Patent ID: 8678073

Claim:
A fugitive pattern assembly, comprising a plurality of preformed, initially separate fugitive patterns of articles to be cast with each pattern having opposite end regions wherein the opposite end regions of adjacent fugitive patterns are connected in end-to-end relation by respective injected gating residing about and extending between adjacent end regions of adjacent patterns such that said opposite end regions reside within the respective injected gating, said end-to-end relation providing an endmost one of the fugitive patterns that resides at an outermost end of an elongated pattern assembly and further comprising a preformed, initially separate fugitive member shaped to form a single crystal mold feature comprising a crystal selector member and/or a crystal starter member, an end region of said preformed fugitive member being connected to an adjacent end region of the endmost one of the preformed patterns by further injected gating residing about and extending between the adjacent end regions of the preformed fugitive member and the endmost one of the preformed patterns such that the adjacent end regions of the preformed fugitive member and the endmost one of the preformed patterns reside within the further injected gating.