PLATINUM CASTING SOLUTIONS FROM FINISHING TECHNIQUES
The myth that casting in platinum is difficult has been addressed by Finishing Techniques' latest equipment addition from Yasui - the Vacuum Centrifugal Casting Machine for Platinum. As sole UK supplier of the VCC, the company can now offer a system that will repeatedly produce perfect castings of jewellery from fine filigree to heavy pieces.
VCC for Platinum has been designed with the special qualities of the metal in mind. Platinum is renowned for its high melting point and the fact that it solidifies fast. During casting it is vital that the molten metal is poured accurately, quickly and smoothly into the mould. To achieve this Yasui has developed the 'Double Swing Arm' this ensures that the mould and molten metal are precisely aligned in the same axis. Precise servomotor control then allows the metal to be fully transferred into the mould in a 1 to 1.5 turn.
These advances overcome the problems associated with traditional straight arm casting machines where strong angular acceleration and centrifugal forces are exerted on the molten metal. On rotation, this can cause the molten metal to miss the mould and splash to outside of the flask.
On the Yasui system there are further enhancements in the form of highly accurate thermal control and selectable casting atmosphere. The ideal atmosphere can be chosen from vacuum, air, inert gas presence or a mix of both vacuum and inert gas.
Finishing Techniques have recently supplied a VCC for Platinum to Weston Beamor, the Birmingham based pioneer in the design and casting of jewellery.
For easy editing, a version of this text and high/low resolution images are on the web at www.ainsmag.co.uk/fi172/3418fi1a.htm
September 25, 2002
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