IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH INGOT MOULDS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel McKechnie, of Stevenston, in the County of Ayr,
North Britain, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH
INGOT MOULDS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel McKechnie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd November 1880.
DANIEL M°KECHNIE, of Stevenston, in the County of Ayr, North Britain.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH INGOT MOULDS."
This Invention relates to certain improvements in and connected with moulds to
be used in casting ingots of iron or steel, and is designed to simplify the building
or fitting together of the mould, to enable the pattern and core to be fitted and
removed with case and precision and otherwise to facilitate the moulding operation.
In the usual form such moulds are made of an outer casing of cast iron in threo
transverse divisions, consisting of a mid part the length of the ingot, with a top
part or cover and a lower part or "drag" on which the core rests.
The tapered
pattern of the ingot is placed in the mid part and the mould formed by ramming
the sand around it, the bottom part or drag is separately filled with sand, and a
depression left by a print underneath in which the core is fitted when the drag is
inverted and attached to the mid part, and the cover is fitted above and also filled
with sand to cover the pattern. The three parts are then separated, and the pattern
removed, by inverting the mid part of the mould, loosening or releasing the pattern
by means of a sledge hammer, and withdrawing it by a crane. The core is made
separately and laid on the print impression, the drag and the parts refitted
together ready for casting, the operations being tedious and troublesome, and the
action of the hammer jarring and mis-shaping the mould..
By the present improvements the objections referred to are overcome, and time
and labour saved in the forming of the moulds.
By one improvement the pattern is divided longitudinally in halves or in two or
more pieces, and is hollowed internally to the shape of the core, with the two-fold
object of enabling the sand for both mould and core to be filled and rammed at

page_text: once, and to admit of the pattern being readily freed from the core.
The pattern
is fitted with pins and holes where divided, to hold the parts together, and is
provided with handles or catches to facilitate separation when removing it from
the core.
By a second improvement the core bar is fixed or fitted to the centre of the
lower part or drag, so that when this is fitted to the mid-part, it enters the hollowed
part or centre of the pattern, admitting of the core being completed by filling the
sand around it inside the pattern at the same time as the pattern mould, and thus
ensuring its position being fair in the centre of the mould when the casting
operation begins.
The
A third improvement consists in the application of the power of a screw or other
lever to release the tapered pattern and core in a body from the mid part of the
mould by simple pressure. For this purpose a transverse iron bar is laid over the
mid part and is fitted with sliding catches which overlap or grip on to snugs or
flanges formed on the external case of the mould. At the centre of the bar there
is a screw passing vertically through it, fitted with a hand crank or wheel above
for turning it, and formed with a conical point below which fits into a centro
bearing on a metal plate fitted to or resting on the top of the pattern.
turning of this screw presses the pattern firmly down without jar out of the sand
mould, to which it tends to cling, and the mould may then be raised by means of a
crane or other hoisting tackle clear of the pattern and core. The pattern is now
separated by hand and removed from the core and the mid part of the mould
lowered again to rest on the lower part or drag with the core in its desired position
in the centre of the mould. A cam lever and handle or other equivalent lever may
be used in combination with the cross bar for depressing the pattern and core out
of the mould instead of the screw arrangement described.
Before fitting the parts together to form the mould, the lower part or drag is
filled with sand, and the upper part or cover is filled last as usual while the pattern
is still in the mid part.
By a further improvement the central metal core bar is divided longitudinally
into two, three, or more parts, and made collapsible so as to be readily removed.
For this purpose the longitudinal joints are bevilled so that one or more of the side
plates of the core can be moved inwards. The sides of the core bar are kept in
their expanded position by means of a wedge or wedges, which in the case of the
bar being in 3 or 4 pieces would be triangular or cruciform. The sides of the
wedge or wedges are preferably formed with a V groove into which corresponding
shaped ribs on the inner sides of the core plates fit; and by withdrawing the
wedges the core bar can be collapsed and withdrawn from the sand. The core bar
fits into a sole plate at one end with a retaining socket which prevents the sido
plates of the bar loosening outwards, and these are further bound together by one
or more hoops at the opposite end and middle. The wedges inside and the hoops
outside keep the plates or parts of the core bar securely together when in use.
The parts of the mould are fitted together as usual with sougs and pins to ensure
their being correctly placed over each other, and the cover, mid part, and drag are
held or secured together by clamps in the ordinary way before the molten iron or
steel is poured into the mould.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Daniel McKechnie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2nd May
1881.
DANIEL MOKECHNIE, of Stevenston, in the County of Ayr, North Britain.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH INGOT MOULDS."
My said Invention relates to certain improvements in and connected with the
production of moulds to be used in casting ingots of iron or steel, and is designed to
simplify the building or fitting together of the mould or mould-box to enable the
pattern and core to be fitted and removed with ease and precision, and otherwise
to facilitate the operation of forming the ingot moulds. In the usual form such
moulds or mould boxes are made of an outer casing of cast-iron, in three transverse
divisions, consisting of a mid part, a cover, and a lower part or "drag" on which
the core rests. The tapered pattern of the ingot, or mould to be made for the ingot,
is placed in the mid part, and the sand mould for it formed by ramming the sand
around it; the bottom part or drag is separately filled with sand, and a depression
left by a print underneath, in which the core is fitted when the drag is inverted
and attached to the mid part; and the cover is fitted above and also filled with
sand to cover the pattern. The three parts are then separated, and the pattern
removed by inverting the mid part of the mould, loosening or releasing the pattern
by means of a sledge hammer, and withdrawing it by a crane. The core is made
separately and laid on the print impression, the drag and the parts refitted together
ready for casting, the operations being tedious and troublesome, and the action of
the hammer very soon destroying the correct form of the pattern.
By the present improvements the objections referred to are overcome, and time
and labour saved in the forming of these moulds.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood I have hereunto appended for that purpose a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be hereinafter referred to, and representing my improved
moulds or appliances, and mode of producing ingot moulds. In these Drawings the
same reference letters are used to mark the samo or like parts where repeated in
the different views.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the improved mould or mould-box, and Figure 2
is a horizontal section of the same; Figure 3 is a vertical section of the mid part
of the mould-box showing the improved mode of withdrawing the pattern; Figure
is an elevation, and Figure 5 is a plan of the pattern; Figures 6 and 7 are
respectively a vertical section and plan of the core bar, and Figure 8 is a plan
showing the parts of the core bar separated; Figures 9 and 10 are a vertical
section and plan of the top part of the mould or mould-box.
.
Figures 11 and 12 are a plan and elevation of one half of the mid part, and
Figures 13 and 14 are a vertical section and plan of the bottom part of the mould;
Figures 15 and 16 are a vertical section and plan of the stove carriage on which
the sand mould is conveyed to the drying stove; Figures 17, 18, and 19 are details
of the eyes for lifting the ingot mould, and showing the mode of fitting such eyes
into the sand mould.
Referring to these Drawings, the improved mould or mould-box consists of a
top part A, a mid part B, and bottom part or drag C, which are fitted together
either by pins, as usual, or by snugs a, c, formed on the top and mid parts entering
into recesses or cut grooves in the mid part, as shown particularly in Figures 9,
10, 13, and 14, and the parts A, B, C, are clamped together in the ordinary way.
The drag C is fitted on a wheeled stove carriage D, on which the whole pattern
of the mould is built up, as shown in Figure 1. The casing of the mid part B is

page_text: made in halves, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, secured together by pins passing
through eyes b formed in each somewhat like hinge joints.
By one improvement of my Invention the pattern E, E', as shown in Figures 4
and 5, is divided longitudinally in halves or in two or more pieces E, E¹, and is
hollowed internally to the shape of the core, with the two fold object or advantage
and purpose of enabling the sand for both mould and core to be filled and rammed
at once, and to admit of the pattern being readily freed from the core.
The pattern
is fitted with pins and holes e, where divided to hold the parts together, or any
other convenient mode of securing the parts of the pattern may be employed.
By a second improvement the core bar F is fixed to the centre of the lower part
or drag, or fitted and secured thereto, as shown in Figures 1, 6, and 7, by means of
fixed snugs, so that when the drag is fitted to the mid part it enters the hollowed
portion or centre of the pattern E, E, admitting of the core being completed by
filling the sand around it inside the pattern at the same time as the pattern mould,
and thus ensuring its position being fair in the centre of the sand mould when the
casting operation begins.
•
A third improvement consists in the application of the power of a screw G or
other lever to release the tapered pattern E, E', and core F in a body from the mid
part B of the mould by simple pressure. For this purpose a transverse iron bar G¹
is laid over the mid part, and is fitted with sliding catches G2 which overlap or grip
on to snugs or flanges B¹ formed on the external case of the mid part B of the
mould. At the centre of the bar there is a screw G passing vertically through a
screwed eye in it, fitted with hand crank G³ or wheel above for turning it, and
formed with a conical point g below which fits into a centre bearing on a metal
plate G* fitted to or resting on the top of the pattern E, E'. The turning of this
screw G presses the pattern E, E', firmly down without jarring out of the sand
mould, to which it tends to cling, and the mid part B of the mould may then be
and
raised by means of a crane or other hoisting tackle clear of the pattern E, E¹,
core F. The pattern E, E, is now separated by hand and removed from the core F,
and the mid part B of the mould lowered again to rest on the lower part or drag C
with the core F in its desired position in the centre of the mould. A cam lever '
and handle or other equivalent lever may be used in combination with the cross
bar G' for depressing the pattern and core out of the mould instead of the screw
arrangement described. Before fitting the parts A, B, C, together to form the
mould, the lower part or drag C is filled with sand, and the upper part or cover is
filled last as usual, while the pattern is still within the mid part B.
By a further improvement the central metal core bar F is divided longitudinally
into two, three, or more parts (a convenient number being four, as shown in
Figures 6, 7, and 8), and made collapsible so as to be readily removed. For this
purpose the longitudinal joints are bevilled at F', so that one or more of the slide
plates F of the core can be moved inwards. The sides of the core bar are kept in
their expanded position by means of a wedge F2 or wedges, which in the case of
the bar being in three pieces would be triangular, or when in four pieces cruci-
form, as shown. The sides of the wedge or wedges F are preferably formed with
a V groove f, into which corresponding shaped tapered ribs f' on the inner sides
of the core plates F fit, and by withdrawing the wedges F the core bar can be
collapsed and withdrawn from the sand. The core bar fits into a sole plate F³ at
one end, preferably the bottom, with a retaining socket or rim f, which prevents
the side plates of the bar loosening outwards, and these are further bound together
by one or more hoops f³ at the opposite end and middle. The wedge or wedges F
insido and the loops f³ outside keep the plates or parts of the core bar F securely
together when in use.
The carriage on which the mould or mould-box A, B, C, is fitted up is made of
an iron framing of longitudinal and transverse ribs or bars, as shown in Figures 15
and 16, the openings in the metal of the framing being formed to facilitate the
withdrawal of the wedge F¹ from beneath the mould through one of these
opening

page_text: A malleable iron eye H with split onds H', as shown in Figure 17, is fitted in
each side of the pattern F, F, as shown in Figures 18 and 19, and when the
pattern is withdrawn from the mould box these eyes H are left in the sand, so that
when the metal is poured into the mould these eyes are cast into the ingot mould,
The top end of the pattern E, E', is made with a removable cap E³ to facilitate the
withdrawal of the iron eye H.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I have to state that what I consider novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part recited
Letters Patent is,-
First. The construction and arrangement or combination of the parts A, B, C,
of the moulds, mould boxes, or appliances for preparing or casting moulds for
ingots, in which the pattern E, E, core or core bar F, F, are fitted so as to be
withdrawn in pieces, and the core and mould formed at one operation, substantially
as herein described in reference to the accompanying Drawings.
Second. In connection with the moulding or forming of ingot moulds, the
construction and use of a pattern E, E¹, divided longitudinally into two or more
pieces, substantially as and for the purposes herein described in reference to the
accompanying Drawings.
Third. In connection with the construction or formation of ingot moulds or of
appliances used in casting them, the construction and use of a core or core bar
F, F', made in two, three, or more longitudinal pieces and fixed or secured together
by a wedge or wedges F2 and outside socket or hoops, substantially as and for the
purposes herein described in reference to the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth. In connection with the forming of ingot moulds or of appliances
therefore, the construction and use of a transverse bar and screw or other lever G
for pressing or forcing out the pattern of the mould, substantially as herein
described in reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel McKechnie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
W. R. M. THOMSON,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
DANIEL MCKECHNIE. (L.S.)