Patent ID: 8167023

Claim:
An apparatus for centrifugal casting under vacuum, said apparatus comprising: a rotor having a shaft extending in an essentially vertical direction therefrom and being rotatable around an axis defined by the shaft, the rotor having at least one mold releaseably fixed thereto at a first radial distance from the axis, and at least one crucible associated with the mold so that an outlet opening of the crucible is arranged opposite an inlet opening of the mold, and the rotor further comprising a gas-tight housing in which the mold and the crucible are accommodated, a vacuum source to create a vacuum in the housing, a heating device that melts a metal, the metal being taken up in the gas-tight housing within in the crucible, a drive device that drives the shaft in order to rotate the rotor, and an auxiliary acceleration device configured to generate a force to initiate the rotation of the rotor to overcome a moment of inertia of the rotor, the auxiliary acceleration device comprising jet propulsion and/or at least one pushing actuator accelerating the resting rotor.