Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
COMPONENT
This invention relates to a mould component, for
instance a mould for the produc-tion of glass holloware,
and to a method of making the same.
Moulds and ! ould components for glass-ware, for
example for glass bottles, are generally themselves pro-
duced by a casting process. The components are produced
by first of all casting a suitable metal, usually iron,
into the approximate shape required and then producing the
finished component by machining the casting to the exact
configuration desired. Where the components are actual
moulds, they may be formed as inter-engaging halves which
fit together to produce the complete mould which may be
split apart after moulding to release the moulded article.
Man~ mould components for glass-ware, for exam-
ple bottles and the like, are produced from cast iron but
it has been found necessary to reinforce parts of the
component for example in the area of the neck of the
eventual bottle, ~for satisfactory performance. One common
method of producing such a componen-t is to produce a rough
iron casting, machine to shape, produce a chamfer, annulus,
or other depression where it is desired to have the rein-
forced area, deposition weld a harder alloy, for example a
nickel-cobalt alloy, into the depression, and re-machine
the mould to produce the finished article. In certain
circumstances it is possible to deposition weld the nickel-
cobalt alloy before the first machining step thereby
saving a processing stage. However, these methods of
producing a locally reinforced component are both time-
consuming and expensive.
The invention seeks to provide a method ofproducing a reinforced component which is simpler and less
expensive than hitherto known processes.
According -to the present invention there is
provided a component which comprises a casting of a first
metal having inserts therein, in areas at which it is
desired to provide reinforcement, the inserts being of a
second, rein~orcing metal, and the casting being machined
to the desired final shape.
- 2 -
The invention also provides a method of produ~
cing such a component which comprises forming a first
mould, placing an insert or inserts of the said second
metal in the first mould, casting the ~irst metal in -the
first mould abo t the insert, and machining the casting to
the desired final shapeO
The first metal may be any suitable casting
metal but will for reasons of convenience and economy
generally be cast iron. The first mould may be produced
by any suitable moulding process for the ~irst ~e-tal
chosen. For example, with cast iron, the first mould may
be produced by compacting a refractory mixture of particu-
late matter and forming a suitably shaped depression
-therein, as is well known in ~he art of casting iron. In
the practice of the present invention the insert of the
second metal is placed in the mould for the cast iron at
this stage, positioned at the point where it will be
required in the eventual component. For example, in a
component which is intended to produce glass bottles, the
area about the neck of the eventual bottle needs to be
reinforced and an annulus of the second me-tal may then be
placed in the cast iron mould in the appropriate position.
The component is then formed in the normal way and the
amount of machining required is substantially reduced.
Furthermore, the process of the invention enables the
deposition welding of the second metal to be dispensed
with entirely.
I-t has been found that the first metal, in
effect, welds within the first mould to the second metal
insert forming a very strong continuous bond therewith.
It should be emphasized that the melting point
of the metal or alloy from which the insert is formed will
generally be below the temperature at which -the ~irst
metal is cast. While it would be relatively easy to cast
3~ in place an insert having a higher melting point, the fac-t
that it has a lower melting point would normally lead one
to suppose that operation could not be done successfully
since the insert would melt, or at any rate distor-t. By
carefully arranging the casting conditions in accordance
with the invention the process can be successfully carried
out.
During the casting process, the firs-t metal
steadily loses heat and drops in temperature. A-t ~he
point of ingress in-to the first mould the temperature is
highest~ whereas at the furthest point the temperature is
lo~lest. According to the preferred practice of the process
of the invention the flow path of molten first metal is so
arranged that it avoids direct contac-t with the inserts
until the temperature has dropped to a point where it ~ill
not melt away the insert. Some fusing ho~ever of the
insert is advantageous to lock the insert in place in the
finished component.
In order to encourage the controlled fusing of
the second metal to the first within the component -the
inserts may be provided with serrations, ridges, or the
like. The extremities of such serrations or the like,
having less metal and therefore smaller heat capacity, are
much more easily heated by the molten first metal and
fusing of the ~wo is thereby encouraged. Furthermore~
even where fusing is incomplete, the serrations form a
mechanical bond which resists dislodging. As a further
precaution against incomplet-e fusing, inserts can be
tapered so as to resist dislodging, and may have grooves,
channels or the like which fill with -the molten first
metal and thereby form a strong mechanical bond be-tween
the insert and the component even where fusing is incom-
30 plete,
Care has to be exercised in the choosing of thesize of the insert of the second metal since if too large
an insert is placed within the first mould the shock of
the molten iron entering can cause cracking of the metal
35 of the insert. Conversely, if too small an insert is
chosen, the heat of the molten iron can cause partial
melting and distor-tion of the shape of the insert. In any
given situation a small amount of experimen-tation will
determine the correc-t size of the inser-t between these two
extremes.
Components according -to the invention are suit-
able for various end uses, such as among others, moulds
fo. glassware, bottle moulds, parison moulds, neck rings,
guide plates, bottoms, baffles, plungers and blow heads.
The invention will be described Further, by way
of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of
half of a componen-t produced according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of another
component according to the invention;
Figure 3 is a side elevational view of an inser~
suitable for use with the component of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the insert of
Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of an insert
suitable
-for use in a componen-t of Figure 1,
Flgure 6 is an end elevational view of the inser-t of
Figure 5;
Figures 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views of a conven-
tional first mould; and
Figures 9 and 10 are similar views to Figures 7 and 8
of moulds for the process of the invention.
Referring to the drawings, it can be seen ln Figure 1
that a component 10, in this case a mould, for example
intended to produce glass bottles, may be formed by cas-
ting a first metal, for example, cast iron, about semi-
annular inserts 12 of a second metal, for example a nickel
cobalt alloy such as those sold under the trade names
Colmonoy*, Stellite*, and the like, in a first mould of
compressed refractory particulate material such as sand
(not shown in the drawings). Once the casting is cooled
the mould cavity 14 may be machined to any desired shape
in accordance with the end use of the component, for
example, the moulding of glass bottles. The component
illustrated in Figure 1 is of course intended to be used
with another like, complementary component, the two to-
gether forming a complete mould for -the eventual glass
article.
Figure 2 illustrates part of a further embodiment of
the invention which is a guide plate. As before, the
component is produced from cast iron 10, in this case
having a full annular insert 18 of a cobalt nickel alloy.
Componen-ts produced according to the invention require
no deposition welding stage, and only require one machining
stage, therefore they may be produced more simply, and
hence more economically, than similar components hitherto
manufactured.
The shape of the insert will depend on the exact
component being produced. In the two embodimen-ts described
above, annular and semi-annular inserts have been employed,
but other shapes such as plates, discs
* - Trademarks
and so forth may be used as appropriate for a particular
component .
Referring now ~o Figures 3 and 4, it can be seen
that the annular insert 18 may be tapered, as at 20, so as
to resist remo~/al from the guide pla-te 1~. Furthermore,
notches 22 are formed in the circumference of the inser-t
18 which will fill with cast iron in the casting process
and hold the insert 1~ against rotation. Thus, even if
the fusing of the alloy of the insert 18 to the cast iron
10 is incomplete the insert is firmly mechanically held
and will resist movement or removal from the finished
component 16.
In Figures 5 and 6, the semi-annular insert 1
of Figure 1 is provided on its underside with serrations
24, in some ways resembling a thread but not necessarily
being helical. When -the component is formed with such an
insert 12 the cast iron 10 causes the extremities of the
serration, which have a relatively small heat capacity, to
heat up very quickly and fuse. Even when incomplete
fusion takes place, the serrations 24 form a very good
mechanical bond with the cast iron 10. As a further
precaution, axially direc-ted grooves 26 are also provided
holding the insert 12 against rotation about the longitu-
dinal axis of the mould cavity 14. The insert shown in
Figure 5 is of greater length than that illustrated in
Figure 1 for the following reason. The insert in ~igure 5
may be used where reinforcement is required at the end of
a component and the insert illustrated in Figure 5 will
span two adjacent components. After the cast iron 10 is
set about the insert the latter is cut through separating
the adjacent components. Naturally the pitch o~ the
serrations can be varied, and the grooves 26 could be
replaced with such projections~
Since the melting point of -the preferred nickel
cobal-t alloy inserts, for example "Colmonoy", is less than
the temperature to which the cast iron is heated
-- 7
prior to moulding~ i inserts 12a to 12d were placed in
a mould 13 as illustxated in Figure 7, which is a
conventional mould conf iguration, and the cast iron led
in as indicated by the arrows, then the insert 12a ~ould
tend to melt away completely~ and the insert 12b would be
very severely distorted. By the time the cast iron had
reached the far end of the mould the temperature would
have dropped very possibly to a level at which it would
cause incomplete adhesion to the insert 12d. By arranging
the inlets as indicated in Figure 9, the desired partial
fusing of the inserts 12 can be achieved without excessive
melting or distortion.
Similarly, Figure 8 illustrates a conventional
annular mould 32 having -the insert 12 centrally thereof
The conventional flow path woula direct the incoming
molten iron directly at one side of the insert 12 thus
melting it away. Whereas the modified mould of Figure ~0
airect~ the incoming flow tangentially resulting in
fusion of the insert to the cast iron without excessive
distortion or melting away. By this means, a component
can be produced having an insert of a met~l having a
lower melting point than the temperature of the incoming
cast iron.
