Spin Caster
During the casting process, the finished mold spins along its central axis for anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes depending upon the chosen casting material. Internally a spin casting machine or spin caster consists of a motor and pressure clamping system which holds and positions the mold properly while it spins at a steady rate. These components are placed inside of a machine body which shields against flashing of molten metal or liquid plastic that is inadvertently ejected from the mold during the spinning process. Without the proper containment, hot melted flashing can be a serious hazard to the machine operator and anyone else nearby.
Commercial spin casting machines are available in two different types, front-loading and top-loading. Due to the weight and bulkiness of spin casting molds, front loading machines tend to offer several advantages regarding ease of use and time savings. Rubber molds can become quite heavy, especially at larger diameters and when casting metal. Because loading and unloading the caster is performed by hand, it is easiest and less fatiguing to manipulate the mold at waist level in one fluid motion as allowed by a front-loading spin caster. This is especially important when spin casting for production purposes where one is trying to maximize the number of complete casting cycles per hour.
Top loading machines tend to be cheaper and theoretically have less of a restriction on maximum mold thickness.
Read more about this topic: Spin Casting, Equipment
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