Apparatus for Drying Casting Moulds.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 20th Apr., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Drying Casting Moulds.
I, WILHELM HANSEN, of Gotha, Germany, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement —
It is the object of my invention to provide an apparatus of simple and effective
form adapted for supplying heated air and gas to moulds for the purpose of drying
them, the said apparatus being intended to operate in connection with either loam
moulds or moulds in the ground which cannot be moved bodily or upon moulds
generally, whether fixed or capable of being transported to the heating apparatus.
My invention is intended to obviate many of the inconveniences suffered by
the workmen heretofore, arising from the smoke or gas discharged from the
heating device, to reduce the time necessary to complete the drying, as also the
amount of fuel used.
The heating apparatus, in order to meet the above objects, must be capable of
being either transported or of being fixed in place. The air required for
combustion and for the generating of beat and which must be superheated is carried
into the apparatus, from a suitable fan or blowing machine through pipes or
through a hose adapted for that purpose.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a vertical longitudinal section of the
apparatus,
Fig. 2 a horizontal section through the upper air channels.
Fig. 3 shows the apparatus applied to a mould for casting a spur wheel.
Fig. 4 shows the apparatus for heating transportable moulds.
Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively an end elevation and a plan view of the apparatus
as set up in connection with a foundry.
The apparatus consists essentially of two combustion chambers a and b. The
chamber a is filled up to a certain extent with coke, which rests upon a perforated
plate or grate. A free space is left above the bed of coke for combustion. The
chamber is the superheating chamber.
The cold air supply from the fan enters a channel dd, through the inlet pipe c.
Here it is divided into two parts; one part passes downwards and enters the
chamber a through the plate h, and rises through the bed of burning material, but
the other part passes through the openings e e e e over the burning material and
where it mixes with the products of the combustion on its way to the superheating
chamber b. Here where the flame can develope freely, the mixing becomes more
thorough and the combustion more complete. Finally, the final product consisting
in a highly heated mixture of atmospheric air and combustion gas, passes into the
casting mould which is to be heated through the socket piece f
The proportions of the quantities of air passing through and over the burning
material are regulated by the regulator valves i and k in the channel dd. By this
arrangement it is possible, when the valves are put in the proper position, to cause
the temperature of the incoming air to rise to any desired degree of heat and to
keep it at that desired point. As a rule the lower regulator valve k is almost closed
and the upper one i almost entirely open.
The spy
holes 99 are provided to enable the attendant to see the length of the
Hame in the chamber 6 so that the same may be regulated. The main regulator !

page_text: serves to regulate the quantity of incoming air, which is varied according to the
different requirements of the work.
The mixture of superheated air and gas which issues into the casting mould
through the socket-piece f, has, in its highly heated state, an extraordinary
evaporating power, and acts uniformly upon every nook and corner of the mould
when brought into it from above.
Fig. 3 shows the application of the drying apparatus to the casting mould for a spur
wheel. The top box does not fit tight to the drag box, but a small space is left for the
escape of the air and gas. The escape pipe for the core gas is made a little larger than
necessary in order to facilitate the entrance of the air which escapes from the air
The
heating apparatus. The arrows show the direction in which the hot air moves.
top box and the drag box are dried simultaneously. For the drying of long and
proportionately narrow casting moulds as for instance for the cheeks of a lathe,
faces of a planing machine, plates of a steam engine or base plates, &c., the moulds
are built together but the so-called false pieces or false cores are not left sticking
The top box, as has
upon them, so that the hot air can circulate under the same.
been said already, is not fixed tightly but the intermediate space is filled with loose
sand and several light tin pipes are passed through the false cores which are located
in the middle so that the lower openings reach near to the bottom of the lowest
parts of the mould. In this case it is necessary as a rule to use two or more
heating apparatus which must be mounted at the extremities of the casting mould
in such a way that the hot air is introduced from above.
If the false cores are not attached to the top box, it is possible to carry these
into a drying stove so that only the part which is formed in the ground and the
When it is desired
top box need to be dried by the apparatus above described.
to treat moulds of clay or of so called paste for steam cylinders or large pipes, the
said moulds must be shut off at their upper part by a cast iron plate in the centre
of which a hole is formed for introducing the hot air and gases. The latter are
blown downward into it and only a small circular space is left open at the bottom
for the escape of the hot air. For the drying of small moulds it is preferable to
A light wagon
use a fixed apparatus supported upon a frame as shown in Fig. 4.
runs over rails below. The mould upon the wagon is covered with a cast iron
plate in the centre of which a hole is formed for the inlet of the air. For smaller
moulds it is not necessary to use the covering plate. The said covering plate may
be carried on the nozzle f, so as to leave a space between it and the mould for the
escape
of the air.
The
Figs. 5 and 6 represent a foundry provided with the heating apparatus
main air supply pipes X are located between the iron standards which carry the
frame of the roof and the movable cranes. Between each two standards one or more
nozzles al project from the lower part of the main air pipes for supplying air to the
heating apparatus (when the machine is not working they are closed by covers).
The connection between these nozzles and the fixed air heating apparatus is
established by fixed pipes ². The connection between the movable apparatus and
the nearest nozzle is effected by flexible pipes or any suitable form of hose r³.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for drying casting moulds the combination of a combustion
chamber such as a adapted to receive a charge of fuel, an air distributing chamber
such as d provided with regulating valves, for supplying air partly to the lower end of
the combustion chamber for effecting the combustion of the fuel, and partly to the
upper part of the combustion chamber for mixing with the combustion gases, a
second combustion chamber such as b, in which the mixture and combustion of the
gases and the air from chamber a is completed, and a discharge passage f fo
conveying the heated mixture of gas and air into the moulds to be heated
substantially as described.

page_text: 2. Arranging heating apparatus such as is referred to in the first claim moveable
and in connection with an air pressure supply pipe X by means of jointed or
flexible pipes, for enabling the heating apparatus to be applied to fixed moulds
substantially as described with reference to Figs. 3, 5 and 6 of the drawings.
3. Arranging heating apparatus such as is referred to in the first claim upon a
fixed frame, with fixed air supply pipes, so that moveable mould can be brought to
the apparatus for effecting the drying thereof substantially as described with
reference to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings.
Dated this 14th dax of March 1895
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.