Patent ID: 6763879
Filing Date: 2004-07-20
Classification: B22D

Abstract:
A mold temperature control system for controlling mold temperature in a countergravity casting system to assist in directional solidification in producing a cast article comprising:a mold section having a cavity and a stalk tube; a plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones established within the mold section, each of the plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones having a respective fluid circuit to distribute a flow of a conditioning fluid therethrough and a respective initiation and termination temperature, each respective fluid circuit being positioned spaced apart from the cavity; at least one temperature sensor positioned in the mold in each of the plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones for generating a respective signal representative of a temperature in each of the plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones; a controllable supply of the conditioning fluid to each of the respective fluid circuits of each of the plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones, the conditioning fluid can be either cooled or heated in order to control the temperature in each of the plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones; and a controller for automatically initiating flow of the conditioning fluid through each of the respective fluid circuits in response to an initiation temperature and for automatically terminating flow of the conditioning fluid through each of the respective fluid circuits in response to a termination temperature to thereby maintain each of the plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones within a desired temperature range to thereby assist in the directional solidification of the cast article; wherein during the solidification of the cast article in the cavity the directional solidification takes place first at the respective plurality of individual selectively controllable temperature zones in the mold section that are the most remote from the stalk tube.