Vacuum Casting Furnace FIM/5MCE

The new FIM/5MCE vacuum casting furnace is used to produce casted jewelry as well as ingots or sheets. It is a combination of the most advanced casting technology and Italimpianti Orafi's 35 years experience in the goldsmith industry. The unit has been designed to be user-friendly, facilitating the casting process and reducing all manual operations to a minimum, eliminating any possible man-made errors.

Automation of the working process
The unit can work automatically or manually. Thanks to the on-board, user-friendly computer, all of the parameters of each casting cycle can be modified according to the worker's own particular requirements. There are 100 available programs that can be designated to 100 different types and combinations of alloys, colors, karats, pieces etc. Each of these programs can be memorised either by name or number, which makes program-selection easier to do.

Medium Frequency Generator
The inductive currents that heat up the metalautomatically stir the alloy until the cast is completely over. The result is complete homogeneity of the final product. This also avoids prealloying in a separate melter.

Protective atmosphere
The melting, homogenisation and casting processes are done in a protective atmosphere created by an inert gas (either Argon or Nitrogen). A special microswitch on the loading cover triggers a solenoid valve which, in turn, directs a flow of insert gas onto the crucible. This atmosphere prevents oxidation and protects the metal during the casting cycle.

Loading the cylinder/flask
Once the casting temperature has been reached, the computer will advise the user to load the refractory cylinder. Two pneumatic jacks inside the lower chamber raise and lower the flask before and after the casting process.

Casting stage
The machine can be programmed to work in two different ways :

1. Using flasks without flanges or holes. Pressure can be regulated from 0.1 to 1 bar using Argon or pure Hydrogen.

2. Using flasks with flanges and holes. Pressure can be regulated from 0.1 to 2 bar using Argon or pure Hydrogen.

Solidification stage
A flow of inert gas goes from the top chamber to the bottom one with the double effect of compressing the alloy into the mould and, at the same time, protecting it from eventual oxidation during solidification.

Cooling stage
The spear-value closes, separating the two chambers, and the cylinder cools down inside the inert atmosphere. More alloy can be loaded and melted in the top chamber while the flask is still cooling down in the bottom one. This overlapping reduces the cycle time to appx. 6 minutes for 2kg 18ct Au. The MCE series have been designed so that, thanks to their internal cooling system, the machines can work 24 hours a day non-stop.

Productivity and costs
The MCE series can hold various types of flasks (with flages upto 130x300 mm height or 120x300 mm without flanges).

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