A powder feeder system for a foundry system having a mixing hearth includes a housing assembly, and a feeder assembly in the housing assembly having a moveable barrel feeder for feeding a pre-weighed charge of metal powder into the mixing hearth of the foundry system during operation thereof. A method for recycling metal powder includes the steps of melting a content of the mixing hearth completely; and then feeding the metal powder into the mixing hearth while the contents of the mixing hearth are still molten using the powder feeder system.

A casting system, apparatus, and method. The casting system can include an energy source and a hearth, which can have a tapered cavity. The tapered cavity can have a first end portion and a second end portion, and the tapered cavity can narrow between the first and second end portions. Further, the tapered cavity can have an inlet at the first end portion that defines an inlet capacity, and one or more outlets at the second end portion that define an outlet capacity. Where the cavity has a single outlet, the outlet capacity can be less than the inlet capacity. Where the cavity has multiple outlets, the combined outlet capacity can match the inlet capacity. Further, the cross-sectional area of the tapered cavity near the inlet can be similar to the cross-sectional area of the inlet.

A system for melting metals includes a heating chamber configured to contain a molten metal, a wet hearth melting chamber, and a pump. The wet hearth melting chamber includes a wet hearth inlet, a wet hearth outlet, and a refractory shelf having a top surface. The refractory shelf has a plurality of rails disposed on top of the top surface and spaced apart from one another to form flow channels. The wet hearth melting chamber has an inlet channel fluidly coupling the wet hearth inlet to the top surface of the refractory shelf and an outlet channel fluidly coupling the top surface of the refractory shelf to the wet hearth outlet. The pump is in an inlet flow path between the heating chamber and the wet hearth melting chamber and is configured to pump molten metal from the heating chamber through the wet hearth melting chamber.

A system for melting metals includes a heating chamber configured to contain a molten metal, a wet hearth melting chamber, and a pump. The wet hearth melting chamber includes a wet hearth inlet, a wet hearth outlet, and a refractory shelf having a top surface. The refractory shelf has a plurality of rails disposed on top of the top surface and spaced apart from one another to form flow channels. The wet hearth melting chamber has an inlet channel fluidly coupling the wet hearth inlet to the top surface of the refractory shelf and an outlet channel fluidly coupling the top surface of the refractory shelf to the wet hearth outlet. The pump is in an inlet flow path between the heating chamber and the wet hearth melting chamber and is configured to pump molten metal from the heating chamber through the wet hearth melting chamber.