An apparatus for countergravity casting a metallic material, comprises: a crucible for holding melted metallic material; a casting chamber for containing a mold; a fill tube capable of extending into the crucible to communicate melted metallic material to the casting chamber; a gas source coupled a headspace of the melting vessel to allow the gas source to pressurize said headspace to establish a pressure differential to force the melted metallic material upwardly through said fill tube into said mold; and means for gettering sulfur.

Disclosed is a continuous rapid solidification apparatus, which has a cooling roll configured to cool a molten metal supplied to an outer circumference surface thereof; a crucible configured to supply the cooling roll with the molten metal; a molten metal supply configured to melt a raw material metal and supply the crucible with the molten metal; a first chamber configured to form a sealed space where the molten metal supplied from the crucible is cooled by the cooling roll; and a second chamber configured to be formed of a space separated from the first chamber and to form a sealed space where the molten metal is supplied to the crucible by the molten metal supply.

A die casting system includes a die including at least one die component that defines a die cavity, a spar received within a portion of said die cavity, a shot tube in fluid communication with the die cavity, and a shot tube plunger moveable within the shot tube to communicate a molten metal into the die cavity to cast a hybrid component. The spar establishes an internal structure of the hybrid component, and one of the internal structures and an outer structure of said hybrid component is an equiaxed structure.

An apparatus for countergravity casting a metallic material, comprises: a crucible for holding melted metallic material; a casting chamber for containing a mold; a fill tube capable of extending into the crucible to communicate melted metallic material to the casting chamber; a gas source coupled a headspace of the melting vessel to allow the gas source to pressurize said headspace to establish a pressure differential to force the melted metallic material upwardly through said fill tube into said mold; and means for gettering sulfur.

A casting method includes: forming a seed, the seed having a first end and a second end, the forming including bending a seed precursor; placing the seed second end in contact or spaced facing relation with a chill plate; contacting the first end with molten material; and cooling and solidifying the molten material so that a crystalline structure of the seed propagates into the solidifying material. The forming further included reducing a thickness of the seed proximate the first end relative to a thickness of the seed proximate the second end.

A method for manufacturing a turbine wheel comprising casting the turbine wheel from an austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloy, subjecting the cast turbine wheel to hot isostatic pressing and then subjecting a surface of the hot isostatically pressed turbine wheel to plastic deformation, wherein said hot isostatic pressing is effected at a pressure of 98 to 200 MPa and a temperature of 1160 to 1220 C. for a time period of 225 to 300 minutes. There is further described a hot isostatically pressed cast turbine wheel manufactured from an austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloy, the turbine wheel having a plastically deformed surface; and a turbocharger incorporating such a turbine wheel.

A method for producing cast items in a casting method, wherein a charge of a conductive material is introduced into the sphere of influence of at least one alternating electromagnetic field, so that the charge is kept in a levitating state. The melt is poured into moulds in order to produce turbine blades, prostheses or turbocharger impellers.

A method for casting comprising: providing a seed, the seed characterized by: an arcuate form and a crystalline orientation progressively varying along an arc of the form; providing molten material; and cooling and solidifying the molten material so that a crystalline structure of the seed propagates into the solidifying material.

A method for manufacturing a turbine wheel comprising casting the turbine wheel from an austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloy, subjecting the cast turbine wheel to hot isostatic pressing and then subjecting a surface of the hot isostatically pressed turbine wheel to plastic deformation, wherein said hot isostatic pressing is effected at a pressure of 98 to 200 MPa and a temperature of 1160 to 1220 C. for a time period of 225 to 300 minutes. There is further described a hot isostatically pressed cast turbine wheel manufactured from an austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloy, the turbine wheel having a plastically deformed surface; and a turbocharger incorporating such a turbine wheel.

A method for casting comprising: providing a seed, the seed characterized by: an arcuate form and a crystalline orientation progressively varying along an arc of the form; providing molten material; and cooling and solidifying the molten material so that a crystalline structure of the seed propagates into the solidifying material.