Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.

Cmi International, Inc.

Cmi-equipment & Engineering

Seaton-ssk Engineering Co., Inc.

Seaton Ssk Engineering Inc.

Alan P Gould

Kenneth D McKibben

Daniel D Minor

Robert L Macheske

Thomas E Wuepper

Thomas J H Rozich

Karl D Voss

Mark T Salgat

David Good

Diane M Zekind

James L Sylvester

Craig J Groh

William W Seaton

Richard A Gillette

Rick Van Horn

Philip L Bond

Khushal Wardak

Roger Mucci

John Starks

Jackie M Speaks

David Marthaler

Dean VanderJagt

Donald C Coyle

Darrell Rentfrow

Thomas O Stiens

Larry M Stevens

David J Gillette

The present invention relates to a method of removing a gate remnant from a casting comprising the steps of: providing a gating including a casting and a gate remnant, the gate remnant including a riser and at least two in-gates, wherein the at least two in-gates are attached to the riser and to the casting; weakening one of the at least two in-gates; and applying a first force to one of the at least two in-gates, wherein the first force severs the one of the at least two in-gates and thereby urges the riser away from the casting such that the other one of the at least two in-gates is severed, thereby separating the gate remnant from the casting.

Method of removing a gate remnant from a casting

A casting machine furnace apparatus that includes a furnace adapted to receive molten metal is described herein. The furnace includes an outer wall structure, a cover adapted to seal the furnace, a source of fluid, and a casting apparatus in fluid communication with the molten metal. The fluid is supplied into the furnace for applying fluid pressure on the molten metal. The application of fluid pressure on the molten metal causes the molten metal to supply the casting apparatus. The outer wall structure of the furnace is provided with a plurality of exhaust ports where the ports are provided in the outer wall structure at predetermined locations. The ports are selectively controllable between a first closed position, where the exhaust ports do not allow air to be exhausted from the furnace, and a second opened position, where the exhaust ports enable air to be exhausted from the furnace.

Method and apparatus for venting a gas in a lined pressure furnace

A mold temperature control system comprises a mold section having a cavity, a fluid circuit to distribute a flow of a conditioning fluid, the fluid circuit being positioned spaced apart from the cavity, a temperature sensor positioned in the mold to generate a signal representative of a temperature in the mold, a controllable supply of the conditioning fluid, and a controller for automatically initiating flow of the conditioning fluid through the fluid circuit in response to an initiation temperature and for automatically terminating flow of the conditioning fluid through the fluid circuit in response to a termination temperature.

Mold temperature control for casting system

A permanent mold casting system has a modularized architecture and remote placement of certain portions of the casting system. The casting system has a frame and a casting module supported on the frame is adapted to receive a plurality of molds for casting articles from a fill material according to a casting process. The casting module includes first motive actuators for moving at least portions of the molds during the casting process. An accessories module is supported on the frame and comprises at least one accessory device and second motive actuators for selectably positioning the accessory device in relation to the casting module. A utility module is located remotely from the frame and comprises motive power supplies coupled to the first and second actuators. The utility module also comprises a programmable controller coupled to the motive power supplies for controlling the casting process.

Modularized permanent molding machine with multiple molds

Apparatus for making a cast article includes a rotary table with a drive for indexing the rotary table to a plurality of rotational positions. A molten metal supply apparatus is placed at a first fixed location adjacent to said rotary table. A plurality of casting machines are supported at predetermined spacings on the rotary table, each respective casting machine having a respective holding furnace feeding a respective stalk tube and having a molten metal inlet port for receiving molten metal from the molten metal supply apparatus when the respective casting machine is indexed to a fill position adjacent the first fixed location. Each respective casting machine is adapted to receive one or more molds and has an open mold configuration and a closed mold configuration. A cast article removal apparatus is placed at a second fixed location adjacent the rotary table for removing the cast article from a respective casting machine when the respective casting machine is at an unload position adjacent the second fixed location and is in the open mold configuration.

Rotary casting system for pressurized casting machines

A method for producing a sand core includes the following steps: (a) providing a casting mold having a mold cavity, the casting mold including at least one first conduit and at least one second conduit; (b) providing a sand core disposed in the mold cavity; (c) providing a supply of conditioning gas to the casting mold, the conditioning gas being supplied to the casting mold through at least one of the first and second conduits; (d) providing a controller connected to the first conduit and the second conduit to selectively control the supply of conditioning gas; (e) providing a gas exhaust unit operatively connected to the casting mold; (f) operating the gas exhaust unit to cause the conditioning gas to be moved through the sand core; and (g) removing the sand core from the casting mold.

Method for producing a sand core

This invention relates to a brake system adapted for use with a rotary turntable. The brake system includes a braking member secured to the rotary turntable, at least one brake band, and an actuator operatively connected to the brake band for selectively moving the brake band between a braking position and a non-braking position. The braking member has a generally annular shape and includes a generally annular outer braking surface. The brake band has a generally annular shape and includes a generally annular outer friction surface disposed adjacent the annular outer braking surface of the braking member. The brake band is movable between a first non-braking position, wherein the friction surface of the brake band is spaced apart from the braking surface of the braking member, and a second braking position, wherein the friction surface of the brake band contacts at least a portion of the braking surface of the braking member. The brake band includes a first end and an opposite second end. The first end of the brake band is secured to a stationary anchor member. The actuator is operatively connected to the second end of the brake band for selectively moving the brake band between the braking position and the non-braking position.

Brake for a rotary turntable

The invention relates to a system and method for the automated spin-casting production of molded articles. The system includes a casting turntable and a processing turntable which are rotatively mounted, immediately adjacent to one another. The casting turntable has several spin modules mounted thereon for rotatively supporting mold assemblies. Casting preparation and pouring mechanisms are mounted around the periphery of the casting turntable. The turntable indexes the mold assemblies and positions the assemblies for preparation, pouring and solidification of the cast products. The processing turntable receives the mold assemblies and solidified castings from the casting turntable. Multiple processing stations are mounted around the periphery of the processing table for the removal of the castings from the mold assemblies and preparation of the mold assemblies for additional casting operations. The mold assemblies are returned to the casting table from the processing table for additional casting processes.

Automated spin-casting system

Worn interior wall surfaces of a sand casting flask cope or drag frame are resurfaced by covering the surfaces with thin, metal liner plates. The liner plates are bolted to the flask walls by bolts that extend through bolt holes in the liner plates and walls. The bolt holes through the plates are provided with deep countersinks for receiving the bolt heads and spacing the bolt heads beneath the exposed inner faces of the plates. Molten weld material is applied in such spaces for welding the bolts to the plates. A thin, hard coating of metal, such as chrome plating, is applied over the liner plate inner face and exposed weld material at the countersinks. Thereafter, the liner plate is removably fastened upon the inner surfaces of the flask frame by extending the bolts through the bolt holes in the frame wall and securing them in place with suitable nuts.

Resurfaced worn flask walls

Worn interior wall surfaces of a sand casting flask cope or drag frame are resurfaced by covering the surface with thin, metal liner plates. The liner plates are bolted to the flask walls by bolts that extend through bolt holes in the liner plates and walls. The bolt holes through the plates are provided with deep countersinks for receiving the bolt heads and spacing the bolt heads beneath the exposed inner faces of the plates. Molten weld material is applied in such spaces for welding the bolts to the plates. A thin, hard coating of metal, such as chrome plating, is applied over the liner plate inner face and exposed weld material at the countersinks. Thereafter, the liner plate is removably fastened upon the inner surfaces of the flask frame by extending the bolts through the bolt holes in the frame wall and securing them in place with suitable nuts.

Method for resurfacing flask walls

A machine for repeatedly impacting metal castings in order to clean the castings of debris, such as sand, is formed of a wheel-like frame which is rotatably mounted upon a horizontal axle. The frame is divided into four equally spaced apart compartments which provide two pair of opposed compartments. The radially innermost wall of each compartment is formed of a metal plate arranged parallel to the axle so that the plate of the uppermost compartment is horizontal and forms a floor-like support for the casting which is then located in that compartment. Each plate is loosely supported upon springs and has an exposed end portion that extends transversely outwardly of the frame. An impact hammer is arranged to repeatedly apply blows that are directed radially towards the axle against the exposed end portion of the uppermost plate for vibrating the plate and for transmitting the forces of the blows to the casting for loosening debris clinging thereto. An endwise slidable bar extends through the plates of each pair of compartments so that a casting that is moved horizontally into a compartment physically pushes its bar endwise to push the casting in the opposed compartment horizontally outwardly of the frame for horizontally loading and unloading the castings.

Machine for impact cleaning casting

A machine for automatically blowing debris, such as sand, out of cavities within engine block and similar type castings which have side openings connected to end openings to form internal cavities. The machine has a ferris-wheel-like frame arranged to rotate around a horizontal axis. The frame is divided into a number of horizontally opening compartments, each arranged to receive and hold a single casting. A dirty casting is loaded, horizontally endwise, while the frame is momentarily stationary, into the compartment which is then located in the lowermost position. Thereafter, the frame is rotated until the next compartment is located in the lowermost position, at which point the rotation is stopped so that the clean casting in the now lowermost compartment is horizontally removed endwise and is replaced with the next dirty casting. The stop, followed by the rotation, sequence is repeated so that each casting, within each compartment, is indexably rotated around the axis. During the time that the frame and castings are rotating, high pressure air blowing nozzles, which are located in each compartment, automatically swing into the openings located on the sides of the castings to blow the debris contained therein. The high pressure air blower nozzles swing out of the side openings during the time that the frame rotation is momentarily stopped during the unloading the loading of the castings in the lowermost compartment. During that time low pressure air nozzles, which are fixedly positioned along side of each compartment, except for the lowermost one, direct low pressure air into the openings in the ends of the castings. Thus, the cavities within the castings are repeatedly subjected to alternating high pressure air blasts in one direction and low pressure air blasts in the opposite direction for loosening and blowing sand and the like debris out of the casting cavities.

Growing community of inventors

Tawas City, MI, United States of America

Alan P Gould