MOULDING CHAMBER ARRANGEMENT FOR A MOULD-STRING CASTING PLANT AND CASTING PLANT COMPRISING SUCH A MOULDING CHAMBER ARRANGEMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates a moulding chamber arrangement for a mould-string casting plant of the kind set forth in the preamble of claim 1 and a casting plant com- prising such a moulding chamber arrangement.

BACKGROUND ART

In moulding chamber arrangements for mould-string casting plants of the kind referred to above, it is known to provide the pattern plates in the form of a pattern cassette, in which modular patterns are inserted. Such cassette-type pattern plates increase the complexity of the pattern system and especially increase the complexity of the ingate and runner leading the molten metal into the casting cavities.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a moulding chamber arrangement of the kind referred to above, by means of which it is possible to reuse pattern plates from smaller existing moulding chamber arrangements on a larger machine and to increase the productivity, maintaining the flexibility and reducing or avoiding costs for provision of new pattern plates.

These objects are achieved with a moulding chamber arrangement of the above-mentioned type, which according to the present invention also comprises the features set forth in the characterizing clause of claim 1.

With this arrangement, at least two sets of pattern plates can be mounted in the moulding chamber, and correspondingly moulds are provided, which contains at least

two sets of moulding cavities, corresponding to the casting cavities provided by each of the at least two sets of pattern plates.

In a preferred embodiment two sets of pattern plates are accommodated in the moulding chamber arrangement.

Further preferred embodiments, the advantages of which will be evident for a person skilled in the art after reading the following detailed description, are revealed in the subordinate claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed part of the present description, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments of a moulding chamber arrangement for a mould-string casting plant according to the invention shown in the drawings, in which

Fig. 1 schematically shows a set of pattern plates mounted side-by-side on the pres- sure plate in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 schematically shows a string of moulds produced by using the moulding chamber arrangement in accordance with the present invention, said mould string containing two separate sets of casting cavities having separate ingate and runner for leading the molten metal into the casting cavities, and

Fig. 3 schematically shows the corresponding two separate mould strings produced by using the pattern plates used in Fig. 2, however used in two separate moulding machines in accordance with the prior art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The two pattern plates 1 , 2 shown in Fig. 1 are positioned on a pressure plate by means of a suitable mounting means indicated schematically by crosses 3, said mounting means being positioned on a pressure plate in a mould-string moulding

machine having a pressure piston-cylinder unit connected to the pressure plate in order to provide a translational movement thereof.

The two pattern plates 1 , 2 shown in Fig. 1 are naturally, as it is common within this field of mould-string casting, positioned opposite corresponding pattern plates mounted on a swingable plate mounted in said moulding machine and movable towards and away from the pressure plate in order to produce mould parts in a well- known manner.

Preferably, the mounting means are individually controlled in order to be able to change one of the two pattern plates 1, 2 independently of the other pattern plate 2, 1.

Although Fig. 1 and the following figures indicate the provision of two sets of pattern plates 1 , 2, it is evidently also possible to provide more than two such pattern plates 1 , 2; however, the provision of two sets of pattern plates 1 , 2 is preferred.

In order to clearly indicate the difference between the production in accordance with the present invention and the prior art, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show the mould string 4 produced with a moulding chamber arrangement in accordance with the present invention and the two mould strings 5, 6 produced in accordance with the prior art using the same two sets of pattern plates 1 , 2.

The moulding chamber arrangement in accordance with the present invention will naturally, as indicated in claims 4-9, possibly be combined with a core setter arrange- ment for supplying cores to more than one ordinary mould part, e.g. a core setter having one, two or more masks for delivering of cores into each of the individual mould parts provided by each of the individual sets of pattern plates 1 , 2, or, which may be preferred, two core setters may be provided, preferably on opposite sides of the resulting mould string 4, in order to insert cores in the preferred two individual mould cavity systems provided by each of the two sets of pattern plates 1 ,2.

Furthermore, it will naturally be necessary to pour molten metal into each of the ingate and runner systems leading to the individual casting cavities, and preferably two pouring stations are provided, one on each side of the mould string.

By means of the moulding chamber arrangement in accordance with the present invention, the following advantages are achieved.

First of all, the advantage of reduced costs of providing new pattern plates 1 , 2 may be achieved if the moulding chamber arrangement is dimensioned to provide room for inserting two or more sets of pattern plates 1 , 2 already existing for a smaller moulding machine, whereby the production in a smaller moulding machine may be performed in this larger machine in parallel to production of other castings, thus also reducing the number of individual machines and corresponding sand supply systems and mould- string cooling and transport systems.

Furthermore, the moulding chamber arrangement in accordance with the present invention provides a higher efficiency and reduced place requirements due to the use of one machine instead of at least two, such machines and the corresponding above- mentioned transport and cooling line and sand supply systems.

All of these advantages are provided without reduced flexibility due to fact that pattern plate sets 1 , 2 may be exchanged relatively quickly, exchanging one pattern plate set 1, 2 at the time, exactly as if two separate machines were used.

Above, the moulding chamber arrangement has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment and many modifications may be envisaged without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus, e.g. pattern plates 1 , 2 of a new and not earlier used size may be incorporated in the moulding chamber arrangement, primarily in order to increase the flexibility of a mould-string casting plant, and naturally, as indicated above, more than two sets of pattern plates 1 ,2 may be incorporated in the moulding chamber arrangement.