Patent ID: 8485401

Claim:
A method of avoiding leakage at a fill-tube joint of a casting assembly, the method comprising: creating a substantially uniform compressive load against a fill-tube flange in an operable connection between the fill-tube flange and an inlet port of a casting mold using a non-rigid, preloaded clamping mechanism having a pre-load gap, the preload gap maintaining the substantially uniform compressive load irrespective of the temperature of the clamping assembly; wherein, the creating includes releasably connecting the fill-tube flange to the inlet port of the casting mold using the non-rigid, pre-loaded clamping mechanism; wherein, the fill-tube flange composes a portion of a fill tube for transferring a molten metal to the casting mold, has an engaging surface and a tapered non-engaging surface, and the engaging surface is adapted to provide a substantially sealed connection with the inlet port of the casting mold when pressure is applied to the non-engaging surface from the pre-loaded clamping mechanism; and, applying pressure to the non-engaging surface with the pre-loaded clamping mechanism and creating a pre-load gap in the clamping mechanism to compensate for a dimensional variation in the fill-tube joint that may occur during operation of the fill-tube joint while maintaining a substantially sealed connection at the interface between the engaging surface and the inlet port of the casting mold despite the dimensional variations.