Arcast’s new Con Casting (continuous casting) furnaces for melting of reactive and refractory alloys in copper molds maintain the pure properties of the materials processed.
The water-cooled copper molds create a frozen layer of the base material preventing any reaction or contamination. This does, however leave a rough surface with cold shuts. This surface can be skimmed off to reveal a solid, consistent bar beneath.
The standard casting sizes available are 50, 75 and 100mm diameter. The length is only limited by the feed hopper size and/or the casting chamber length.
The cast rod may be used as rod stock for drip melt (EIGA), REP, PREP atomizers. This allows custom and niche alloys to be produced from elemental or pre-alloyed feed stock. The furnaces can also be used to reprocess scrap or oversized powder.
The materials that can be processed include, but are not limited to, titanium, nickel super alloys, tantalum, tungsten alloys and NiTi shape memory alloys.
There is now no need to use a more complex and expensive VAR (vacuum arc remelt) process. There is no need to press or fabricate starting electrodes. The processes available are arc/plasma melting or induction cold crucible melting.
Top left - continuous casting in operation. Top right - continuous casting furnace with chip feed option (cold furnace, seen from the top). Bottom images - continuous cast ingots.
