Improvements in the Method of Casting Ingots, and in Ingot Moulds and Appliances connected therewith.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 14th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 28th Nov., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of Casting Ingots, and in Ingot Moulds
and Appliances connected therewith.
We, WILLIAM KIRKHAM, of 22, Brinsworth Street, Attercliffe, Sheffield,
Furnace Builder and Contractor, and DAVID EVANS, of 28, Oxford Street,
Sheffield, Steel Smelter, both in the County of York, do bereby declare the
nature of our said invention to be as follows:-
Although our invention is applicable to the treatment of various kinds of metals,
it is more particularly applicable in the production of ingots of cast steel. The
method commonly employed in casting such ingots is to teem or run the molten
steel into vertical cast iron moulds, such moulds being provided with either open
or closed tops. When moulds with closed tops are employed, the metal is run in
from the bottom, to facilitate which they are placed upon cast iron bottom plates
which are provided with grooves or channels large enough to receive fire clay
tubes or runners, these runners being connected with one or more ingot moulds
and with a teeming or runner box which is made a little higher than the tops of
the ingot moulds to insure the steel flowing from it, through the fire clay runners,
filling the moulds.
When moulds with close tops are employed, small holes are made in the tops for
the escape of air and gas.
Ingots cast vertically as herein described are liable to pipe or become hollow in
consequence of the outer surfaces cooling sooner than the inside or core and as the
core is the last to cool, the shrinkage sometimes causes cavities in the interior of
the ingot and invariably the shrinkage which takes place in this way causes a
depression or piping of the top end of the ingot, the metal at which point being
hottest retains its fluidity long enough to supply some of the loss which takes place
in the interior of the ingot through the shrinkage last referred to.
This depression or piping of the ends of the ingots entails the necessity of
cutting to waste the hollow and unsound portions, thereby causing increased cost
of production.
The object of our invention is to obviate this defect which we do in the following
manner.
Instead of casting the ingots in moulds placed in a vertical position, we cast
them in moulds in a horizontal position, the moulds being specially formed for the
purpose, for example, an ordinary ingot mould with a close top to hold an
approximately rectangular ingot say nine inches square by four feet long would be
made about eight inches square at the top and ten inches square at the bottom and
forty eight inches in length, but by our improved process the ingot mould for such
a sized ingot would be approximately forty eight inches long at the bottom by ten
inches wide, and at the top it would be forty seven inches long by nine inches
wide, the depth at each end being nine inches or thereabouts and in the middle
the depth would be ten inches or a little more, so that the air and gas would rise
to the highest point or what may be called the apex of the mould, where a suitably
formed air and gas vent would be provided.
In some cases we provide several air and gas vents in the tops of our
mproved moulds. Such an ingot mould as herein described or a number of such

page_text: ingot moulds, we place on a suitable bottom plate in parallel lines, the fire clay
runners being arranged to feed the ingots either in the centre or at the ends or in
any other convenient position, the steel being teemed into a runner box either at
one end, or half way along the line of ingots.
When the ingot moulds are arranged to be fed at one or both ends, we form
recesses in the end walls of the mould, such recesses being so arranged as to stand
vertically over the opening into the runner, in this way the end walls of the mould
would cover and keep down the fire clay runners except at the openings where
the steel flows through into the mould, the object of this being to hold down the
runners and to form a recess where dirt or foreign matter may lodge instead of
being carried into the body of the mould.
In some cases we place the ingot moulds radially round one common runner box
so that when the molten steel is teemed into the runner box it passes along all the
runners and fills all the ingot moulds from the bottom simultaneously.
. In some cases we arrange that one, two, or more ingot moulds shall be filled at
a time according to the size of the ingot required.. We also provide in case of
large ingots one or more risers and in smaller ingots we place one riser to two or
more ingots as may be required.
These risers answer a twofold purpose, first as gas vents, and secondly as heads
to solidify the ingot and make good some of the shrinkage, which may take place
as already described.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that a freshly cast ingot will cool
much more uniformly in our improved mould, which is so comparatively shallow
in proportion to its bulk, than could possibly be the case when a similar quantity
of steel is cast into a mould in a vertical position which is comparatively so much
deeper in proportion to its bulk, for in the case of the vertical ingot, run from the
bottom, the core from top to bottom remains in a molten condition from end to end
for some time after the sides have become cool and set, whereas in an ingot cast
horizontally as herein described, there would be a much greater uniformity of
temperature throughout the mass when the ingot mould was filled and the surface
of the molten metal having such an extended area in proportion to the depth, it
follows that the cooling of the ingot must take place more uniformly than would
be the case in a vertical mould where the surface of the molten metal is so much
smaller in area in proportion to the depth.
Dated this 2nd day of May 1896.
R. HEBER RADFORD,
Agent for the Applicants.
Improvements in the Method of Casting Ingots, and in Ingot Moulds
and Appliances connected therewith.
We, WILLIAM KIRKHAM, of 22, Brinsworth Street, Attercliffe, Sheffield,
Furnace Builder and Contractor, and DAVID EVANS, of 28, Oxford Street,
Sheffield, Steel Smelter, both in the County of York, do hereby declare the
nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
Although our invention is applicable to the treatment of various kinds of metals,
it is more particularly applicable in the production of ingots of cast steel. The
method commonly employed in casting such ingots, is, to teem or run, the molten
steel into vertical cast iron moulds, such. moulds being provided with either open
or closed tops. When moulds with closed tops are employed, the metal is run in
from the bottom, to facilitate which they are placed upon cast iron bottom plates

page_text: which are provided with grooves or channels large enough to receive fire clay
tubes or unners, these runners being connected with one or more ingot moulds and
with a teeming or runner box which is made a little higher than the tops of the
ingot moulds to insure the steel flowing from it, through the fire clay runners,
filling the moulds.
When moulds with close tops are employed, small holes are made in the tops for:
the escape of air and gas.
Ingots cast vertically as herein described are liable to pipe or become hollow in
consequence of the outer surfaces cooling sooner than the inside or core and as the
core is the last to cool, the shrinkage sometimes causes cavities in the interior
of the ingot and invariably the shrinkage which takes place in this way causes a
depression or piping of the top end of the ingot, the metal at which point being
hottest retains its fluidity long enough to supply some of the loss which takes
place in the interior of the ingot through the shrinkage last referred to.
This depression or piping of the ends of the ingots entails the necessity of
cutting to waste the hollow and unsound portions, thereby causing increased cost
of production.
The object of our invention is to obviate this defect which we do in the following:
manner.
The rature of our invention will be better understood on reference to the
accompanying sheet of drawings, in which,
Fig. 1, represents the plan of a group of six close topped ingot moulds placed
upon a bottom plate provided with fire clay runners, runner box and risers as they
would appear ready to receive the molten metal.
Fig. 2, is a side view of the same, half of the ingot moulds being shewn in
section.
Fig. 3, is an end view of the same, also partly in section.
The same letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
Instead of casting the ingots in moulds placed in a vertical position, we cast.
them in moulds in a horizontal position, the moulds being specially formed for the
purpose, for example, an ordinary ingot mould with a close top to hold an
approximately rectangular ingot say nine inches square by four feet long would be
made about eight inches square at the top and ten inches square at the bottom and
forty cight inches in length, but by our improved process the ingot mould, a, for
such a sized ingot would be approximately forty eight inches long at the bottom
by ten inches wide, and at the top it would be forty seven inches long by nine
inches wide, the depth at each end being nine inches or thereabouts and in the
middle the depth would be ten inches or a little more, so that the air and gas would
rise to the highest point or what may be called the apex of the mould, b, where
a suitably formed air and gas vent would be provided.
In some cases we provide several air and gas vents, c, c, in the tops of our
improved moulds. Such an ingot mould as herein described or a number of such
ingot moulds, we place on a suitable bottom plate, d, in parallel lines, the fire clay
runners, e, e, being arranged to feed the ingots either in the centre or at the ends
or in any other convenient position, the steel being teemed into a runner box, f,
either at one end, or half way along the line of ingots.
When the ingot moulds are arranged to be fed at one or both ends, we form
recesses, g, in the end walls of the mould, such recesses being so arranged as to
stand vertically over the opening, h, into the runner, in this way the end walls of
the mould would cover and keep down the fire clay runners except at the openings
where the steel flows through into the mould, the object of this being to hold down
the runners and to form a recess where dirt or foreign matter may lodge instead
of being carried into the body of the mould;
In some cases we place the ingot moulds radially round one common runner
box so that when the molten steel is teemed into the runner box it passes along
all the runners and fills all the ingot moulds from the bottom simultaneously.
In some cases we arrange that one, two, or more ingot moulds shall be filled at,

page_text: a time according to the size of the ingot required. We also provide in case of
large iugots one or more risers, i, and in smaller ingots we place one riser to two or
more ingots as may be required.
These risers answer a twofold purpose, first as gas vents, and secondly as heads "
to solidify the ingot and make good some of the shrinkage, which may take place
as already described.
As a modification in the form of the ingot mould herein described, we sometimes
provide on the bottom face of the mould a loose fillet or fillets j, fitted to the
bottom of the mould by dovetails, tongues and grooves, pins or other convenient
means by which the same may be readily detached from the mould, the loose
fillets being so shaped as to round off the bottom edges of the ingots cast in such
moulds.
As a modification in the form of the bottom plate herein described, we sometimes
provide loose or fixed fillets on the top face of the plate, the said fillets corre-
sponding to the bottom face of the ingot mould and so shaped as to round off the
bottom edges of the ingots cast in such moulds on the said plate.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that a freshly cast ingot will cool
much more uniformly in our improved mould, which is so comparatively shallow in
proportion to its bulk, than could possibly be the case when a similar quantity of
steel is cast into a mould in a vertical position which is comparatively so much
deeper in proportion to its bulk, for in the case of the vertical ingut, run from the
bottom, the core from top to bottom remains in a molten condition from end to end
for some time after the sides have become cool and set, whereas in an ingot cast
horizontally as herein described, there would be a much greater uniformity of
temperature throughout the mass when the ingot mould was filled and the surface
of the molten metal having such an extended area in proportion to the depth, it
follows that the cooling of the ingot must take place more uniformly than would be
the case in a vertical mould where the surface of the molten metal is so much
smaller in area in proportion to its depth.
We are aware that ingots have been cast in open topped moulds placed in a
horizontal position and we disclaim any novelty as to that part of our specification
which relates to the horizontal position of the mould and we likewise disclaim
the application of our invention to the casting of tyre ingots or of any similar
kind of ingot which has a less vertical depth than the sum or circumference of its
sides.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is.
1. In casting ingots into close topped moulds in a horizontal position, the
arrangement of the fire clay runners in the bottom plate by which the molten metal
may be conveyed from one common runner box to the centre or to one or both ends
of a horizontal ingot mould or to a group of horizontal ingot moulds and also to
one or more risers fed from the said runners outside and independent of the ingot
mould or moulds, in the manner and for the purposes substantially as herein
described and illustrated.
2. In a horizontal close topped ingot mould, providing a recess in the end wall
at one or both ends of the mould, such recess or recesses being so arranged as to
stand vertically over the opening into the runner and so that the end walls of the
mould will cover and keep down the fire clay runners, in the manner and for the
purposes substantially as herein described and illustrated.
3. In a horizontal close topped ingot mould, providing on the bottom face of
the mould a loose fillet or fillets fitted to the bottom of the mould and so shaped as
to round off the bottom edges of the ingots cast in such moulds, in the manner and
for the purposes substantially as herein described and illustrated.
4. In bottom plates for horizontal close topped ingot moulds, providing loose
or fixed fillets corresponding to the bottom face of the said ingot moulds and s

page_text: shaped as to round off the bottom edges of the ingots cast in such moulds on the
said plate, in the manner and for the purposes substantially as herein described and
illustrated.
Dated this 12th day of June 1896
R. HEBER RADFORD,
Agent for the Applicants.