Casting and heat treatment

Brand
Yasui Intertech Co., Ltd. (Yasui & Co.) – Tokyo, Japan

Model
K2 – Vacuum Pressure Casting Machine (VPC series)

Description

Lost-wax casting machine working under vacuum and over-pressure, with melting chamber, Yasui Program Controller, pressure regulation and temperature control, plus external vacuum pump. The markings ‘K2’, ‘Vacuum Pressure Casting Machine’ and ‘Yasui Program Controller’ are read directly from the front panel. The VPC series is currently listed as K2S, K2NEXT, K3S and KT18S: this is the earlier K2 generation. Second photo: side view with pumps.

Brand
Ciroldi S.p.A. – Ganaceto (MO)

Description

Static chamber electric furnace with front door, upper protection grille, flue and separate wall-mounted electrical panel.

Brand
Maule S.r.l. – Arcugnano (VI)

Description

Tilting electric furnace for annealing and de-oxidising: at the end of the cycle the chamber tips and discharges the material straight into the water quench tank below, preventing contact with oxygen and therefore oxidation. Side panel with digital temperature controller, flowmeter for the protective atmosphere and cycle controls. Maule builds industrial electric furnaces for the goldsmithing and engineering sectors: muffle furnaces, belt furnaces, hardening, annealing and de-oxidising plants.

Brand
AUREO – our own manufacture

Model
Custom-built tunnel furnace, dual chamber control

Description

Tunnel furnace for annealing and de-oxidising in a controlled atmosphere, our own build under the AUREO brand, Made in Italy. Built to measure to the customer’s requirements, with dual chamber control to manage two temperature zones independently. Heated tunnel with cooling chamber at the outlet, control panel with touch screen operator terminal, flowmeters for atmosphere gas dosing, alarms and emergency stop. 400 V supply. Second photo: control panel and flowmeters in detail.

Description

Small muffle furnace with front door and lever catch, analogue dial temperature controller, heating indicator and line switch. For annealing, flask burnout and small heat treatments.

Brand
FIOA

Description

Fabricated vessel with hinged lid and toggle catches and a bottom outlet with nozzle, front controls (start/stop, disconnect switch and emergency stop).

Brand
Mark on the machine: ‘Mixer S.Louis 2000’

Model
S.Louis 2000

Description

Vacuum mixer for preparing the refractory investment used in lost-wax casting. Clear graduated cylindrical bell with paddle agitator, rotating flask table with vacuum seal, vacuum gauge and pump housed in the lockable cabinet. Front panel with cycle timer, vacuum and vibration controls, speed inverter and emergency stop. The vacuum cycle removes air bubbles from the slurry and from the flask.

Brand
Schultheiss GmbH (Germany) – MTA chiller

Description

Schultheiss vacuum casting machine for precious metals (Heating & Casting Technologies), with vertical melting chamber, refractory crucible seated in the cast body, flask lift on a rod and a panel with digital temperature controller, display and cycle selectors. CE marked. Supplied together with the MTA industrial water chiller that cools the induction generator, with mimic panel, pressure gauge and disconnect switch. Second photo: melting chamber open, showing the refractory ring and the crucible seat.

Brand
OPDEL s.n.c. – Costruzione Macchine Orafe, Made in Italy

Model
Larry 12 – 12 kg crucible, continuous casting, max 1200 °C

Description

Continuous casting machine for precious metals with a 12 kg crucible, working up to a maximum of 1200 °C. The metal is melted in the crucible under a protective atmosphere and drawn without interruption through the water-cooled die by the towing unit, producing wire, rod, tube or strip in one continuous run ready for rolling or drawing. Water-cooled die holder with brass adjusting handwheel and quick die change. Front panel with separate digital readouts for crucible temperature and die temperature, converter control, towing start/stop, main on/off and a programming keypad covering crucible temperature, pause in seconds, casting speed in mm/min and FW %. Protective gas flowmeter on the front with cylinder connection. Hinged top cover over the crucible carrying high temperature and molten metal splash warnings. Working parameters noted on the machine: crucible 830-870 °C, die 500 °C, pause 1.0 to 0.6, speed 70 mm/min. Second photo: side view with the gas supply. Third photo: water-cooled die head. Fourth photo: control panel.

Brand
Maule — Italy

Description

Continuous mesh-belt furnace for the brazing and annealing of chain and small parts under a controlled reducing atmosphere. Muffle chamber 70 mm. Variable-speed mesh belt with digital speed readout, hydrogen flowmeter with regulating valve on the front panel, two analogue instruments, cycle timer and separate switches for the furnace and for the belt drive. Water-cooled cooling tunnel downstream of the heating section, with bimetallic thermometer 0-120 °C on the outlet. Fume outlets on the top and perforated screens at the mouth of the muffle. Maximum working temperature 1090 °C. Second photo: control panel with the hydrogen flowmeter. Third photo: mesh belt at the entry of the chamber.

Brand
G&B – since 1958, Italy

Description

Furnace for the deoxidising and bright annealing of precious metal, mouth 300 x 200 mm, supplied complete with the dissociator that produces the protective atmosphere. Both sections are run from the same panel: separate DISSOC. and FURNACE push-buttons, two digital temperature controllers, line indicator, cycle timer, 24-hour programming clock and automatic/manual selector. Extraction hood over the mouth, infeed and outfeed tables, and water tank downstream for the cooling of the work, with perforated stainless steel plate and heating element. Maximum working temperature 990 °C. Second photo: control panel. Third photo: opposite side with the infeed table and the maker’s plate.

Brand
Bertoncello – Italy

Model
Mesh-belt tunnel furnace, maximum 950 °C, 70 mm belt

Description

Continuous mesh-belt tunnel furnace for the brazing and annealing of chain in a protective atmosphere, maximum temperature 950 °C. Hydrogen and nitrogen inlets on the muffle at the entry. Belt driven by knurled rollers at variable speed, with 0-100 % potentiometer and digital rpm readout. Front panel with Ascon XE programmable temperature controller, cooling water temperature readout (max 40 °C), programming clock, main disconnect switch, automatic/manual selector and belt motor switch. Water-cooled cooling tunnel with extraction chimney and belt return drum at the outlet. Spare mesh belts 70 mm wide available (reel marked 70 x 3298). Second photo: control panel. Third photo: gas inlets and belt drive rollers. Fourth photo: outlet end.

Brand
Mario Di Maio S.p.A. — 20122 Milan, Italy, with Allmet (Germany) badge on the door

Model
No model designation visible on the machine

Description

Cylindrical rotary furnace for investment flasks, finished in red and grey. Front loading opening with glazed inspection door, second hinged door with Mario Di Maio plate and Allmet Germany badge, and counterweighted opening lever. Inside the chamber are two round perforated rotating shelves on a central shaft. Roof exhaust chimney for fume extraction, lifting eye and lower collection drawer. The furnace drains wax from investment flasks before firing: the flasks rotate on the shelves while the wax runs off and is collected at the base. Working cycle and time can be set on the controller.