A support tooling for porous preforms intended to be infiltrated by a molten metal includes a rack including two suspension bars each extending longitudinally along a first direction, the suspension bars being held spaced apart from one another along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a plurality or porous preform supports removably mounted on the suspension bars, each support including a first portion connected to one of the suspension bars by a connection sliding along a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions and a second portion extending from the first portion and including support elements which are able to hold a porous preform by point or linear contact.

A metal forming apparatus includes a smelting device, a molding device, an injection device and a vacuumizing device. The smelting device defines a smelting chamber, and includes a rotatable crucible and a heating unit both disposed within the smelting chamber. The molding device defines a molding chamber sealedly communicated with the smelting chamber. The injection device includes a charging barrel assembly sealedly disposed at a joint between the molding device and the smelting device and an injection unit sealedly connected with the smelting device. The vacuumizing device is sealedly connected with the smelting device and the molding device respectively so as to vacuumize the smelting chamber and the molding chamber.

An induction furnace for heating a workpiece includes a chamber and an insulation cylinder positioned therein, with the insulation cylinder including a base cover movable between first and second positions, and the first position positioning the workpiece within a heating zone and the second position positioning the workpiece within a cooling zone. A translation system in the furnace includes a first member coupled to the base cover of the insulation cylinder and extending through a wall of the chamber, an actuator coupled to the first member, the actuator configured to translate the first member to move the base cover of the insulation cylinder between the first and second positions, and an expansion member encircling a portion of the first member and configured to hermetically seal an interior volume of the chamber from an environment volume external to the chamber.

In a metal melting and temperature-raising supply system, a melting apparatus heats a metal material that is in a solid state and changes the metal material to a molten metal that is in a liquid state. A temperature raising apparatus includes a heat-resistant container that houses the molten metal produced by the melting apparatus and a temperature-raising heating unit that heats the molten metal housed in the heat-resistant container. A molten metal supply apparatus provides the molten metal to an external processing equipment in a state in which a temperature of the molten metal heated by the temperature raising apparatus is maintained. A control apparatus controls an amount of metal material in the solid state changed to the molten metal by the melting apparatus and supplied to the heat-resistant container, based on an amount of molten metal supplied to the external processing equipment from the molten metal supply apparatus.