Rods and pins that open, close and throttle the flow of molten metal through a nozzle.
Precise flow comes from two parts that fit.
The rod nose and the nozzle seat are cast for each other.
Precise flow control with a stopper rod depends less on one material than on how exactly the rod nose meets the nozzle seat and how slowly both erode. Blasch casts stopper rods and metering pins to close tolerances in OXYTRON and NITRON silicon carbide, fused silica, aluminum titanate and alumina, with non-wetting grades that keep metal from sticking to the nose. The nose is shaped for on and off duty or for throttling, and the matching nozzle comes from the same process.
In a bottom pour crucible or ladle, the stopper rod hangs in the melt with its nose resting in the seat of the nozzle. Lifting the rod opens the nozzle; lowering it closes or throttles the flow.
Two things decide how well this works. The nose and the seat have to seal when the rod is down, and the gap between them has to change the flow in a predictable way when the rod moves.
Erosion at the nose, spalling from thermal shock or metal stuck to the rod all change that gap, and with it the metering of every pour.
A stopper rod meters only as accurately as it fits its nozzle, which is why the two are designed and cast as a pair.
Rods and pins are designed for the vessel and the control you use.
Shapes for on and off duty or for throttling, matched to the nozzle seat.
Several ways to connect the rod to the actuator or lifting mechanism.
Non-wetting silicon carbide or aluminum titanate for aluminum, fused silica for thermal shock, alumina for general use.
Bottom pour crucibles: in induction melting of superalloys, a precision mated crucible, nozzle and actuated stopper rod allow slag reduced pouring from the bottom of the melt. ProCaster crucibles with bottom pour systems
Ladles and cast house: stopper rods in bottom pour ladles, and metering pins that set the flow in transfer and dosing systems.
Continuous casting: rods and nozzles in non-ferrous continuous casting, where repeatable flow keeps the line running.
The nozzle seat for the rod is cast in the matching metering nozzles and pour spouts. For thermal shock heavy duty, see fused silica as a material.
No. These are ceramic rods for molten metal, used to open, close and meter the flow from bottom pour crucibles and ladles.
Both control flow through a nozzle. A stopper rod usually opens and closes a bottom pour vessel, a metering pin sets a continuous flow rate.
Yes. Send the nozzle seat geometry or a used nozzle, and the rod nose is cast to match.
Tell us the vessel, the alloy and the nozzle you use. A Blasch engineer proposes rod, nose and material.
