Mold system including separable, variable mold portions for forming casting article for investment casting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019105822-A1
Application number	US-201715728890-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 10, 2017
Priority date	Oct 10, 2017
Publication date	Apr 11, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A mold system and method for forming a casting article for investment casting is disclosed. The mold system includes a mold for receiving therein a selected core chosen from a plurality of varied cores. The mold includes a plurality of separable mold portions that are coupleable together to create the mold and configured to form a sacrificial material from a sacrificial material fluid about the selected core. At least one selected separable mold portion of the plurality of separable mold portions includes a set of varied interchangeable versions of the at least one selected separable mold portion. Each varied interchangeable version of the selected separable mold portion is configured to accommodate a different core of the plurality of varied cores. A number of systems for controlling a temperature of the mold are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A mold system for forming a casting article for investment casting, the mold system comprising:
a mold for receiving therein a core, the mold including a plurality of sacrificial material fluid input zones configured to receive a sacrificial material fluid to form a sacrificial material about the core; and a sacrificial material heating system configured to heat a plurality of flows of the sacrificial material fluid to different temperatures, wherein one sacrificial material fluid input zone receives one of the plurality of flows of the sacrificial material fluid at a first temperature and another sacrificial material fluid input zone receives another of the plurality of flows of the sacrificial material fluid at a second, different temperature.

2 . The mold system of claim 1 , wherein the mold includes a plurality of separable mold portions that are coupleable together to create the mold and configured to form the sacrificial material from the sacrificial material fluid about the core,
wherein each separable mold portion includes at least one sacrificial material fluid input zone.

3 . The mold system of claim 2 , wherein a selected separable mold portion of the plurality of separable mold portions includes a set of varied interchangeable versions of the at least one selected separable mold portion, each varied interchangeable version of the selected separable mold portion configured to accommodate a different core of a plurality of varied cores.

4 . The mold system of claim 3 , wherein each varied interchangeable version of the at least one selected separable mold portion includes at least one of a different: mold opening shape, mold opening size, length, width, height, coefficient of thermal expansion or material.

5 . The mold system of claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the sacrificial material fluid received in each sacrificial material fluid input zone is based on a characteristic of the core in the respective sacrificial material input zone.

6 . A mold system for forming a casting article for investment casting, the mold system comprising:
a mold for receiving therein a core, the mold including a plurality of separable mold portions that are coupleable together to create the mold and configured to form a sacrificial material from a sacrificial material fluid about the core, wherein each separable mold portion includes a mold thermal conducting conduit therein configured to pass a temperature controlled thermal fluid therethrough to control a temperature of at least the sacrificial material fluid within the respective separable mold portion; and a thermal fluid controller controlling a temperature of the temperature controlled thermal fluid passing through each of the plurality of separable mold portions, at least one separable mold portion having the temperature controlled thermal fluid passing therethrough having a temperature different than another separable mold portion.

7 . The mold system of claim 6 , wherein at least one selected separable mold portion of the plurality of separable mold portions includes a set of varied interchangeable versions of the at least one selected separable mold portion, each varied interchangeable version of the selected separable mold portion configured to accommodate a different core of a plurality of varied cores.

8 . The mold system of claim 7 , wherein each varied interchangeable version of the at least one selected separable mold portion includes a mold thermal conducting conduit different than the mold thermal conducting conduit in the other separable mold portions of the set.

9 . The mold system of claim 7 , wherein each varied interchangeable version of the at least one selected separable mold portion includes at least one of a different: mold opening shape, mold opening size, length, width, height, coefficient of thermal expansion or material.

10 . The mold system of claim 7 , wherein the temperature of the sacrificial material fluid received in each separable mold portion is based on a characteristic of the core in the respective separable mold portion.

11 . A method of forming a casting article for investment casting, the casting article including a sacrificial material about a core, the method comprising:
controlling a temperature of a plurality of sacrificial material fluid input zones in a mold configured to receive a sacrificial material fluid to form a sacrificial material about the core that is positioned within the mold; and forming the casting article by introducing a sacrificial material fluid into the mold and about the selected core.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein controlling the temperature includes:
heating a plurality of flows of the sacrificial material fluid to different temperatures, and directing one of the plurality of flows of the sacrificial material fluid at a first temperature to a first sacrificial material input zone of the mold, and directing another of the plurality of flows of sacrificial material fluid at a second, different temperature to a second, different sacrificial material fluid input zone.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein controlling the temperature includes controlling the temperature of the sacrificial material fluid received in each sacrificial material fluid input zone based on a characteristic of the core in the respective sacrificial material fluid input zone.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the mold includes a plurality of separable mold portions, and wherein controlling the temperature includes controlling a temperature of each of the plurality of separable mold portions.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein each separable mold portion includes a mold thermal conducting conduit therein configured to conduct a temperature controlled thermal fluid therethrough to control a temperature of at least the respective separable mold portion, and wherein controlling the temperature includes directing a plurality of temperature controlled thermal fluid flows through mold thermal conducting conduits of different separable mold portions.

16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising forming the mold about a selected core of a plurality of varied cores by coupling two or more mold-selected separable mold portions together, the mold-selected separable mold portions selected to accommodate the selected core of the plurality of varied cores.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein forming the mold includes fastening the two or more mold-selected separable mold portions together using fasteners.

18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein controlling the temperature of each separable mold portion includes controlling the temperature based on a characteristic of the core in the respective separable mold portion.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Troitino Lopez Jose
• Bell Eric Lee
• Jones Jeffrey Clarence

Classifications

• B29L2031/757

  Moulds, cores, dies · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B22C7/02 Primary

  Lost patterns · CPC title

• B29C45/26 Primary

  Moulds · CPC title

• B22C9/10

  Cores; Manufacture or installation of cores {(breaker cores B22C9/084)} · CPC title