Claims
- 1. In a method for making an annular metal article which comprises spray casting a molten metal against a supporting surface and shaping and cooling the resulting metal deposit, the improvement which comprises casting molten metal droplets in an oxygen-free atmosphere in a single uninterrupted step solely by centrifugal force from a rotating surface against a cooled annular surface under conditions whereby the said molten metal droplets splat into the form of minute pancake shapes when the droplets strike the said cooled annular surface to form splats overlapping one another which coalesce to form a substantially unitary-metal layer of very low porosity and improved density, and simultaneously effecting relative reciprocatory movement in the direction of the rotational axis of the rotating surface to determine the shape and width of metal deposaited on the said cooled annular surface, whereby the original boundaries between metal splats are substantially erased and grain growth occurs across said boundaries to form an annular article, said molten metal being caused to impinge upon the said rotating surface at the central axis thereof.
- 2. A spray deposition process for the production of an annular solid metal article comprising the steps of:
- providing a supply of molten metal to a centrifuge means within a housing, providing a cooled substrate within the housing, said substrate being spaced from the disposed around the centrifuge means, maintaining a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere within the housing, rotating said centrifuge means about its central axis so as to atomize solely by centrifugal action the molten metal supplied to it and thereby throw a plurality of molten metal droplets in directions outward from said centrifuge means and substantially normal to said axis, said molten metal being caused to impinge upon the said rotating centrifuge means at the central axis thereof, and
- providing controlled relative reciprocating movement betweenw the substrate and the rotating centrifuge means in the direction of the said central axis whereby the molten metal droplets are deposited on the substrate at locations which vary in the axial direction with time in a predetermined way;
- the operating conditions including the velocity and temperature of the molten atomized particles on impact with the substrate, the degree of substrate cooling, and the rates of deposition, all being such that the molten particles are each deposited on the substrate as splat particles, that is to say as molten particles each of which on impact with the substrate rapidly spreads sideways into a thin pancake shape and solidifies rapidly in the place where it was deposited,
- whereby the annular solid metal article is formed of a plurality of splat particles built up in successive layers one upon another, such that grains grow through boundaries of said splat particles, the shape of the article being determined by the said controlled relative reciprocating movement.
- 3. The process of claim 2 wherein a supply of molten metal is provided by striking an arc between a consumable metal electrode and said centrifuge means.
- 4. The process of claim 2 wherein the composition of the molten metal supplied to the centrifuge is caused to vary with time.
- 5. The process of claim 2 wherein said solid shaped metal article contracts inwardly from said cooled substrate.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
28769/74 |
Jun 1974 |
GBX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 403,428, filed July 30, 1982, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 092,956, filed Nov. 9, 1979, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 921,761, filed July 3, 1978, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 754,844, filed Dec. 27, 1976, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 589,599, filed June 23, 1975 which are all now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
809956 |
Mar 1959 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Hodkin, et al., "Centrifugal Shot Casting", Powder Metallurgy, vol. 16, No. 32, 1973, pp. 278-287. |
Jones, et al., "Rotary Atomizing Technique for Bulk Splat Cooling", Journal of Physics E: Scientific Instruments, vol. 4, 1971, pp. 671-674. |
Continuations (5)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
403428 |
Jul 1982 |
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Parent |
92956 |
Nov 1979 |
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Parent |
921761 |
Jul 1978 |
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Parent |
754844 |
Dec 1976 |
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Parent |
589599 |
Jun 1975 |
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