Transport device for molten metal, modular system for a transport device and method for casting a component

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport device (10) for melt (12), comprising a housing (18), a lance-shaped pouring device (16), a pressure regulating device (26), a plug (24) and a rinsing device (30).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a transport device for melt, a modular system for a transport device and a method for casting a component.

[0002] AT 522912 A1 discloses a melt transport device with a melt container in which a melt receiving space is formed. Furthermore, the melt transport device comprises a spout, wherein the spout has a spout opening. A gas valve is provided, which is fluidly connected to the melt receiving space and which is designed to regulate the gas introduction into the melt receiving space. A siphon is formed in the spout, which has a reservoir arranged between the melt receiving space and the spout opening, wherein the reservoir has an overflow level. A siphon wall with a siphon wall edge protrudes into the reservoir such that the lower edge of the siphon wall is arranged at a lower level than the overflow level of the reservoir.

[0003] Furthermore, AT 525199 A1 discloses a casting system for producing a cast workpiece, wherein the casting system comprises a melt transport device. The melt transport device comprises a melt container in which a melt receiving space is formed. Furthermore, the melt transport device comprises a lance with a spout, wherein the lance is coupled to the melt container.

[0004] Furthermore, a reservoir, in particular a plug pan, for liquid casting material is known from DE 10 2009 004 613 A1. The reservoir comprises at least one opening provided in a lower region of the reservoir and a plug associated with the at least one opening. The plug is adjustable in a longitudinal direction of the plug relative to the opening, wherein the opening is closed in a fluid-tight manner by one end of the plug in a first position of the plug and is open in a retracted position of the plug, so that liquid casting material can flow out of the reservoir or into the reservoir via the opening. Furthermore, the reservoir comprises a flushing device by means of which the plug and / or the opening can be flushed with a gas.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a solution which enables filling of a casting mold from bottom to top with a particularly precisely specified filling speed.

[0006] This object is achieved according to the invention by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further possible embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the subclaims, the description, and the figures. Features, advantages, and possible embodiments presented in the description for one of the subject matter of the independent claims are to be regarded at least analogously as features, advantages, and possible embodiments of the respective subject matter of the other independent claims, as well as any possible combination of the subject matter of the independent claims, optionally in conjunction with one or more of the subclaims.

[0007] The invention relates to a transport device for melt. Melt is material brought into a liquid state. In particular, the melt is metal-containing melt. The transport device is designed to receive the melt from a melting furnace and transport it to a casting mold. Furthermore, the transport device is designed to pour the melt into the casting mold, whereby a component is cast from the melt. The transport device comprises a housing which circumferentially delimits a receiving volume. The melt can be received in this receiving volume for its transport. Furthermore, the receiving volume has an opening through which the melt can flow out of the receiving volume.In particular, it is provided that the melt is poured into the receiving volume via the opening, the melt is held in the receiving volume during transport and then the melt flows out of the receiving volume via the opening for casting the component. Furthermore, it is provided that the transport device comprises a lance-shaped pouring device which is connected to the housing and into which the melt which has flowed out via the opening can flow. The melt can be poured, in particular sucked in, from the melting furnace into the transport device via the lance-shaped pouring device. Furthermore, the liquid melt for casting the component is poured into the casting mold via the lance-shaped pouring device. For this purpose, the lance-shaped pouring device can be moved at least partially into the casting mold in order to enable precise filling of the casting mold with the melt.An injector with any outlet geometry can be used as a lance-shaped pouring device.

[0008] The transport device further comprises a pressure control device configured to adjust the pressure in the receiving volume. It is provided that the melt can be sucked from the pouring device into the receiving volume by means of a negative pressure in order to fill the receiving volume with the melt. In other words, to suck the melt into the transport device, the lance-shaped pouring device is inserted at least partially into a liquid melt bath in the melting furnace, and by applying the negative pressure in the receiving volume, the melt is sucked from the melt bath into the pouring device and, via the pouring device, into the receiving volume.The pressure regulating device is in particular designed to fill a free gas space in the receiving volume, which is not filled with the melt, with an inert gas or to adjust the volume and pressure of the inert gas in the receiving volume. By means of the inert gas, oxidation of the melt in the receiving volume due to contact with oxygen at an interface between the melt and the free gas space can be avoided. The pressure regulating device is further designed to push the melt from the receiving volume into the pouring device by means of excess pressure in order to pour the melt into the casting mold. By means of the pressure regulating device, the melt can thus be forced out of the receiving volume via a set pressure of the gas in the free gas space, whereby the melt can be poured into the casting mold via the pouring device.

[0009] The transport device further comprises a plug which is adjustable between a closed position closing the opening and at least one open position releasing the opening. In particular, the plug is designed to be arranged in the open position when melt is sucked from the melting furnace into the receiving volume, to be arranged in the closed position during transport of the melt by means of the transport device, and to be arranged in the open position during casting of the component by discharging the melt from the transport device. By arranging the plug in the closed position during transport of the melt, the risk of the melt leaking out of the transport device during transport of the melt and thus material loss and contamination of a casting system can be kept particularly low.The transport device further comprises a purging device which, when the plug is in the closed position, is designed to provide a gas by means of which melt is purged from the pouring device. The purging device thus enables the pouring device to be freed of melt residues after the melt has been poured into the receiving volume before melt flows through the pouring device again when the component is cast. In contrast to conventional permanent mold casting, the component can be produced by means of the transport device by filling the casting mold from above without an additional gating system. The casting mold is filled from bottom to top by means of the pouring device, which is particularly lance-shaped, with the pouring device being slowly moved out of the casting mold during the filling process.Due to this reversed filling process, the melting temperature can be kept lower than with conventional permanent mold casting, as areas close to the bottom do not need to be kept hot until the end of the filling process. This lower pouring temperature and the resulting shorter solidification time have a positive effect on the cycle time, which is thereby shortened. Further energy savings can be achieved through low melt holding temperatures and reduced cooling requirements. Because no gating system is required, only a very small amount of melt is required to cast the component. The described transport device also enables the melt to be picked up from the melting furnace with particularly low oxide content, as the contact area between the melt and oxygen-containing air can be kept particularly small.The low-oxide transport of the melt is also facilitated by the fact that the receiving volume is free of oxygen due to the free gas space being filled with the inert gas. As a result, the risk of oxidation of the melt in the receiving volume can be kept particularly low. Furthermore, the system enables the melt in the melting furnace to be sucked in from below the bath using the pouring device thanks to the negative pressure control provided by the pressure control device. This makes it possible to keep the proportion of the melt that comes into direct contact with oxygen, particularly in the melting furnace, particularly low, since mixing of the melt at the boundary layer, which can react with oxygen, with other melt volume in the furnace is kept particularly low due to the underbath suction provided by the pouring device.The pressure control device also enables targeted and precise suction of the melt into the receiving volume and precise discharge of the melt from the pouring device. Thus, the pressure control device can be used to precisely control the casting process of the component and the filling process when filling the receiving volume with melt. Using the pressure control device, the amount of melt discharged from the transport device into the mold can be varied and adjusted during dosing.

[0010] In a possible development of the invention, the plug is provided with a gas guide channel via which the gas can be guided through the plug to the opening, whereby the gas can flow through the opening into the pouring device for flushing the melt from the pouring device. This makes it possible for the transport device to be designed in a particularly compact and space-saving manner, since the provision of special gas guide lines different from the plug can be omitted. Instead, the plug, which is hollow on the inside, can be used to guide the gas to the opening. The plug thus fulfills the dual function of guiding the gas for flushing the pouring device and, on the other hand, closing or opening the opening.An additional thickening of a housing wall of the housing to integrate the gas guide into this housing wall as well as the provision of gas guide lines arranged externally in the receiving volume, which would reduce the receiving volume, is therefore not necessary.

[0011] In a further possible embodiment of the invention, the pouring device comprises a two-hole injector through which the melt can flow out of the transport device and through which the melt can be sucked into the transport device. The provision of the two-hole injector on the pouring device enables the component to be cast using the transport device as part of an injector casting process, which can also be referred to as injector casting.

[0012] In a further possible embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the pouring device is attached to the housing in an interchangeable manner. In other words, the pouring device on the housing can be exchanged in order to be able to cast the component, for example by means of the transport device, in a process different from injector casting. In this case, for example, the pouring device with the two-hole injector can be attached to the housing, or the pouring device with the two-hole injector can be removed from the housing and, instead, a pouring device with a siphon area can be attached to the housing. This siphon area of ​​the pouring device can enable a circumferential spray pattern of the melt when filling the melt into the casting mold.The interchangeability of the pouring device of the transport device allows components to be cast using different casting processes, depending on the attached pouring device, using a single housing with pressure control device, stopper, and flushing device. Thus, different casting processes for casting specific components can be implemented with a single system.

[0013] In a further possible embodiment of the invention, the purging device is configured to provide nitrogen as a gas. This means that the pouring device can be purged using nitrogen. Nitrogen is an inert gas. The risk of oxidation of the melt purged from the pouring device using the gas can thus be kept particularly low due to the use of nitrogen. Furthermore, nitrogen is a particularly easy-to-handle, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective inert gas.

[0014] The invention further relates to a modular system, in particular for a transport device, as already described in connection with the transport device according to the invention. The modular system comprises a melt container and several different, in particular lance-shaped, pouring devices, wherein the transport device is created by selecting one of the pouring devices and connecting the selected pouring device to the melt container. In this case, the respective pouring devices are connected, in particular, reversibly to the melt container. The modular system thus enables different configurations of transport devices to be provided particularly easily with very few components. The melt container comprises a housing, a pressure control device, a plug, and a flushing device.The housing defines a receiving volume on the circumference in which the melt can be received for transport. The housing further has an opening through which the melt can flow out of the receiving volume and in the region of which the housing can be connected to the pouring device. The pressure regulating device is designed to regulate a pressure in the receiving volume, wherein a negative pressure can suck the melt through the opening into the receiving volume in order to fill the receiving volume with the melt. A positive pressure in the receiving volume pushes the melt out of the receiving volume through the opening in order to pour the melt into a casting mold. The plug is adjustable between a closed position closing the opening and at least one open position uncovering the opening.The purging device is configured to provide a gas when the plug is in the closed position, allowing melt to be purged from the pouring device. Several different pouring devices can be connected to the housing, thereby fluidly connecting the respective pouring device to the receiving volume via the opening.

[0015] In a possible further development of the invention, one of the pouring devices comprises a two-hole injector through which the melt can flow out of the transport device and through which the melt can be sucked into the transport device. When the melt container is connected to the pouring device comprising the two-hole injector, a transport device is created which is configured to cast a component using a so-called injector casting process.

[0016] In a further possible embodiment of the invention, one of the pouring devices is provided with a siphon area through which the melt can flow out of the transport device and through which the melt can be sucked into the transport device. The siphon geometry, in particular, makes it possible to achieve a circumferential spray pattern when pouring the melt during the casting of the component. Furthermore, the siphon makes it particularly easy to fill the casting mold after a sprue under a bath. This makes it particularly effective in limiting oxide formation in the melt during the casting of the component.

[0017] The invention further relates to a method for casting a component, in particular a motor vehicle component. In this case, the motor vehicle component can in particular be cast from a metal-containing material, such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy. In the method, it is provided that, by means of a transport device, as already described in connection with the transport device according to the invention, liquid melt for casting the component is sucked into the receiving volume via the pouring device from a melting furnace into the receiving volume by setting a negative pressure in the receiving volume. Subsequently, it is provided that the plug is moved from the open position to the closed position. In other words, the plug is arranged in the open position while the melt is being sucked in from the melting furnace.After the plug has been moved to the closed position, any melt remaining in the pouring device is flushed out with gas using the purging device. The transport device is then moved to a casting mold for the component. Once the transport device has reached the casting mold, the plug is moved from the closed position to the open position and, by regulating the pressure in the receiving volume, the melt is poured into the casting mold via the pouring device, thereby casting the component. This process allows the component to be cast using an injector casting process and, secondly, oxide formation in the melt can be kept to a minimum due to the extremely small number of interfaces in the melt that come into contact with oxygen.Furthermore, in contrast to transport devices open to the atmosphere, into which the melt is filled via an overflow chute, the system allows the melt to have a significantly lower temperature, since no heat losses need to be taken into account when guiding the melt over the overflow chute during heating of the melt. Since oxide formation can be kept particularly low when handling the melt with the described transport device, particularly high availability of the transport device can be achieved. As a result, a particularly high output and thus a particularly large number of components can be cast using the transport device in a particularly short time. Furthermore, the transport device has particularly low maintenance requirements.

[0018] In a possible further development of the invention, it is provided that, for preheating the pouring device, melt from the melting furnace is alternately sucked into the transport device and discharged back into the melting furnace before the melt is sucked into the receiving volume for casting the component. This means that when the transport device is not in use, for example during a break between respective casting processes, the transport device is arranged such that the pouring device protrudes into the melting furnace, and in particular, a pouring opening, through which melt can be sucked into the transport device or the melt can be poured into the casting mold, is arranged below the bath.Since the pouring device is arranged at least partially below the bath, mixing of an interface in contact with a gas between the melt received in the melting furnace and the remaining melt in the melting furnace is avoided during the suction and discharge of the melt. As a result, oxide formation of the melt in the melting furnace can be kept particularly low, and the pouring device can still be preheated by sucking in and discharging the melt into the pouring device. Because the free gas space in the receiving volume is filled with the inert gas, oxide formation in the transport device is limited, in particular prevented, so that the introduction of formed oxides into the melt arranged in the melting furnace as a result of the suction and discharge of the melt via the pouring device.This makes it particularly easy to preheat the pouring device without negatively affecting the quality of the melt.

[0019] Further features of the invention may emerge from the claims, the figures, and the description of the figures. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features shown below in the description of the figures and / or in the figures alone, can be used not only in the respective combinations specified, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0020] The drawing shows in the only figure ( Fig. 1) a schematic sectional view of a melt transport device.

[0021] In Fig. 1 shows a transport device 10 for melt 12, which is configured to transport melt 12 from a melting furnace to a casting mold and to pour the melt 12 into the casting mold. The transport device 10 is, in particular, assembled from a modular system. This modular system comprises a melt container 14 and several different pouring devices 16, each of which can be reversibly attached to the melt container 14. By selecting one of the pouring devices 16 and connecting this selected pouring device 16 to the melt container 14, a predetermined transport device 10 is created. The pouring device 16 is also referred to below as an injector. The melt furnace is also referred to below as a dosing furnace.

[0022] The melt container 14 comprises a housing 18, which circumferentially defines a receiving volume 20. The melt 12 can be received in this receiving volume 20 for its transport. The housing 18 further has an opening 22 arranged underneath, through which the melt 12 can flow out of the receiving volume 20 and can be sucked into the receiving volume 20. The melt container 14 further comprises a plug 24, which is adjustable between a closed position closing the opening 22 and at least one open position releasing the opening 22. The pouring device 16 connected to the melt container 14 can be connected to the opening 22 of the housing 18, whereby the pouring device 16 is fluidically connected to the receiving volume 20 via the opening 22. As shown in Fig. 1, the receiving volume 20 is completely enclosed circumferentially by the housing 18, wherein the receiving volume 20 is tightly enclosed when the opening 22 is closed by means of the plug 24.

[0023] In order to enable the melt 12 to be sucked into the receiving volume 20 via the pouring device 16 or to enable the melt 12 to be discharged from the receiving volume 20 into the pouring device 16, the melt container 14 comprises a pressure regulating device 26. The portion of the receiving volume 20 which is not filled with the melt 12 is in this case filled with an inert gas 28 such as nitrogen. By blowing the inert gas 28 into the receiving volume 20 or by sucking the inert gas 28 out of the receiving volume 20, the pressure in the receiving volume 20 can be adjusted by means of the pressure regulating device 26. When the plug 24 is arranged in the open position, the melt 12 can be sucked into the receiving volume 20 via the pouring device 16 by setting a negative pressure by means of the pressure regulating device 26.If, while the plug 24 is arranged in the open position, an overpressure is set in the receiving volume 20 by means of the pressure control device 26, then melt 12 is pressed out of the receiving volume 20 via the opening 22. The melt 12 is thereby moved into the pouring device 16 and can be poured into the casting mold via the pouring device 16.

[0024] In order to be able to cast the component as part of an injector casting process, the transport device 10 further comprises a purging device 30 which is configured to provide a gas, in particular an inert gas, in particular nitrogen, when the plug 24 is in the closed position, by means of which gas the melt 12 is purged from the pouring device 16. As a result, after the receiving volume 20 has been filled with the melt 12, the pouring device 16 can be freed of the melt 12, so that during the transport of the melt 12 in the transport device 10, the pouring device 16 is free of the melt 12. In the present case, the purging device 30 comprises a gas guide channel 32 extending through the plug 24, via which gas guide channel the gas can be guided through the plug 24 to the opening 22. This allows the gas to flow through the opening 22 into the pouring device 16 to flush the melt 12 out of the pouring device 16.The gas guide channel 32, which extends within the plug 24, runs with its longitudinal extension direction in particular parallel to the longitudinal extension direction of the plug 24. In other words, the plug 24 is hollow in the present case, the gas guide channel 32 being provided by the hollow space located in the plug 24.

[0025] The pouring device 16 is replaceably attached to the housing 18, whereby the transport device 10 can be used for different casting processes by exchanging the pouring device 16 on the melt container 14. In the present case, the pouring device 16 is designed to cast the component within the scope of the injector casting process. For this purpose, the pouring device 16 has a two-hole injector 34 at its end not connected to the housing 18 and thus free, in particular its lower end, which can be moved into the casting mold for casting the component. Alternatively, the pouring device 16 can be arranged in a Fig. 1 embodiment not shown, have a siphon area through which the melt 12 can flow out of the transport device 10 and through which the melt 12 can be sucked into the transport device 10.

[0026] The following describes a method for casting a component using the transport device 10. By setting a negative pressure in the receiving volume 20, the liquid melt 12 for casting the component is sucked from the melting furnace into the receiving volume 20 via the pouring device 16. The plug 24 is then moved from the open position to the closed position. Subsequently, any melt 12 remaining in the pouring device 16 is flushed out with gas using the purging device 30. Subsequently, the transport device 10 is moved to the casting mold, and the plug 24 is moved from the closed position to the open position. As a result, by regulating the pressure in the receiving volume 20 using the pressure regulating device 26, the melt 12 can be poured into the casting mold via the pouring device 16, thereby casting the component.For the respective gas supply, the pressure control device 26 in this case has a first valve A and the purging device 30 has a second valve B.

[0027] The following describes a functional sequence for an initial filling of the transport device 10, wherein the transport device 10 in this case is an empty unit. The method steps described below are consecutive. First, the transport device 10 is preheated by arranging the plug 24 in the open position and sucking hot air into the receiving volume 20. Subsequently, injector openings 36 at the free end of the pouring device 16 are immersed approximately eight centimeters below the bath surface of the melting furnace into the melt 12 arranged in the melting furnace. The plug 24 is arranged in the open position. The second valve B is closed and the first valve A builds up a negative pressure in the receiving volume 20, whereby suction is effected until the melt 12 in the receiving volume 20 reaches a predetermined target filling quantity, for example 60 kilograms.Subsequently, the first valve A is set to negative pressure "hold with full injector." The plug 24 is then moved to the closed position, and the first valve A is set to negative pressure "hold with empty injector" to prevent air from being sucked in. The injector is purged with nitrogen via the second valve B. The second valve B is then closed, and the transport device 10 moves to the casting position and thus to the mold.

[0028] The following describes a functional sequence for pressure-controlled component filling and thus a casting process of the component in a casting mold. The transport device 10 is in the sprue position. The first valve A then regulates to ambient pressure. The plug 24 is then moved from the closed position to the open position. A pressure start sequence for injector filling / casting start is used. As a result, a slow injector filling can be implemented, whereby a casting filter, also known as a sieve, can be omitted, or a rapid injector filling can be set, or different defined mass flows can be set for different component areas of the component to be cast. The component is filled and thus the component is cast in the casting mold according to a predetermined casting curve. For this purpose, pressure is controlled by means of the pressure control device 26 to map the ambient pressure.A criterion for terminating component filling can be specified by a load cell, a camera device, and / or the pouring curve and / or a probe contact. If at least one of these criteria is met, the first valve A is set to negative pressure "hold with full injector," and the plug 24 is moved to the closed position. The injector is then purged with nitrogen via the second valve B. The first valve A then sets the negative pressure "hold with empty injector" to prevent air from being drawn in. This is followed by a movement of the transport device 10 to the dosing furnace, and the injector openings 36 are immersed in the bath.

[0029] The following describes a functional sequence for refilling the transport device 10. Initially, the injector openings 36 are located approximately eight centimeters below the bath surface of the dosing furnace. The second valve B is closed. Filling the injector with the melt 12 can take place via a bath in a first option and via a furnace in a second, alternative option. In the first option, the plug 24 is moved to the open position and the pressure in the receiving volume 20 is increased according to a specified time using the pressure control device 26 in order to fill the injector by draining the melt 12 from the receiving volume 20. In the second option, the plug 24 is also moved to the open position. The pressure in the receiving volume 20 is reduced by means of the pressure control device 26 in order to suck in melt 12 from the furnace.As a result, air is drawn from the injector into the receiving volume 20 and adjusted to the target pressure via the pressure control device 26.

[0030] After the injector is filled, the first valve A creates a vacuum in the receiving volume 20 to draw in the melt 12 until a target fill level of the melt 12 in the receiving volume 20 is reached. Once the target fill level is reached, the first valve A switches to a vacuum setting of "hold with full injector," and the plug 24 is moved to the closed position. The first valve A continues to switch to a vacuum setting of "hold with empty injector" to prevent air from being drawn in via the injector. Subsequently, the injector is purged with nitrogen using the second valve B.

[0031] Subsequently, the second valve B is closed and the transport device 10 performs a travel movement to the casting position.

[0032] When not in use, the transport device 10 can be permanently arranged at least partially in the dosing furnace, whereby the transport device 10 can be filled with the melt 12 immediately as soon as it is needed, since the injector is already located in the melt 12 and does not have to be moved to a source for the melt 12. Since the injector is empty during the transport of the melt 12 when the injector casting process is carried out, a slight negative pressure is sufficient to hold the melt 12 in the receiving volume 20, since only a particularly small column of the melt 12 is present due to the empty state of the pouring device 16. The transport device 10 enables different casting processes to be implemented with reduced investment and space requirements. This provides particularly high interchangeability flexibility.

[0033] The transport device 10 enables the use of particularly simple furnace technology, since the transport device 10 can be filled with melt 12 particularly easily by sucking in the melt 12. Furthermore, with the described transport device 10, there is a particularly low risk of oxidation for the melt 12 while it is being handled by the transport device 10, whereby the risk of contamination of the transport device 10 by oxide deposits can be kept particularly low. As a result, particularly high availability and, consequently, a particularly long service life of the transport device 10 can be achieved. Furthermore, due to the low risk of oxide deposits, the transport device 10 requires particularly little maintenance. The pressure-controlled casting of the component via the pressure control device 26 makes it possible to achieve particularly stable mold filling of the casting mold.Since the melt container 14 has the housing 18, which circumferentially delimits the receiving volume 20 and thus no trough open to the atmosphere is provided, overpressure filling of the transport device 10 with the melt 12 is not necessary. In a feed chute, aluminum would cool by approximately 15 degrees. As a result, when using the transport device 10, the melt 12 can be handled at a lower temperature, in particular with a metal temperature reduced by 15 degrees Celsius, compared to an open system in which the melt 12 would be fed via a feed chute. As a result, due to the lower temperature of the melt 12, less energy is required by the melting furnace to heat or keep the melt 12 warm, and additionally, due to the reduced temperature, an improved melt quality can be achieved.

[0034] Since only a particularly simple furnace technology is required for casting using the transport device 10, the investment costs for the melting furnace are particularly low. Furthermore, the melting furnace requires very little space, and no large-volume preheating furnace is necessary. Positioning the transport device 10 during the holding phase of the furnace allows for particularly short cycle times. This positioning eliminates the need for processes such as "moving to the filling position" and "opening a flap to fill the transport device 10 from above" prior to filling.

[0035] In the described transport device 10, it can be provided that the injector and a wall of the housing 18 delimiting the receiving volume 20 are heated and kept warm by sucking melt 12 into the receiving volume 20 and metering it out of the receiving volume 20 via the pouring device 16. Thus, no air is present in the injector during downtimes. This makes it possible to keep the risk of oxygen or oxides being introduced particularly low, since the injector openings 36 of the injector are permanently located under the bath in the melting furnace during this preheating. Furthermore, due to the preheating, the transport device 10 can be made available particularly quickly for respective casting processes, whereby particularly short cycle times can be achieved. List of reference symbols 10 Transport device 12 Melt 14 melt containers 16 Pouring device 18 housings 20 recording volume 22 Opening 24 plugs 26 Pressure control device 28 Gas 30 Flushing device 32 Gas duct 34 Two-hole injector 36 Injector opening A and B respective valves QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] AT 522912 A1

[0002] AT 525199 A1

[0003] DE 10 2009 004 613 A1

[0004]

Claims

[1] Transport device (10) for melt (12), with - a housing (18) which circumferentially defines a receiving volume (20) in which the melt (12) can be received for its transport, and which has an opening (22) through which the melt (12) can flow out of the receiving volume (20), - a lance-shaped pouring device (16) which is connected to the housing (18) and into which the melt (12) flowing out via the opening (22) can flow, - a pressure control device (26) which is designed to adjust a pressure in the receiving volume (20), wherein the melt (12) can be sucked from the pouring device (16) into the receiving volume (20) by means of a negative pressure in order to fill the receiving volume (20) with the melt (12), and the melt (12) can be pushed from the receiving volume (20) into the pouring device (16) by means of an overpressure in order to pour the melt (12) into a casting mold, - a plug (24) which is adjustable between a closed position closing the opening (22) and at least one open position releasing the opening (22), and - a flushing device (30) which is designed to provide a gas when the plug (24) is arranged in the closed position, by means of which gas melt (12) is flushed out of the pouring device (16). [2] Transport device (10) according to claim 1, characterized bythat the plug (24) has a gas guide channel (32) via which the gas can be guided through the plug (24) to the opening (22), whereby the gas can flow through the opening (22) into the pouring device (16) for flushing the melt (12) from the pouring device (16). [3] Transport device (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the pouring device (16) has a two-hole injector (34) through which the melt (12) can flow out of the transport device (10) and through which the melt (12) can be sucked into the transport device (10). [4] Transport device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the pouring device (16) is replaceably attached to the housing (18). [5] Transport device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the purging device (30) is designed to provide nitrogen as a gas. [6] Modular system for a transport device (10), with - a melt container (14) comprising ◯ a housing (18) which circumferentially delimits a receiving volume (20) in which the melt (12) can be received for its transport, and which has an opening (22) through which the melt (12) can flow out of the receiving volume (20) and in the region of which the housing (18) can be connected to a pouring device (16), ◯ a pressure control device (26) which is designed to control a pressure in the receiving volume (20), wherein the melt (12) can be sucked into the receiving volume (20) via the opening (22) by means of a negative pressure in order to fill the receiving volume (20) with the melt (12), and the melt (12) can be pushed out of the receiving volume (20) via the opening (22) by means of an overpressure in order to pour the melt (12) into a casting mold, ◯ a plug (24) which is adjustable between a closed position closing the opening (22) and at least one open position releasing the opening (22), and ◯ a flushing device (30) which is designed to provide a gas when the plug (24) is arranged in the closed position, whereby melt (12) can be flushed out of the pouring device (16), - a plurality of different lance-shaped pouring devices (16) which can be connected to the housing (18), whereby the respective pouring device (16) is fluidically connected to the receiving volume (20) via the opening (22), wherein the transport device (10) is created by selecting one of the pouring devices (16) and connecting the selected pouring device (16) to the melt container (14). [7] Modular system according to claim 6, characterized bythat one of the pouring devices (16) has a two-hole injector (34) through which the melt (12) can flow out of the transport device (10) and through which the melt (12) can be sucked into the transport device (10). [8] Modular system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by that one of the pouring devices (16) has a siphon area through which the melt (12) can flow out of the transport device (10) and through which the melt (12) can be sucked into the transport device (10). [9] Method for casting a component, in which by means of a transport device (10) according to one of claims 1 to 5 - by setting a negative pressure in the receiving volume (20), liquid melt (12) for casting the component is sucked into the receiving volume (20) from a melting furnace via the pouring device (16), - the plug (24) is moved from the open position to the closed position, - melt (12) remaining in the pouring device (16) is flushed out with gas by means of the flushing device (30), - the transport device (10) is moved to a casting mould, - the plug (24) is moved from the closed position to the open position and - by pressure control in the receiving volume (20) the melt (12) is poured into the casting mould via the pouring device (16), whereby the component is cast. [10] Method according to claim 9, characterized by in that, for preheating the pouring device (16), melt (12) from the melting furnace is alternately sucked into the transport device (10) and discharged back into the melting furnace before the melt (12) is sucked into the receiving volume (20) for casting the component.

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