TCE in Class A

Vacuum Centrifugal Casting Machines

TCE in Class A are robust and easy to use vacuum centrifugal casting machine especially designed to cast titanium, inconel, superalloys and other reactive metals.
Main differences with respect to TCE in Class B are degree of vacuum, leak-back rate and ppm of oxygen that are admitted during the process, that makes the TCE in Class A the best solution for casting Titanium-based alloys and intermetallic alloys.
Also the choice of the vacuum pumps station and the induction power generator is different and it is chosen to get the maximum result in Titanium cast parts. Hence, TCE machines conceived in Class A are suitable for fields that require high quality control and low interstitial pick-up on the Ti cast parts, like Aerospace, Medical and Automotive.
Regarding the mold size and crucible capacity, today with TCE you can cast up to 2 kg Ti and use flasks with diameter up to 250 mm and length up to 380 mm.
TOPCAST also develops larger machines under customized specifications for what concerns Ti crucible capacity and Flask mould size. In case you are interested in getting a quotation for non-standard casting machine do not hesitate to send us your technical specifications.
Crucibles for Titanium have been designed to avoid alloy contamination and to withstand the high chemical and thermal shocks involved in Titanium melting.
TOPCAST also supplies special investment powder for Titanium casting particularly suitable to avoid alpha-case structure in the cast parts.

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Level of vacuum reached is extremely high
Leak-back rate is carefully minimized
Oxygen ppm in final atmosphere can be precisely measured and controlled
Induction frequency and magnetic field intensity are specifically designed for reactive metals melting
Cast Part traceability: These machines are provided with a Monitoring System based on a PC data logger which is taking process variable samples in both numeric and graphic form, making them available for the off-line Reporting program able to perform specific analysis and data comparison activities.

Technology & Features

Steps

Gas Wash Procedure

Crucible and mould loading operation introduces oxygen
The Gas Wash Purge procedure removes the oxygen (1) in a very fast and efficient way and then refills back the chambers with Argon, Nitrogen or Helium gas (2)

Melting

Advanced Self Tuning thermoregulation (AST™) with exact temperature control of the molten alloys
Accurate control of the temperature with a proprietary narrow band optical pyrometer or with rotating thermocouple
Medium frequency induction heating stirs the melted alloy and leads to a perfect homogeneity
Magnetic field frequency has been studied for best coupling and energy transfer

Injection and Compression

When the charge is molten, the coil is retracted and the arm starts to spin.
During the spinning the metal gets out from the crucible and enters the flask.
Rotational speed profile, which controls the injection rate, can be regulated digitally for a consistent and reliable mould filling.
The final speed will compress the tree during the solidification phase to reduce shrinkage porosity.

Tree protection after casting

After the solidification phase, the flask cools down in a protective atmosphere to avoid oxidation.
A blinking lamp will signal the operator that the cycle has ended and the flask can be removed.

Technical Data

(Customized models are available on request with special features)

	Laboratory machine		Production machine
	TCE8-Ti	TCE12-Ti	TCE40HD-Ti	TCE30-Ti	TCE50-Ti
Working capacity	100g Ti	400g Ti	400g Ti	1000g Ti	1700g Ti
Flask maximum diameter (mm)	Ø110	Ø130	Ø200	Ø150	Ø250
Flask maximum height (mm)	120	180	220	300	380
Induction power	8 kW	10 kW	40 kW	30 kW	50 kW
Max. spinning speed	500 rpm	350 rpm	600 rpm	300 rpm	300 rpm
Vacuum pump
Max. temperature	2000 °C
Monitoring system for process and production data collection
Vacuum leakage detector
Oxygen analyzer
Remote assistance
Optical pyrometer
Rotating thermocouple
Vacuum Chamber and Lid Water Cooled
Automatic Arm Home Position for Robot Load / Unload operations
Automatic Spin Trigger Algorithm