanied by an undesirable flow of metal that spreads over the top of the mold, thereby making a bad end on the final casting and more or less injuring the mold.

Ingotmolds, in the most common form,

are provided with lugs adjacent the upper end. of the ingot mold to enable the ingot .mold to be withdrawn from the steel ingot which 2 my be cast therein. When such type o'l ingot moldsis made from direct or blast furnace metal, it has been found that the rising graphite frequently accumulates in the cavities that form'the lugs on the casting mold to be cast in the casting, they interfere with the process of raking olf the top of the metal and they are liable to be moved out of place during the raking off and generally add complications to an already difficult problem. Because of economic reasons it is essential that hand work on ingot molds be reduced to a minimum, and yet, it is very desirable that the tops of these molds shall be relatively smooth, because it is much easierin practice to keep a smooth top clean from splashed steel and drippings fromthe ladle, and the smooth top is much more easily capped when wild metal is poured intothe mold. Since the joint between the cap and the smooth top being closer than where the. top is rough, it forms a thinner and more equal fin, which more certainly chills and closes the joint between the top and the cap, the latter being held down by a wedge placed under the top staples and over the'cap.

My invention comprises an ingot mold cast from direct metal, also includes the process or method by which such an ingot mold is produced. In carrying out my process, the ingot mold is cast in a reverse or upside-(loan position in a sand mold with the lugs of the ingot mold near the bottom of the sand mold, and the end of. the mouth of the ingot mold adjacent thebottom plate. Since the larger portion of themetal in the mold will be above the position of the lugs, it. follows that the larger part of the floating or completely freed graphite will separate out from the iron above the lug position and, therefore, there is less opportunity for such graphite to accumulate in the lug cavities and obviously there is a less amount of graphite to be accumulated. The ferrostatic pressure of the metal in this part of the mold is much greater than that v the surlace at the top of the casting anu may be raked off or not as is desired. By casting the-ingot mold in inverted position, the bottom plate of the sand mold may be provided-with cavities in which staples may be set in sand so that the surface of the casting is free from obstri-iction and the ac curnilated graphite may be very easily re moved by raking as spe ified. It ispreferable that the casting for the ingot mold shall be made somewhat longer than the length of the finished ingot mold. This feature forms a sink head portion around the entire top of the' casting so that the pipe, tending to form in the cooling of the metal, will be fed from a relatively large area and shrinkage will be from as large a surface as is possible and for as little vertical height, inthe tasting, as is possible. When the cast ingot mold is taken from the sand, the extra length is cut oft by a saw or other tool and the rotten portion, due to excessive graphite as well as the shrinkage cavities, is in the cut-oil piece. This cutoff piece is practically pig iron and sala ble as such. p

This process. it will be seen, provides that the base of the body of the ingot mold shall i be a finished base, therefore, it forms a good joint with the stool on which the mold is intended to beset and used to mold ingots,

and also the top of the mold is smooth because it has been cast against the bottom plate and sand, and the lugs being cast under good terrostatic head from clean metal, are sound throughout. This ingot mold, it will be seen, really is as well finished a mold as is ordinarily cast from cupola metal. and at the same time possesses more desirable metallurgical qualities because of being cast from direct metal and at the same time is more economical in manufacture. That part of the metal designed to be cut of? may form a, direct continuation of the body of the ingot mold itself or it may be made larger to give, a larger surface area. and to comprise a lateral projection on the top end of the casting to comprise a hold for grab hooks for lifting the casting up for the sawing-oil operation. In the latter case the upper edge of the sand mold may be rounded offend. therefore, be somewhat more durable than if-let't, as is usual, with the straight corner. In this practice the amount of metal cast for this extension to be cut oil may be no more than it the area of the exten' sion were not enlarged, for it may be slightly In the preferred form of carrying out my invention. the mold in which my ingot mold is cast comprises a bottom piece 1 which preferably is made of iron and is provided with sand cavities in which lugs or staples l are adapted to beset-in or embedded with the ends of the staples extending upwardl. in such manner as to he cast-in in the ingot mold when this m ld is made. The sand mold, for the ingot mold, preferably is made in two or more parts'and comprises a lack 5 of iron in which molding sand (3 has been tamped around the pattern for the ingot mold whi h is positioned in such manner that the ingot mold is inverted with the lugs 7 adjacent the bottom or" the flask and the extreme end of the mold is in contact with the bottom plate so it results that this portion of the ingot mold 'is slightly chilled. The interior oi the ingot mold is preferably formed by an iron core 12 which is covered with sand in order thatthe core may be easily withdrawn and to keep the iron core from chilling the inner surface of the mold. Preferably this flash; mold is made longer than the finished length of the ingot mold in order that the upper portion of the flask mold may comprise a cavity in which graphdo and the shrinkage cavities may collect and form tor the reasons specified.

Fig. 2 is a section taken at substantially right angles to the section shown in l, and more clearly illustrates the specific malr nor in which the ingot mold is cast in that the metal is poured through a runner 8, the bottom of which is provided with a small cavity 1') adjacent the bottom plate 1, and the first metal tlowing into the mold will close all cracks with tins so that when the ferrostatic pressures increase the cracks will be sealed and the metal will be contained entirely within the mold section proper. A larger upper conduit or gate 10 is provided between the runner 8 and the interior of the sand mold so that when the heavier head of metal poured it flows through this larger gate 1) and gradually lills the mold section. it will be noted that in the process of casting in this mold the metal rises upwardly in the same direction as is the travel of the graphite above referred to; so therefore it will be seen that the movement of the graphite is facilitated by this process and I am enabled to cast a clear, strong ingot mold.

The upper end of the runnner 8 is provided with a pouring funnel 11' made of sand and clay. This obviates splashing of metal -over into the mold cavity proper. hen the casting is cooled, the metal in the runner is cut ofi'.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 3 which illustrates an ingot mold made according to my invention, the portion 13 indicated by dot-ted lines I'QPlB-SGIltS lLat part of the ingot mold casting which was formed in the upper part of the sand mold and which has been cut away by a metal saw or other suitable tool. As previously stated, this cutoff material is substantially the same as pig iron and is salable as such.

Having described my invention, what 'I claim is 1. As an article of manufacture a lugged ingot mold of direct blast furnace metal and having a body portion with a squarely cut base, and having lugs adjacent the. mouth ot the body portion, the metal forming the lugs and mouth of said ingot mold being integral with the body of the mold and of the toughest and most dense metal in the said ingot mold, and with more free .carbon in the metal at the base of the mold than at the mouth thereof.

2. As an article of manufacture an ingot mold of direct blast furnace. metal having a 5 body portion with a base finished square with the axis of the mold. and with said body portion provided with lugs adjacent the mouth of the ingot mold and said mouth heingintcgral with the body portion and comprising a smooth chilled finishedportion when the ingot mold is taken from the sand mold, with the metal forming the mouth of the mold being substantially free of graphite.

3. The method of manufacturing ingot molds from direct blast furnace metal,

which comprises providing a sandmold having the recesses tor the lugs on the ingot mold arranged in the bottom side Walls of the said sand mold. then introducing the direct metal into the lower portion of the sand mold whereby the molten metal in the sand mold rises in the same direction as the graphite which is freed during the cooling of the molten metal.

4. The method of manufacturing ingotl molds. from direct blast furnace metal, which method comprises provit'ling a sand mold with recesses for the lugs of the ingot 11o mold and arranged adjacent the bottom at the sand mold, providing a bottom plate for the bottom oi the sand mold; then introducing the direct metal into the sand mold adjacent the bottom thereof in such. manner 1'15 that the portion of metal forming the mouth and lugs of the ingot mold is at all times under the greatest lerro'static pressure and is continually fedwith "lresh metal during the casting operation.

5. The method of manufacturing ingot molds from direct blast furnace metal, which method comprises providing a sand mold .yvith matrix of the ingot mold arranged; in the sand mold in inverted position and having the lug-forming recesses adjacent the bottom of the said'sand mold, then filling the said sand mold by direct metal introduced through a gate adjacent the bottom of the sand mold. 13 0 6. The method of manufacturing ingot;

molds from direct metal xvhieh method comprises casting the ingot mold in inverted position with the lugs thereof at the bottom of the casting mold, providing a vertical "height to the casting which is greater than the leng -h required for the finished ingot mold; then cutting off that portion of the casting in which are located the shrinkage pipes and aceumulated g white.

7, The method of manufacturing ingot molds from direct metal which method comprises providing a sand mold in which matrix for the ingot mold inverted and with the lugs at the bottom of the sand mold, then introducing the direct metal into the sand mold in such manner that the direc' tion of movementof the molten metal in the sand mold is'the same as the direction of movement of freed earbon then cutting off from the casting that portion containing accumulated carbon and shrinkage pipes.

RAY o/oomrns.

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