System, apparatus and method for manufacturing metal ingots
View Patent ↗A mold for creating metal ingots, a hottop sideboard and a system and method of manufacturing metal ingots utilizing the same. A hottop sideboard utilizes a layer of a rigid refractory material integrally connected to a layer a flexible refractory material that is compressed between the rigid layer and the sidewalls of the mold during use. The mold for creating metal ingots comprises: a main body having a floor and sidewalls that form a cavity for receiving a molten metal; a plurality of sideboards connected to the sidewalls and forming a perimeter about the cavity in a spaced relation from the floor, the sideboards comprising a first layer of a rigid refractory material and a second layer of a flexible refractory material, the first layer and the second layer being connected to one another; and the sideboards are secured to the sidewalls so that the second layer is compressed between the first layer and the sidewall.
1. A method of manufacturing metal ingots comprising:
a) providing a mold comprising a main body having a floor and sidewalk that form a cavity;
b) providing a plurality of sideboards comprising a first layer of a rigid refractory material and a second layer of a flexible refractory material, the first layer and the second layer integrally formed as a monolithic structure from, the same refractory material via a casting process, the first layer having a density that is greater than the second layer, wherein the rigid refractory material is a fiber ceramic board and the flexible refractory material is a fiber ceramic blanket;
c) securing the sideboards to the sidewalk so as to form a perimeter about the cavity in a spaced relation from the floor, the sideboards secured to the sidewalls so that the second layer is compressed between the first layer and the sidewall;
d) pouring molten metal into the cavity until a surface level of the molten metal is above a bottom edge of the sideboards and below a top edge of the sideboard;
e) covering the surface level of the molten metal with an insulating powder; and
f) allowing the molten metal to cool.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the sidewalk of the mold are constructed of a metal.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the casting process utilizes vacuum-foaming.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the casting process achieves fiber entanglement between fibers of the first layer and fibers of the second layer.
5. The method of claim 1 further wherein the first layer has a first surface and a second surface, the second layer integrally connected to the second surface; and wherein the second surface of the first layer is corrugated surface.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
the rigid refractory material being a fiber ceramic board and the flexible refractory material being a fiber ceramic blanket; and
wherein step (c) comprises inserting a plurality of fasteners through the
sideboards and into the sidewalls, the fasteners comprising a washer element and a spike element, the washer elements compressed against a first surface of the first layer of the sideboards and the spike element extending through the sideboards and into the sidewalls.
7. A method of manufacturing metal ingots comprising:
a) providing a mold comprising a main body having a floor and sidewalls that form a cavity;
b) providing a plurality of sideboards comprising a rigid layer of an alumina-silica fiber ceramic board and a flexible layer of an alumina-silica fiber ceramic blanket, the rigid layer and the flexible layer integrally formed as a monolithic structure using a casting process that results in fiber entanglement;
c) securing the sideboards to the sidewalls so as to form a perimeter about the cavity in a spaced relation from the floor, the sideboards secured to the sidewalls so that the flexible layer is compressed between the rigid layer and the sidewall;
d) pouring molten metal into the cavity until a surface level of the molten metal is above a bottom edge of the sideboards and below a top edge of the sideboard; and
e) allowing the molten metal to cool.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the rigid layer has a density that is greater than the flexible layer.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the integral formation prevents thermal expansion from separating the rigid layer and the flexible layer.
10. A method of manufacturing metal ingots comprising:
a) forming a plurality of monolithic sideboards using a casting process, each of the monolithic sideboards comprising a layer of a fiber ceramic blanket and a layer of a fiber ceramic board that are integrally connected, at least in part, via fiber entanglement;
b) securing the plurality of monolithic sideboards to sidewalls of a mold so as to form a perimeter about a cavity of the mold and so that the layers of the fiber ceramic blankets are compressed between the rigid layers and the sidewalk;
c) pouring molten metal into the cavity until a surface level of the molten metal is above a bottom edge of the monolithic sideboards and below a top edge of the monolithic sideboards; and
d) allowing the molten metal to cool.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the casting process utilizes a vacuum formation technique.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein the fiber ceramic board and the fiber ceramic blanket are formed of the same material, the fiber ceramic board having a density that is greater than the fiber ceramic blanket.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the flexible layer and the rigid layer are formed an alumina-silica fiber ceramic.