Patent ID: 7278462

Claim:
An engine block die-casting apparatus having at least one bank core slide assembly comprising: a bank core carrier; a pair of racks mounted to said bank core carrier, adapted to actuate said bank core slide assembly, and along which said bank core slide assembly is adapted to operatively move within said apparatus; a plurality of bank core inserts mounted to said bank core carrier and adapted to be inserted into and extracted from a die cavity and cast engine block by said bank core slide assembly to provide a corresponding number of cores to produce a corresponding number of cylinder bores in the cast engine block; a bank core slide drive assembly adapted to be actuated to operatively move said bank core slide assembly along said pair of racks within said apparatus; and a bank core slide end plate adapted to rest against and be acted upon by said apparatus to overcome adhesion of cast metal upon said plurality of bank core inserts, wherein said bank core slide assembly is slidably mounted and mechanically actuated within said apparatus and each of said plurality of bank core inserts further includes at least one debris-clearing opening adapted to allow flow of a pressurized medium to move through said opening to clear residual casting flash and debris and provide cooling to said bank core slide assembly and plurality of bank core inserts.