Provided herein is a system, apparatus, and method for producing refractory products, and more particularly, to producing heated refractories, passive refractories, transition plates, moldable refractories, and accessories such as heated spouts, heated pins, thimbles, and dams. A heated refractory channel as disclosed herein may include a working surface to contain molten metal within the channel; a core adjacent to the working surface; one or more heating elements disposed within the core; and insulation, where the core is disposed between the working surface and the insulation. The one or more heating elements may be molded into the core. The heating elements may be electrical resistance heating elements.

A method of casting a metal alloy ingot, including the following steps: providing a one side open-ended mould including a plurality of sides and a bottom plate defining a mould cavity with a mould opening, the open-ended mould being pivotable around a horizontal rotational axis between a position so that the mould opening points upwards and a position so that the mould opening points side-wards or down-wards; positioning the open-ended mould such that the mould opening points side-wards or down-wards; providing a casting container with an upwardly positioned aperture; filling the casting container with molten metal for one casting operation; coupling the casting container to the open-ended mould so that the casting container is located below the mould while the mould opening points side-wards or down-wards; rotating the open-ended mould together with the casting container around the horizontal rotational axis for approximately 90° to 180° from a position whereby the mould opening points side-wards or down-wards to a position whereby the mould opening points upwards such that the molten metal is conveyed through the mould opening into the open-ended mould until reaching a desired thickness, whereby the molten metal in the open-ended mould is cooled directionally through its thickness where the solidification front remains substantially monoaxial.

An apparatus for producing metal bars and ingots with quality monitoring, includes at least one mold essentially constituted by a body that forms at least one cavity for forming an ingot or a bar and by at least one cover that is detachably associated with the body in order to upwardly close the cavity. The apparatus has at least one passage, provided on the body of the mold, on the cover or on both, for connecting the inside of the cavity to the outside even when the cover is associated with the body in order to upwardly close the cavity. The apparatus according to the invention also has the particularity that it includes a means for taking a sample of the melted material contained in a mold, constituted essentially by a body that forms at least one cavity for forming an ingot or a bar and by at least one cover that is detachably associated with the body in order to upwardly close the cavity. The present invention also relates to a plant and a method for producing metal bars and ingots with quality monitoring.

An apparatus for producing metal bars and ingots with quality monitoring, includes at least one mold essentially constituted by a body that forms at least one cavity for forming an ingot or a bar and by at least one cover that is detachably associated with the body in order to upwardly close the cavity. The apparatus has at least one passage, provided on the body of the mold, on the cover or on both, for connecting the inside of the cavity to the outside even when the cover is associated with the body in order to upwardly close the cavity. The apparatus according to the invention also has the particularity that it includes a means for taking a sample of the melted material contained in a mold, constituted essentially by a body that forms at least one cavity for forming an ingot or a bar and by at least one cover that is detachably associated with the body in order to upwardly close the cavity. The present invention also relates to a plant and a method for producing metal bars and ingots with quality monitoring.

A casting ring having a first section made of a heat-conductive material and a second section made of a MAX phase alloy material, and a method for obtaining a product made of titanium alloy or a titanium-aluminum intermetallic compound by plasma torch melting, the alloy having an oriented structure, the method including heating the molten alloy surface in the casting ring with a plasma torch; cooling a cold zone of the casting ring over a length L1, the cooling forming a semi-solid crown of alloy; heating a hot zone of the casting ring over a length L2, thereby forming a solidification front, the flatness of which relative to a plane perpendicular to a drawing direction is less than 10; and drawing the solidified alloy at a speed of more than 10.sup.4 m/s in the drawing direction.

A casting ring having a first section made of a heat-conductive material and a second section made of a MAX phase alloy material, and a method for obtaining a product made of titanium alloy or a titanium-aluminum intermetallic compound by plasma torch melting, the alloy having an oriented structure, the method including heating the molten alloy surface in the casting ring with a plasma torch; cooling a cold zone of the casting ring over a length L1, the cooling forming a semi-solid crown of alloy; heating a hot zone of the casting ring over a length L2, thereby forming a solidification front, the flatness of which relative to a plane perpendicular to a drawing direction is less than 10; and drawing the solidified alloy at a speed of more than 10.sup.4 m/s in the drawing direction.

The invention relates to a mould for the manufacturing of mould steels in an inert gas or a pressurized electro slag re-melting apparatus. The mould comprises a non-rectangular and non-circular inner copper sleeve having a width, w, of 1000-2500 mm and a thickness, t, of 700-1250 mm, wherein the short sides in the thickness direction of the copper sleeve at least partly have sections with curved surfaces and wherein the long sides in the width direction at least partly have sections with curved surfaces.

The invention relates to a mould for the manufacturing of mould steels in an inert gas or a pressurized electro slag re-melting apparatus. The mould comprises a non-rectangular and non-circular inner copper sleeve having a width, w, of 1000-2500 mm and a thickness, t, of 700-1250 mm, wherein the short sides in the thickness direction of the copper sleeve at least partly have sections with curved surfaces and wherein the long sides in the width direction at least partly have sections with curved surfaces.

Disclosed is an apparatus for pressing a plunger to form an ingot. The apparatus includes a base block having a tilted surface, a pair of guide rails disposed on left and right sides of the tilted surface of the base block, a support disposed on bottom ends of the guide rails and on which a molding frame is mounted, a sliding block which slides along the pair of guide rails and presses a plunger protruding upward from the molding frame, a pair of rotational frames coupled to be rotatable on hinges mounted below the pair of guide rails, and a pair of connection links having both longitudinal sides connected to the support and the rotational frames in a rotatable structure to move the sliding block downward when the rotational frames rotates downward.

A furnace for electromagnetic casting a tubular-shaped silicon ingot is provided. The furnace includes a mold, outer and inner induction coils and a support member. The mold includes an outer crucible and an inner crucible. The outer crucible is annular-shaped. The inner crucible is disposed in the outer crucible and spaced away from the outer crucible to provide a gap between the inner crucible and the outer crucible. The mold is configured to receive granular silicon in the gap. The outer induction coil disposed around the outer crucible. The inner induction coil disposed in the inner crucible. The outer induction coil and the inner induction coil are configured to heat and melt the granular silicon in the mold to form a tubular-shaped silicon ingot. The support member is configured to hold and move a seed relative to the mold during formation of the tubular-shaped silicon ingot on the seed.