Systems and methods for capturing hard particles after filtering and before casting

Abstract

A casting system for forming a cast product of metal such as aluminum and aluminum alloys includes a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table. The trough includes an inline trap, which may capture hard particles such as inclusions from the molten metal by slowing a velocity of the molten metal flowing through the inline trap.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CAPTURING HARD PARTICLES AFTER FILTERING AND BEFORE CASTINGREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 561,366, filed on March 5, 2024, and entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CAPTURING HARD PARTICLES AFTER FILTERING AND BEFORE CASTING, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This application generally relates to casting of metal and alloys, and more particularly to systems and methods for capturing hard particles from a flow of molten metal before casting.BACKGROUND

[0003] Metals such as aluminum and aluminum alloys often must meet quality requirements for various applications, and the presence of inclusions (such as but not limited to oxides) may lead to various quality issues, particularly for metal products with reduced thicknesses. Accordingly, it is common to filter liquid or molten metal prior to formation of a cast product in an attempt to remove such solids or inclusions and thereby produce a higher quality metal product. Various filtration systems have been utilized, and a common filtration system is a deep bed filter system. Such systems include a bed of refractory materials (commonly in the form of alumina balls) packed and layered in an insulated housing, and molten metal is passed through the bed, often in a top-to-bottom direction. As the liquid metal moves through the bed, progressively fewer and fewer inclusions are present in the liquid metal, and the inclusions deposit and accumulate on the surface of the refractory materials.

[0004] While traditional deep bed filters are relatively efficient, inclusions and other particles (hereinafter “hard particles”) nevertheless may be present in the liquid metal exiting the filter and flowing to a casting table (e.g., because the particles were not filtered, were re-released into the liquid metal, etc.). In certain embodiments, a flow rate of liquid metal through the filter and to the casting table may affect likelihood of particles passing through the filter and being introduced to the casting table. In particular, the faster the metal flow rate, the greater thelikelihood of particles passing through the filter and being introduced into the casting table. Some approaches have proposed a closed ceramic filter at an exit of the deep bed filter to capture particles, but closed ceramic filters are relatively large, require a change in system configuration, and consume a large area of space, thereby making them unsuitable for retrofitting of casting systems and / or for installations with limited available space. Other approaches have proposed a dual deep bed filter, but such configurations are costly to implement, require changes in the system configuration, and occupy a large area of space, again making them unsuitable for retrofitting and / or installations with limited available space.SUMMARY

[0005] The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention” and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various embodiments of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim.

[0006] According to various examples, a casting system includes a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table. The trough includes an inline trap for capturing hard particles such as but not limited to inclusions from the molten metal by slowing a velocity of the molten metal flowing through the inline trap.

[0007] According to some embodiments, a casting system includes a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table. The trough includes an inline trap configured to capture hard particles from the molten metal by submerging any hard particles at a bottom of the inline trap.

[0008] According to various embodiments, a casting system includes a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table. The trough includes a main portion and an inline trap portion. The inline trap portion may capture hard particles from the molten metal, and a bottomsurface of the inline trap portion of the trough may be at vertical height below a bottom surface of the main portion of the trough.

[0009] Various implementations described in the present disclosure can include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which cannot necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The features and components of the following figures are illustrated to emphasize the general principles of the present disclosure. Corresponding features and components throughout the figures can be designated by matching reference characters for the sake of consistency and clarity.

[0011] FIG. l is a representation of a casting system according to embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates a trough of the casting system of FIG. 1 according to embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the trough of FIG. 2 according to embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates an inline trap of a trough of a casting system according to embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 5 is another view of the inline trap of FIG. 4.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Described herein are systems and methods for inline filtering of hard particles from molten metal between a metal filtering system, such as but not limited to a deep bed filter, and a casting table. Compared to traditional approaches, the systems and methods described herein include a trough with an inline trap that is relatively small and may be installed without changing an existing system configuration. In certain embodiments, the systems and methods described herein may filter the molten metal as part of the trough by slowing down a velocity of molten metal flowing through the trap and submerging any hard particles at the bottom of the inline trap. In certain embodiments, the inline trap of the trough may have a bottom surface that is below the bottom surface of other portions of the trough. In a non-limiting example, the bottom surface of the inline trap may be at least 100 mm below the bottom surface of other portions of the trough. In various embodiments, the bottom surface of the inline trap may besloped downwards in a direction of flow of molten metal through the inline trap. Compared to traditional approaches, the trough with the inline trap may reduce the metal flow rate without a decline in productivity and / or may capture hard particles without requiring an additional filter system. The systems and methods described herein may provide improved filtering of molten metal before casting, thereby improving the quality of products cast with such metal. Various other benefits and advantages may be realized with the systems and methods described herein, and the aforementioned benefits and advantages should not be considered limiting.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a casting system 100 according to embodiments. The casting system 100 generally includes a one or more furnaces 102 (e.g., melting furnace, holding furnace, etc.), one or more (or zero) treatment devices 104 (e.g., degassers, filters, etc.), a trough 106, and a casting table with one or more casting devices 108. These devices each may perform a portion of a process to cast molten metal into a metal ingot, among other processes. FIG. 1 generally illustrates a direct chill (DC) casting system 100; however, in other embodiments, the components described herein may be useful for other casting systems such as continuous and / or semi-continuous casting systems.

[0018] Referring the FIG. 1, solid metal, such as aluminum and / or aluminum alloys, may be melted in furnace 102, which may heat any content therein using various heating elements or heating techniques as desired. As a non-limiting example, scrap or other aluminum metal may be melted in the furnace 102 to generate molten metal. From the melting furnace, the metal may be delivered to zero, one, or more than one treatment devices 104 which treat the molten metal to remove different kinds of particles from the molten metal. Non -limiting examples of treatment devices 104 include degassers and / or filters such as deep bed filters and / or ceramic foam filters. The molten metal from the one or more treatment devices 104 is delivered to the one or more casting devices 108 using the trough 106. In general, the casting device 108 may perform a casting operation to cast ingots or other products from the molten metal.

[0019] While the treatment devices 104 may remove inclusions and other hard particles from the molten metal, hard particles may be reintroduced into the molten metal provided to the trough 106 and / or may not be filtered in the first place due to filter efficiency (e.g., the treatment device 104 is clogged), a metal flow rate through the treatment device 104, etc. As discussed in detail below, the trough 106 of the casting system 100 may include an inline trap 114 for capturing hard particles from the molten metal before the molten metal is provided to the casting table.

[0020] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the trough 106 in greater detail. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the trough 106 generally defines a passageway or channel 109 for receiving the flow ofmolten metal from the treatment device(s) 104 and includes an inlet 110, an outlet 112, and an inline trap 114 between the inlet 110 and the outlet 112. Portions of the trough 106 without the inline trap 114 may be considered “main” portions 116 of the trough 106, and thus in the embodiment illustrated, the trough 106 includes an upstream main portion 116A and a downstream main portion 116B relative to the inline trap 114. A direction of flow of molten metal through the trough 106 is represented by arrows 111.

[0021] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inline trap 114 of the trough 106 includes trap passageway or channel 118 with a trap inlet 120 and a trap outlet 122 for receiving a flow of the molten metal through the inline trap 114 of the trough 106. In certain embodiments, the trap inlet 120 and the trap outlet 122 are aligned along an axis 124, although they need not be in other embodiments.

[0022] As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the trap channel 118 may have a maximum width 126 that is greater than a maximum width 128 of the main portions 116 of the trough 106. In certain embodiments, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, the trap channel 118 may have a non-uniform width, and in some embodiments, the maximum width 126 of the trap channel 118 may be between the trap inlet 120 and the trap outlet 122. In various embodiments, the trap channel 118 increases in width asymmetrically about the axis 124 between the trap inlet 120 and the trap outlet 122 and such that a maximum width of the trap channel 118 is between the trap inlet 120 and the trap outlet 122. The trap channel 118 may have various maximum widths 126 as desired. In some non-limiting examples, the maximum width 126 is at least 200 mm, such as at least 210 mm, such as at least 220 mm, such as at least 230 mm, such as at least 240 mm, such as at least 250 mm, such as at least 260 mm, such as at least 270 mm, such as at least 280 mm, such as at least 290 mm, such as at least 300 mm. In one non-limiting example, the maximum width 126 is at least 600 mm, such as at least 610 mm, such as at least 620 mm, such as at least 630 mm, such as at least 640 mm, such as at least 650 mm, such as at least 660 mm, such as at least 670 mm, and / or such as at least 680 mm. In one non-limiting examples, the maximum width 126 may be 680 mm.

[0023] The inline trap 114 having the maximum width 126 greater than the maximum width 128 of the main portions 116 of the trough 106 (and optionally being asymmetric relative to the axis 124) may facilitate a slowing of the velocity of the molten metal flowing through the inline trap 114 and / or promote submergence of any particles 130 (see FIG. 3) in the molten metal flowing through the inline trap 114.

[0024] As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the inline trap 114 includes a bottom surface 132 that is offset vertically relative to a bottom surface 134 of the main portions 116 of the trough 106 andsuch that a height or depth 136 of the inline trap 114 is greater than a height or depth 138 of the main portions 116 of the trough 106. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the bottom surface 132 is at an offset height 133 relative to the bottom surface 134. In some non-limiting examples, the offset height 133 may be at least 75 mm, such as at least 80 mm, such as at least 85 mm, such as at least 90 mm, such as at least 95 mm, and / or such as at least 100 mm. In one non-limiting example, offset height 133 is at least 100 mm. Optionally, a difference in vertical height between the bottom surface 134 and the bottom surface 132 is less than the maximum width 126 of the trap channel 118. In various embodiments, the inline trap 114 having the increased depth and with the bottom surface 132 at the vertical height below the bottom surface 134 of the main portions 116 may promote submergence of any particles 130, thereby trapping the particles 130 within the inline trap 114.

[0025] Optionally, and as illustrated in FIG. 3, the bottom surface 132 may be inclined and slope downwards from the trap inlet 120 such that a minimum depth is at or adjacent to the trap inlet 120. The bottom surface 132 may be sloped downwards at various angles as desired. In some non-limiting examples, the bottom surface 132 may slope downwards at an angle from greater than 0° to 5°, for example, such as about 1°, about 1.5°, about 2°, about 2.5°, about 3°, about 3.5°, about 4°, about 4.5°, and / or about 5°, or greater than 5°.

[0026] In some embodiments, the bottom surface 132 may slope downwards from the trap inlet 120 to the trap outlet 122 such that a maximum depth 136 is at or adjacent to the trap outlet 122. In these examples, the trap channel 118 may increase in depth from the trap inlet 120 to the trap outlet 122. In other embodiments, the bottom surface 132 may be sloped in other directions, such as but not limited to towards a side of the trap channel 118, towards a discharge or sampling port, towards an intermediate position (see, e.g., FIGS. 4 and 5), and / or as otherwise desired, and thus the maximum depth 136 may be at locations within the trap channel 118 other than at or adjacent to the trap outlet 122. Optionally, and as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bottom surface 132 may be partially sloped downwards such that the bottom surface 132 defines a trapping ledge 440 at a location between the trap inlet 120 and the trap outlet 122. In various embodiments, the sloped bottom surface 132 may promote submergence of the particles 130 and additionally may promote the trapping of such particles 130 at a particular location to facilitate removal of such particles 130.

[0027] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate another example of an inline trap 414 according to embodiments. The inline trap 414 is similar to the inline trap 114 except that the inline trap 414 additionally includes a sampling or discharge channel 442 in fluid communication with the trap channel 118. The discharge channel 442 may be provided at various locations, and in someembodiments may be provided at a location on the inline trap 114 where the molten metal has a relatively reduced velocity. In this example, a sample of the molten metal may be withdrawn from the inline trap 414 (e.g., for testing and / or as otherwise desired) using the discharge channel 442. The discharge channel 442 includes a channel surface 444, which may be at the same vertical height as the bottom surface 134 and / or at a vertical height below that of the bottom surface 134. Optionally, a stopper or plug may be positionable relative to the discharge channel 442 to selectively block or enable flow through the discharge channel 442. Optionally, the discharge channel 442 may further be utilized for removal of particles 130 trapped by the inline trap 414.

[0028] In addition to the discharge channel 442, the inline trap 414 further includes a partially sloped bottom surface 132 that defines the trapping ledge 440 (or other suitable trapping feature) at a location between the trap inlet 120 and the trap outlet 122. The maximum depth 136 of the inline trap 414 may be defined at or adjacent to the trapping ledge 440. The trapping ledge 440, when included with the inline trap 414, may be aligned, arranged, or otherwise designed to further promote the collection of the particles 130 at a particular location within the trap channel 118. In one non-limiting example, the trapping ledge 440 may be provided at a location facilitating removal of the trapped particles 130 via the discharge channel 442.

[0029] In other embodiments, an inline trap may include additional and / or alternative features as desired, such as but not limited to additional discharge channels, surface features on the bottom surface of the trap channel to further promote trapping of particles, trap channels having different shapes, widths, and / or depths, and / or other features as desired suitable for slowing the velocity of molten metal and / or promoting submergence of particles with the molten metal towards the bottom of the inline trap (thus removing the particles from the flow to the casting table).

[0030] The inline traps described herein may allow for casting of ingots with improved quality by allowing for the improved capture and removal of particles from molten metal. Compared to traditional approaches, the inline traps described herein are compact systems that improve metal cleanliness without requiring changes in line configuration and / or additional space and / or without requiring an additional treatment device (such as a deep bed filter).

[0031] A collection of exemplary embodiments is provided below, including at least some explicitly enumerated as “Illustrations” providing additional description of a variety of example embodiments in accordance with the concepts described herein. These illustrations are not meant to be mutually exclusive, exhaustive, or restrictive; and the disclosure not limited tothese example illustrations but rather encompasses all possible modifications and variations within the scope of the issued claims and their equivalents.

[0032] Illustration 1. A casting system comprising a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table, the trough comprising an inline trap configured to capture hard particles from the molten metal by slowing a velocity of the molten metal flowing through the trap.

[0033] Illustration 2. The casting system of claim 1, wherein a depth of the inline trap is greater than a depth of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

[0034] Illustration 3. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein a maximum width of the inline trap is greater than a maximum width of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

[0035] Illustration 4. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein the inlet and the outlet define a minimum width of the inline trap, and wherein a maximum width of the inline trap is between the inlet and the outlet.

[0036] Illustration 5. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet and an outlet aligned along an axis, and wherein the inline trap increases in width asymmetrically about the axis between the inlet and the outlet and such that a maximum width of the inline trap is between the inlet and the outlet.

[0037] Illustration 6. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein a bottom surface of the inline trap slopes downward from the inlet such that a depth of the inline trap increases from the inlet to the outlet.

[0038] Illustration 7. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet, an outlet, and a bottom surface, wherein the bottom surface is at a vertical height below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

[0039] Illustration 8. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein, at the outlet of the inline trap, the bottom surface of the inline trap is 100 mm below the bottom surface of the portion of the trough without the inline trap.

[0040] Illustration 9. A casting system comprising a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table, wherein the trough comprises an inline trap configured to capture hard particles from the molten metal by submerging any hard particles at a bottom of the inline trap.

[0041] Illustration 10. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap comprises a bottom surface, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap is at a vertical height below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

[0042] Illustration 11. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein a maximum difference in depth between the bottom surface of the inline trap and the bottom surface of the portion of the trough without the inline trap is 100 mm.

[0043] Illustration 12. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet, an outlet, and a bottom surface, wherein a bottom surface of the inline trap slopes downward from the inlet such that a depth of the inline trap increases from the inlet to the outlet.

[0044] Illustration 13. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap is at vertical height below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

[0045] Illustration 14. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein, at the outlet of the inline trap, the bottom surface of the inline trap is 100 mm below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

[0046] Illustration 15. A casting system comprising a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table, wherein the trough comprises a main portion and an inline trap portion, wherein the inline trap portion is configured to capture hard particles from the molten metal, and wherein a bottom surface of the inline trap portion of the trough is at vertical height below a bottom surface of the main portion of the trough.

[0047] Illustration 16. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein a maximum width of the inline trap portion is greater than a maximum width of the main portion.

[0048] Illustration 17. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap portion comprises an inlet and an outlet aligned along an axis, wherein the maximum width of the inline trap portion is between the inlet and the outlet, and wherein the inline trap portion increases asymmetrically about the axis from the inlet to the maximum width.

[0049] Illustration 18. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the maximum width of the inline trap portion is 250 mm.

[0050] Illustration 19. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap portion comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap portion slopes downward from the inlet to the outlet at an angle from greater than 0° to 5°.

[0051] Illustration 20. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the inline trap portion comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap portion slopes downward such that the bottom surface at the outlet is 100 mm below the bottom surface at the inlet.

[0052] Illustration 21. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, further comprising: a filter; and a casting table, wherein the trough is between the filter and the casting table.

[0053] Illustration 22. The casting system of any preceding or subsequent illustrations or combination of illustrations, wherein the filter is a deep bed filter.

[0054] As used herein, the terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention,” and “the present invention” are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent application and the claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below.

[0055] In this description, reference is made to alloys identified by AA numbers and other related designations, such as “series” or “5xxx.” For an understanding of the number designation system most commonly used in naming and identifying aluminum and its alloys, see “International Alloy Designations and Chemical Composition Limits for Wrought Aluminum and Wrought Aluminum Alloys” or “Registration Record of Aluminum Association Alloy Designations and Chemical Compositions Limits for Aluminum Alloys in the Form of Castings and Ingot,” both published by The Aluminum Association.

[0056] As used herein, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes singular and plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0057] The subject matter of embodiments of the present disclosure is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described. Directional references such as “up,”“down,” “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “lateral,” “longitudinal,” “front,” and “back,” among others, are intended to refer to the orientation as illustrated and described in the figure (or figures) to which the components and directions are referencing.

[0058] The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention, and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[0059] The above-described aspects are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects or combinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by the present disclosure. Moreover, although specific terms are employed herein, as well as in the claims that follow, they are used only in a generic and descriptive sense, and not for the purposes of limiting the described embodiments, nor the claims that follow.

Claims

CLAIMSThat which is claimed:

1. A casting system comprising a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table, the trough comprising an inline trap configured to capture hard particles from the molten metal by slowing a velocity of the molten metal flowing through the inline trap.

2. The casting system of claim 1, wherein a depth of the inline trap is greater than a depth of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

3. The casting system of claim 1, wherein a maximum width of the inline trap is greater than a maximum width of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

4. The casting system of claim 1, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein the inlet and the outlet define a minimum width of the inline trap, and wherein a maximum width of the inline trap is between the inlet and the outlet.

5. The casting system of claim 1, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet and an outlet aligned along an axis, and wherein the inline trap increases in width asymmetrically about the axis between the inlet and the outlet and such that a maximum width of the inline trap is between the inlet and the outlet.

6. The casting system of claim 1, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein a bottom surface of the inline trap slopes downward from the inlet such that a depth of the inline trap increases from the inlet to the outlet.

7. The casting system of claim 1, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet, an outlet, and a bottom surface, wherein the bottom surface is at a vertical height below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

8. The casting system of claim 7, wherein, at the outlet of the inline trap, the bottom surface of the inline trap is 100 mm below the bottom surface of the portion of the trough without the inline trap.

9. A casting system comprising a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table, wherein the trough comprises an inline trap configured to capture hard particles from the molten metal by submerging any hard particles at a bottom of the inline trap.

10. The casting system of claim 9, wherein the inline trap comprises a bottom surface, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap is at a vertical height below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

11. The casting system of claim 10, wherein a maximum difference in depth between the bottom surface of the inline trap and the bottom surface of the portion of the trough without the inline trap is 100 mm.

12. The casting system of claim 9, wherein the inline trap comprises an inlet, an outlet, and a bottom surface, wherein a bottom surface of the inline trap slopes downward from the inlet such that a depth of the inline trap increases from the inlet to the outlet.

13. The casting system of claim 12, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap is at vertical height below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

14. The casting system of claim 12, wherein, at the outlet of the inline trap, the bottom surface of the inline trap is 100 mm below a bottom surface of a portion of the trough without the inline trap.

15. A casting system comprising a trough for supplying a flow of molten metal to a casting table, wherein the trough comprises a main portion and an inline trap portion, wherein the inline trap portion is configured to capture hard particles from the molten metal, and wherein a bottom surface of the inline trap portion of the trough is at vertical height below a bottom surface of the main portion of the trough.

16. The casting system of claim 15, wherein a maximum width of the inline trap portion is greater than a maximum width of the main portion.

17. The casting system of claim 16, wherein the inline trap portion comprises an inlet and an outlet aligned along an axis, wherein the maximum width of the inline trap portion is betweenthe inlet and the outlet, and wherein the inline trap portion increases asymmetrically about the axis from the inlet to the maximum width.

18. The casting system of claim 16, wherein the maximum width of the inline trap portion is 250 mm.

19. The casting system of claim 15, wherein the inline trap portion comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap portion slopes downward from the inlet to the outlet at an angle from greater than 0° to 5°.

20. The casting system of claim 15, wherein the inline trap portion comprises an inlet and an outlet, wherein the bottom surface of the inline trap portion slopes downward such that the bottom surface at the outlet is 100 mm below the bottom surface at the inlet.

21. The casting system of claim 1, 9, or 15, further comprising: a filter; and a casting table, wherein the trough is between the filter and the casting table.

22. The casting system of claim 21, wherein the filter is a deep bed filter.

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