A die casting apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a sleeve 30 to which molten metal is supplied, and dies 10 and 20 configured to form a cavity C, in which the molten metal supplied to the sleeve 30 is injected into the cavity C through a runner R linking the sleeve 30 with the cavity C. A plurality of protrusions 22 are provided in the runner R, the plurality of protrusions 22 extending in a direction in which the molten metal flows and being arranged in a comb-teeth arrangement in a width direction of the runner R.

A sand casting mold configured to cast a component and a method of forming the sand casting mold configured to cast the component by 3D printing are disclosed. The sand casting mold includes: an upper portion and a lower portion; a mold cavity defined by the upper portion and the lower portion; an upper sprue in the upper portion; a lower sprue which is in the lower portion and is in communication with the upper sprue; an upper runner which is in the upper portion, is separated from the upper sprue by a predetermined distance, and is in communication with the mold cavity; and a lower runner which is in the lower portion, is in communication with the lower sprue, is separated from the mold cavity in the lower portion, and has a first end in communication with the lower sprue, and a second end in communication with the upper runner. With the sand casting mold configured to cast the component according to the embodiments of the present invention, for example, a production cost can be reduced.

A mould for casting a component in a directional solidification casting process having a preferred direction of grain growth (non-axial <001>) comprises a shell defining a cavity for receiving molten material. The cavity defines a three dimensional shape made up of a finished component geometry portion (42, 43, 44) and a sacrificial geometry portion (45) wherein the sacrificial geometry portion (45) includes a notch (48) which is shaped and positioned so as to, in use, contain high angle grain boundaries between dendritic growth in the preferred direction (non-axial <001>) and dendritic growth in a competing direction to the preferred direction (axial <001>) within the sacrificial geometry portion of a casting solidifying in the mould.

Disclosed herein is a casting cluster for casting a body of a golf club head made of titanium or a titanium alloy. The casting cluster comprises a receptor and a plurality of runners coupled to the receptor and configured to receive molten metal from the receptor. The casting cluster also includes at least twenty-eight main gates. At least two of the main gates are coupled to each of the runners and each main gate is configured to receive molten metal from a corresponding one of the plurality of runners. The casting cluster further comprises at least twenty-eight molds. Each mold of the at least twenty-eight molds is configured to receive molten metal from a corresponding one of the main gates and to cast a body of a golf club head that has a volume of at least 100 cm.sup.3.

An integrally-formed metal-casting mold loaded with a solid-metal ingot in an ingot-cup portion thereof is heated in a furnace under vacuum to a temperature sufficient to melt the solid-metal ingot. The ingot-cup portion is operatively coupled to a component-mold portion of the mold via a funnel portion thereof, either directly or through a riser portion operatively coupled to a base of the component-mold portion, which provides for feeding molten metal melted from the ingot to cast a part in the component-mold portion. Molten metal in excess of what is needed to cast the part flows either into the riser portion, or into a fluid conduit that extends above the component-mold portion. The molten metal may be fed to the component-mold portion through a molten-metal filter to reduce flow rate or remove contaminants. The mold may be formed either as an investment mold or directly by additive manufacturing.

A method for producing a casting using a gas-permeable casting mold comprising a cavity composed of a production cavity and a flow path, the flow path comprising a sprue through which a gravity-poured melt flows downward, and a runner connecting the production cavity to the sprue, comprising gravity-pouring a metal melt in a volume smaller than that of the entire cavity and larger than that of the production cavity into the gas-permeable casting mold; supplying a gas through the sprue to push the metal melt in the flow path, thereby pushing the metal melt upward in the production cavity, so that the production cavity is filled with the metal melt; in a hypothetical equilibrium state in which a hypothetical liquid fills the production cavity by the supplied gas, setting the volume of the metal melt to be poured to be equal to the volume of the hypothetical liquid, such that the surface height hs of the hypothetical liquid remaining in the flow path after filling the production cavity, the height h1 of the lowest ceiling portion of the runner, and the height h2 of a point at which a ceiling of the runner is connected to the sprue, meet the relation of h2>hs>h1.

The present invention relates to a casting mould for casting complex-shaped, large-volume castings from a molten metal, wherein the casting mould has a mould cavity forming the casting and a delivery system for delivery of the molten metal, which is to be cast into the casting, into the mould cavity, wherein the delivery system comprises a sprue, a runner connected to the sprue and a feeder system connected to the runner, and wherein the mould cavity is connected to the feeder system or the runner via connections, and the use of such a casting mould. The casting mould according to the invention makes it possible to reliably produce castings of a highly complex shape, even from alloys which can be difficult to cast using conventional methods and whose casting results can be of an unreliable quality. This is achieved by the fact that, when seen in the flow direction of the molten metal flowing from the sprue into the runner during the casting operation, the runner, having a branch directed away from the sprue along the feeder system and having a directed-back branch adjoining the directed-away branch, is guided along the feeder system in the opposite direction to the directed-away branch, and by the fact that the feeder system is connected to both the directed-away branch and the directed-back branch via two or more gates distributed along the respective branch.

A method casts a plurality of alloy parts in a mold (600; 700) having a plurality of part-forming cavities (601). The method comprises pouring a first alloy into the mold causing: the first alloy to branch into respective flows along respective first flowpaths (676, 684; 708) to the respective cavities; and a surface of the first alloy in the part-forming cavities to equilibrate. The method further comprises pouring a second alloy into the mold causing: the second alloy to branch into respective flows along respective second flowpaths (676, 680; 712) to the respective cavities.

A cast work piece includes a cast metal component section and a sprue section connected to the cast metal component section. The cast metal component section and a portion of the sprue section have a first grain orientation and another portion of the sprue section has a second grain orientation such that there is a microstructural discontinuity where the first grain orientation meets the second grain orientation in the sprue section.

A low-pressure casting mold includes at least upper and lower molds 4U, 4L forming a cavity 3 and sprue pieces 8, 9 that have cylindrical shapes and that are disposed at different positions of the lower mold 4L. The sprue pieces 8, 9 include sprues 8A, 9A open to the cavity 3 and basins 8B, 9B, and the basins 8B, 9B have different volumes according to the position of the sprue pieces in the lower mold 4. Equalization of the solidification time of molten metal at the sprues 8A, 9A is achieved along with the less influence on the structure of the lower mold 4L and a stalk and the improved flexibility in apparatus design.