
Cast high-temperature metals—such as platinum and stainless steel—as well as gold, silver and most base metals in the Rio Grande Cast-In-One™ high-temp induction casting machine. With innovation and forward thinking, this water-cooled machine requires no crucibles, no flask rings and, for that matter, no flasks. In this compact, tabletop system, your wax tree is built onto a specially designed rubber base that, once invested, forms a self-contained, all-in-one crucible and "flask" that accommodates a wide variety of jewelry styles. Perfect for custom casting, for studio work and for small scale production, the melting capability of the Cast-In-One™ system easily handles most jewelry-making metals, including white metals. Whether you are new to casting or bring years of experience to the job, you save time, save on a range of casting consumables, and simply eliminate worries over metal contamination because you cast with clean, fresh materials each and every cycle.
The Cast-In-One™ offers:
• All-in-one casting (no crucible or flask needed) with no change to your usual treeing and investing processes.
• Move from one metal to the next simply by adjusting your machine settings—no need to change out consumables or clean and prep the casting system in any way.
• Melt your metal in air or under pressure/vacuum and with or without a protective inert argon atmosphere—a full range of casting options for a full range of casting needs.
• Touch-screen LCD control display provides close and easy to adjust control over each cast. Program-saving feature allows you to save settings for programs you use often.
• Built-in infrared sensor for precise, accurate temperature readings.
• Three base sizes (one each is included), all 5"H, in three diameters: 1-3/4", 3" and 3-1/2" that accommodate a range of model sizes.
• Easy installation, simple operation and great cycle speed.
The Cast-In-One™ system consists of:
• a ceramic base and positioning plate (to center the investment mold inside the machine),
• the innovative rubber base with a flexible clear plastic sleeve and rigid plastic ring stiffener (to support your sprue and patterns for treeing and investing),
• and the heart of the Cast-In-One™ design: the Penta-form. The Penta-form is a small, flat-topped, five-legged structure that seats into five tiny corresponding holes designed into the apex of the high "button" on the rubber base.
How Does It All Work?
1) With the Penta-form in place, you build your tree directly onto its flat upper surface.
2) After treeing, insert the sleeve into the rubber base and set the stiffener ring securely onto the top edge of the sleeve.
3) Then invest the tree as you would any other tree, using a high-temperature, phosphate-bonded investment. After the investment has set, remove the reusable rubber base and stiffener ring, and slit the sleeve lengthwise, allowing you to peel it away (see Please Note). Your patterns are ready for burnout.
4) During the burnout, the tree, models and Penta-form structure melt and are evacuated from the investment, leaving behind five tiny holes between the empty "button" reservoir and the pattern molds.
5) Set the investment form into the casting chamber, aligned on the ceramic base and the ceramic centering plate.
6) Place your weighed metal into the cavity at the top of the investment form, then close and latch the machine.
7) Once the machine is closed, inert gas floods the casting chamber, and the induction coil built into the chamber walls efficiently melts the metal.
8) When the melt temperature is reached, pressure and vacuum are simultaneously applied, effectively drawing the molten metal through the five holes and into the patterns below.
9) After quenching, you're left with just your castings, ready to clip and finish—no flasks to clean, maintain and prep for the next cast.
Patent pending.