Ingot mold
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An ingot mold (or ingot mould) is a type of permanent mold used to make ingots from metals.
Contents
General
Ingot molds have the appearance a tray with a cavity in the shape of a flat square pyramid frustum. Some ingot moulds have multiple hollow cavities and most have a handle, which allows them to be easily and safely moved and flipped. Ingot molds are often made of cast iron or some other alloy, preferably with a high melting point.
Some ingot molds have a mirrored inscription on the bottom of the open mold, which can be anything from the company name or some other custom name.
For cast iron molds, you can cast metals and alloys with the melting point below the softening point of cast iron:
- Metals: aluminium, cadmium, copper, gold, indium, lead, silver, thallium, tin, zinc, etc.
- Alloys: brass, bronze, fusible alloys (Cerrosafe, Field's metal, Newton's metal, Rose's metal, Wood's metal), pewter, zamak, etc.
- Other: antimony, germanium, sulfur, etc.
For mold ingots made of other metals or alloys than cast iron, only use metals with a melting point below the softening point of said metal/allow.
Availability
Ingot molds can be bought online or from suppliers that deal with metal casting.
DIY ingot mold
Cast iron or stainless steel muffin trays can be used to cast circular ingots of metals such as lead, tin, zinc. Other type of metallic trays can be used.
Handling
Never let the metal ingot cool in the mold, as the ingot may stick to the tray and cannot be removed. Once he metal solidified and still hot, flip the mold then tap it sudden on a hard surface, which will cause the ingots to fall over.
Metals and alloys that expand upon cooling, such as bismuth, cannot be cast in permanent molds, as they will rapidly stick to the interior of the cavity.
