How to melt aluminum without slag

One of the most common metals is aluminum. It has been used in the manufacture of various products over the past several centuries. In addition, aluminum is used as an alloying element in the manufacture of a wide variety of alloys. A fairly common question is how to melt aluminum at home. The popularity of this material can be associated with a relatively low melting point , which allows melting to be carried out at home. Let's take a closer look at the features of this material.

Characteristic

The melting point of materials is determined by their purity. Due to its lightness and good ductility, aluminum is suitable for various technological procedures. Under the influence of high temperatures, a reaction with oxygen occurs.

An oxide film appears on the surface of the metal, protecting it from oxidation and corrosion. During melting, aluminum changes its structure, so it needs a protective coating. With sudden cooling, additional internal stress and shrinkage appear.

Useful tips

The melt must be hot so that the mold is filled evenly. It is poured when it acquires the consistency of mercury.
Castings with complex configurations are made quickly; they try to fill the molds right away so that the metal does not have time to set and no partitions or voids are formed.
Metal can be poured into plaster over wax or foam; high temperatures cause the wax and foam to burn out. The surface of the casting will be smooth.
To cool the casting, do not immerse it in water; the casting will crack.
When melting pure aluminum, the technology of using protective fluxes is used; they protect the metal from oxidation.

Fire safety must be observed; the casting process involves the use of an open flame. It is important to use personal protective equipment: gloves, goggles.

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Details

Technological process - video instructions

A refractory container (crucible) is used to heat the metal.
Products are used from materials such as steel, porcelain, corundum, cast iron. At home, a container made of a wide iron pipe or a ready-made crucible is used. To make it, you only need a grinder and a welding machine. The volume of the crucible can be different and is selected individually; it heats up evenly. The metal must be crushed and melted during heat transfer. The melting point must be reduced before heat treatment in order for the state of the metal to change more quickly. To do this, it is crushed into small parts. This is often followed by oxidation or combustion. Aluminum oxide is formed, which changes its state at higher temperatures. This substance is removed after remelting the metal along with the rest of the slag.

REFERENCE! When melting aluminum at home, you must avoid getting liquid into the crucible. This is because the evaporation of water can cause an explosion. Therefore, before lowering the metal into the crucible, you need to make sure it is completely dry.

Mostly aluminum wire is melted. To do this, it is divided into pieces with scissors, and then compressed with pliers. This method prevents the metal from being exposed to oxygen. If you do not plan to obtain high-quality parts, then grinding raw materials is not necessary.

If you need to produce molten aluminum at home, you will have to model the casting technology yourself. The material must first be cleaned of dirt, slag and impurities. Large workpieces must be divided into several small ones. Casting is carried out according to the instructions; the most convenient option is used for melting. Slag must be removed from the surface of the fluid substance. Molten aluminum is poured into a mold, which must be broken after the metal has solidified.

Heat sources used

In order to melt aluminum at home, you can use:

Melting aluminum in a muffle furnace, which can be done independently. This method is very effective and allows you to quickly convert the metal into liquid form.
Blowtorch. It can be used to melt small amounts of aluminum.
Torch - rarely used.

The hearth is made of bricks, and the frame is made of a metal container. On one side, a drill is used to make a hole for oxygen supply. A hair dryer, vacuum cleaner or other similar device is connected to a metal tube. The crucible is placed in the hearth after the fire has been lit. For better heat treatment, the coals can also be placed on the sides. To avoid losing heat, you can make a lid, leaving a hole for the smoke to escape. It is not worth making a furnace if the metal needs to be melted only once.

Melting aluminum on a gas stove also takes place. An ordinary gas stove can heat metal to the required temperature. Small pieces of aluminum will melt in about half an hour.

A tin can is usually used as a crucible. The jar is placed in another jar so that the gap between the two is about one centimeter. This is necessary for uniform temperature distribution. In the larger jar, you need to make several holes to provide fire access. The diameter of these holes should be 3-4 cm in diameter. In this case, the divider on the burner does not need to be removed. In this way, you can achieve uniform heating of the aluminum can. The larger jar is covered with a lid to prevent heat from escaping.

Making a mold for casting - instructions

If you need to do something simple, then making a special mold is not required; the metal can be poured onto a steel sheet.

If the product is more complex, then you need a mold that can be made from the following materials:

- clay;
- plaster;
- liquid glass;
- sand;
- coal ash.

There are two ways to pour the alloy into a mold - open and closed.

Open is the easy way. The metal that has been melted is poured into an ordinary container, cup, tin can, and so on. After the alloy has cooled, the blank is removed from the container. If it doesn't matter what shape the metal object will be, leave the aluminum on a durable surface.

Forming elements are used for complex castings, when the product must meet specified parameters. In open pouring, silica is often used. The item is made from two containers containing compacted earth. The silica pieces are compressed and a casting model is placed between them. This way you get a clear imprint of the desired part. The model is removed, and hot aluminum is poured into the mold. With the closed casting method, river sand is taken and mixed with liquid glass.

For one-time casting, you can use plaster. Models are made from foam plastic or paraffin.

IMPORTANT! The use of these materials is only possible in an open space with good air access.

The foam is not removed from solid plaster, but is filled with molten aluminum. Its combustion products are harmful to human health.

How to make a casting mold

Creating a simple solder material does not require making a special mold. You can pour metal onto a steel sheet.

The following materials are used to create the form:

Gypsum.
Sand.
Clay.
Coal ash.
Liquid glass.

The alloy is poured into the mold in different ways:

Open.
Closed.

The open method is simple. The molten metal is poured into a regular container, tin can, cup, etc. When the substance solidifies, the blank is removed from the container. If the shape of the metal object is not important, you can leave the aluminum on a durable surface.

Complex casting requires the product to comply with the specified parameters; for this, molding elements are used. Silica is a common substance that is often used in open pour applications. The product consists of two containers into which earth is poured and compacted. The silica elements are compressed and a casting pattern is placed between them. This way you can get an accurate print of the required part. The model is removed and hot aluminum is placed into the mold. For the closed casting method, river sand mixed with liquid glass is used.

Plaster can be used for one-time casting. Models are made from paraffin or foam plastic. The use of such materials requires working in an open space with good air access. The foam is not removed from solid plaster, it is filled with hot aluminum. The combustion products of this substance are harmful to health.

Possible mistakes and ways to avoid them

Gypsum molds are very convenient and highly sensitive to moisture. Conventional drying does not remove moisture, so the quality of the casting becomes worse. To achieve complete drying of the plaster mold, you will have to wait several days. Aluminum must be heated over a fire until it is poured into the mold, so that you can then distribute it over the mold before it hardens.

Do not use water to cool the product. This is due to the fact that under the influence of water, cracks appear - the internal structure of the substance is disrupted.

Precautionary measures

To work with molten aluminum, you must use personal protective equipment. All exposed areas of the body, hands, and face must be protected.

REFERENCE! It is best to use welding gloves; they can withstand temperatures of more than 600 0 C. This means of protection is the most basic, since the possibility of molten metal getting on your hands is very high.

It is also better to use goggles and a mask to avoid hot elements coming into contact with your face and eyes. To protect the entire body, you can find a metallurgist suit that has high fire resistance. When cleaning aluminum welding flux, a chemical respirator is used.

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Melting aluminum at home

Aluminum is one of the most common metals on earth. It is present even in the human body, so what can we say about the surrounding reality.

Every home or personal car has aluminum functional elements, parts or assemblies that, alas, break quite often.

These are furniture and window fittings, guides for doors and shutters, lock latches and other necessary little things.

They can be replaced with purchased new products, repaired, or made independently. In the last two cases, you may need to melt aluminum at home.

Raw materials for smelting

If you have to melt aluminum at home, it is not used as a raw material due to the complexity of working with powdered metal.

You can purchase aluminum ingots or use regular aluminum wire, which is cut into small pieces with scissors and pressed tightly with pliers to reduce the area of contact with air.

If a particularly high quality of the product is not expected, then any household items, tin cans without a bottom seam or profile trimming, can be used as raw materials.

Recycled raw materials can be colored or stained, this is not a problem, the excess components will come off as waste. You just need to remember that you cannot inhale the fumes of burnt paint.

In order to obtain high-quality aluminum smelting at home from recycled materials, it is better to purchase ready-made fluxes, the task of which is to bind and bring to the surface of the molten metal all impurities and contaminants. But you can make it yourself from technical salts.

The coating flux is prepared from 10% cryolite and 45% each of sodium chloride and potassium chloride.

Another 25% of the total mass of sodium fluoride is added to the refining flux to obtain aluminum without porosity.

Personal protective equipment when melting

Melting aluminum at home is an unsafe process. Therefore, you need to use personal protective equipment (PPE).

Even if such melting is needed once on minimal equipment, then at least you need to protect your hands, for example, with special welding gloves, which perfectly protect against burns, because the temperature of liquid aluminum is more than 600 ° C.

It is also advisable to protect your eyes, especially if melting occurs quite often, with goggles or a mask. And ideally, you need to work in a special metallurgist suit with increased resistance to fire and high temperatures.

If you need very pure aluminum using a refining flux, you should work in a chemical respirator.

Casting shape

If you only need to cast pure aluminum for solder, then a casting mold is not needed.

It is enough to use a steel sheet on which the molten metal will cool.

But if you need to cast even a simple part, you will need a casting mold.

The casting mold can be made from sculptural plaster, namely gypsum, not alabaster.

Liquid plaster is poured into an oiled mold, allowed to harden a little, shaking occasionally to release air bubbles, the model is inserted into it and covered with a second container of plaster.

In a convenient place, you need to insert a cylindrical object into the plaster so that eventually a hole appears in the mold, the so-called channel, into which molten aluminum will be poured.

When the plaster has completely hardened, the two parts of the mold are separated, the model is taken out, and the mold with the finished cast is connected again.

A casting mold can also be made from a mixture of 75% foundry sand, 20% clay and 5% coal sand, which is poured into a special box made of boards and compacted.

The model is pressed into the compacted earth, the resulting imprint is sprinkled with talcum powder and graphite (coal dust) so that the cooled aluminum part can be easily separated from the mold.

Before starting work

First you need to decide on the size of the product and the scope of work:

For smaller ones, a gas stove is suitable.
For medium-sized ones - a homemade small oven made of refractory bricks
For larger ones - a muffle furnace.

With any choice, you need to close the container with molten aluminum as much as possible from drafts and seal the walls as much as possible to reduce heat loss. Aluminum gives off heat quickly, so it is difficult to heat it under simple conditions. Let's look at how to achieve this.

How to replace flux for soldering aluminum?

How to replace soldering flux

Aspirin. ...
Ammonia, as well as citric or acetic acid, can also be used as a replacement for fluxes, and their concentration does not require additional dilution with water.

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Characteristics of aluminum

It is not necessary to know all the characteristics of aluminum, but in order to know how to melt aluminum at home, you need to keep in mind some features that eliminate technological errors. In addition, during work it is necessary to exercise extreme caution due to the high risk of injury during the casting process.

At home, melting metal on a gas stove is unlikely to be possible, since the melting point of aluminum is 660.3C, and household gas appliances are not able to create the required temperature.

A decrease in the melting point of raw materials can be achieved by grinding it into powder. In addition, you can use ready-made raw materials in powder form. However, one more point must be taken into account here. Aluminum is a fairly active metal and, when interacting with oxygen contained in the air, can oxidize or even ignite. During the melting process, a small amount of oxide is formed, which contributes to the formation of scale. Another unpleasant surprise in the form of an explosion can occur when water gets into the molten metal. Therefore, when adding the necessary components, you need to make sure that they are dry.

Raw materials for smelting

If you plan to melt metal at home, you should not use powdered aluminum for melting. It is better to use aluminum wire, cut into small pieces, pressed using pliers, to reduce the area of interaction with air.

If the requirements for product quality are low , then to obtain raw materials it is permissible to use any items consisting of aluminum.

How to melt aluminum over a fire?

Aluminum is a metal that is widely used in industry and everyday life. ?>

It is used to produce not only aircraft and ship parts, but also dishes and other utensils. Therefore, there is often a need to independently manufacture aluminum parts that have failed.

The ability of aluminum to melt at relatively low temperatures makes it possible to produce cast products from it in artisanal conditions. In order to independently produce cast aluminum products, you need to know the behavior of this metal at high temperatures and its physical and chemical properties.

Characteristics of aluminum

The melting point of aluminum depends on the purity of the metal and is approximately 660 °C. Its boiling point is 2500 °C.

Aluminum is distinguished by its lightness and ductility, so it bends well and can be processed by stamping.

This metal is an excellent conductor of heat and actively enters into a chemical reaction at high temperatures with atmospheric oxygen, forming an oxide film on the surface. It protects aluminum from further oxidation, but when scrap melts, it significantly affects the composition of the alloy. During the metal smelting process, the structure of aluminum changes.

When it cools sharply, internal stresses and shrinkage of the resulting alloy may occur. This must be taken into account when working with aluminum at home.

Technologies for home aluminum casting and necessary equipment

The principle of casting aluminum at home should be based on the technology for its production in production, adjusted for conditions that can be used at home.

Aluminum products are produced by casting in several ways. In domestic conditions, the most common and convenient method is the technology of casting molten aluminum into specially made molds.

Therefore, to carry out the process, two things must be ensured:

build a furnace for melting aluminum scrap;
create the desired shape to produce a cast alloy or a separate part.

The casting process must include several stages:

Preparation of aluminum scrap, including cleaning from dirt, impurities and various fillers, as well as grinding it to a small size.
Carrying out the smelting process in the planned way. When the metal is completely melted, slag formations must be removed from its surface.
Filling the prepared mold with liquid aluminum melt. After solidification, the ingot is freed from the molding mass.

Let's consider how to melt aluminum at home, what designs of furnaces for melting metal can be used, as well as options for making molds yourself.

In order to melt aluminum, you need to heat it to a temperature close to 660 °C. It is impossible to reach such a temperature on an open flame of a fire. Therefore, a closed space is needed, which a homemade stove can provide. It can be heated by burning coal and wood or using natural gas.

You can also use an electric muffle furnace if you have one on the farm.

With a self-made stove, forced ventilation must be provided to maintain the combustion process.

1. The simplest version of a homemade fireplace can be made from old pots.

Its design is as follows:

As a frame, use a steel container, for example, an old pan, on the side of which you need to make a hole to supply air through a connected metal pipe.
Air can be forced through the hose using a vacuum cleaner.
Coal is placed inside the device.
Then the coal is set on fire and air is supplied to keep the fire from going out.
A container for melting aluminum is first placed inside an improvised furnace structure and lined with coal on its sides. When it burns, uniform heat distribution is ensured.
To prevent heat from being lost to the surrounding air, the top of the “pan” stove should be loosely covered with a lid, leaving a small gap for the smoke to escape.

An ideal design would be a firebox with an oval arch made from a masonry mixture used for heat-resistant bricks. You can use a flower pot of the desired size as a frame to create an oval vault.

After the mixture dries, a good firebox is obtained that can withstand several heats.

2. The second version of the furnace involves using the flame of a household gas burner to heat aluminum.

It can only be used for piece products made of aluminum weighing no more than 150 grams. An imitation oven is created by using two containers inserted into each other with a small gap. These can be ordinary cans from canned food.

The outer jar should be larger. A hole with a diameter of about 4 cm is made in it to ensure the supply of flame to the inner can.

The flame jet should be directed towards the opening of the can. Only the inner container is heated directly, and the outer one serves as a shell that retains heat. The top of the structure must be covered with a simulated lid, leaving a gap for the removal of combustion products.

This design is disposable and can only be used for one melt, since the tin is thin and can quickly burn out.

Methods for creating a mold for casting aluminum

One of the main tasks of home aluminum smelting is preparing the mold into which the molten metal is poured. There are different options for pouring aluminum melt. The main ones are open and closed casting methods.

What technologies exist for melting metal?

When using a gas stove, you need to remove the existing flat nozzle and install a special device on top of the grate - a cylinder, which can be made from any iron can of a suitable size. A 3-4 cm hole is made at the bottom of the cylinder, and 3 screws are tightened - they are needed so that the mold with aluminum inside the cylinder will stand on them.

A torch will come out of the camphor and enter the cylinder and heat the mold with the metal. The cylinder is needed to save heat and maximize the concentration of the flame around the mold. It is buried on top with a plate so that the heat does not escape, but a small gap is left for traction.

The same principle is used for stoves; large containers can be placed here due to minimal heat loss and large space inside the stove. A small grill is made, on which the molds are placed, after which the oven is closed as much as possible on all sides, leaving only small holes at the bottom and top for drafting.

How to melt aluminum cans at home

Aluminum is a common and useful metal known for its corrosion resistance, malleability and light weight. It is safe enough for use on food and in contact with skin. It is much easier to process this metal than to refine it from its ore.

You can melt old aluminum cans to make aluminum. Pour metal into a suitable mold for making jewelry, tableware, decorations, sculptures or other metalworking project. This is a great introduction to home recycling.

Materials for melting aluminum cans

Melting jars are not difficult, but this is a project for adults because of the high temperatures involved. You will want to work in a clean, well-ventilated area. There is no need to clean the jars before they melt, as organic matter (plastic coating, residual soda, etc.) will burn during the process.

aluminum cans; a small electric stove oven (or other heat source that reaches an appropriate temperature, such as a propane torch); a steel crucible (or other metal with a melting point much higher than aluminum but lower than your oven; could be a durable stainless steel bowl or cast iron skillet); heat-resistant gloves; metal tongs; the shapes you will pour the aluminum into (steel, iron, etc. - be creative);

Is it possible to melt aluminum over a fire?

Aluminum is a very common metal in both industry and households. It is not uncommon that when a part breaks, there is a need to smelt a replacement.

Melting aluminum at home is attractive because it is possible at a relatively low temperature.

To carry out the operation yourself, you need to know the characteristics of the metal when exposed to temperature and its physicochemical properties.

How to cast an aluminum part at home

For many, the term “foundry” is closely associated with back-breaking labor and specialized professional skills.

In fact, casting a part from the required metal is possible for the most ordinary person without professional training at home. The process has its own subtleties, but it can be done at home with your own hands.

Outwardly it resembles the production of lead weights for fishing. Features of the aluminum casting process are related to the technical characteristics of the material.

How to cast aluminum

Characteristics of aluminum.

Aluminum is one of the most common metals.

It is silver-white in color and lends itself quite well to casting and machining. Due to its characteristics, aluminum is equipped with high thermal and electrical conductivity, and also has corrosion resistance.

Technical aluminum has a melting point of 658 degrees, high-purity aluminum has a melting point of 660, and the boiling point of aluminum is 2500 degrees.

For aluminum casting, home heating devices are unlikely to be useful and will provide the required temperature. It is necessary to melt aluminum by heating it to a temperature of over 660 degrees.

A muffle furnace is an ideal home option for frequent work

A muffle furnace is similar to a simple “potbelly stove” only with thick walls. It can be either wood- or electric-powered, depending on your convenience. In the second case, the wire is stretched in a spiral from the inside of the bricks, closer to the mold.

Inside in the middle there is a crucible - a special container for melting metal. In this design, losses are minimized - the free space is occupied by the crucible, with a small gap of 5-10 cm remaining between it and the walls.

Due to the large thickness - 20-30 cm, the walls can be filled with various heat insulators to retain heat. It can be moved or made stationary, and therefore a heat insulator is selected. There is brick inside, iron outside, and how to fill the rest of the space is left to the discretion of each individual.

Metal smelting

When melting, it is important to use clean dishes (made of iron or non-ferrous metal). If you are melting it for the first time, it makes sense for further preparation. You need to clean the container, remove rust and debris, dust, rinse thoroughly, let it dry, and only then can it be used.

During cooking, remove floating slag - paint residues or dirt; they will significantly reduce the quality of the metal. After the metal has melted well, it needs to cool a little so that there is less splashing and it is more convenient to pour into molds. The latter should not be damp, so that evaporating moisture does not create bubbles in the product.

Melting with a blowtorch

Melting aluminum at home with a blowtorch should not take place indoors. In addition to raw materials, a blowtorch, crucibles and bricks, you need to prepare firewood, pliers and a steel rod.

So, a small well was made from bricks so that a ladle with aluminum and a small steel sheet could be installed on top. A fire is lit in the well, which must burn out a little to form coals.

Next comes the actual melting of aluminum at home. Step-by-step process instructions:

– A container with raw materials is placed on the bricks. It needs to be heated for about 15 minutes.

– After this, the burner of the blowtorch is turned on at full power and the aluminum is heated from above.

– The process begins within a few seconds, but in order for the heating to be uniform, the metal in the container must be carefully mixed with a steel rod, holding it with pliers (remembering to wear gloves). You can do without a rod by periodically shaking the bucket using the same pliers, but very carefully.

– When the liquid becomes homogeneous, you need to take the container with pliers and pour the contents onto the calcined steel sheet so that all the resulting scale remains in the ladle, and only clean metal gets on the sheet to harden.

This is how pure aluminum is usually obtained from recycled materials if aluminum parts need to be soldered with it.

Materials for casting molds

With the open pouring method, the simplest material that is always at hand is often used, this is silica. First, the earth is laid with layer-by-layer compaction. A casting model is placed between the layers, which, after careful compaction, leaves an imprint in the silica. This mold is carefully removed and aluminum is poured in its place.

Some craftsmen use river sand with the addition of liquid glass when preparing the base of the mold. A mixture of cement and brake fluid is also sometimes used.

Plaster molds

When making a model of a complex shape, gypsum is often used, which can mainly be used for a one-time casting process. When casting aluminum into a plaster mold, paraffin or foam plastic is used as models.

The wax model of the product is filled with plaster and, after drying it at high temperature, it is melted and drained through a special hole.

Typical mistakes and tips for proper casting

When working with plaster, you should avoid common mistakes. Despite the fact that plaster molds are a convenient way to cast the desired configurations of parts, this material is very sensitive to moisture. During normal air drying, it remains part of the gypsum. This is detrimental to the quality of the aluminum casting, as it can cause the formation of small shells and bubbles. Therefore, plaster molds need to dry for several days.
The metal must be hot enough before pouring to fill the entire mold before it begins to harden. Therefore, after reaching the melting temperature, taking into account the rapid cooling of aluminum, there is no need to delay pouring it into the mold.
It is not recommended to immerse the resulting casting in cold water to speed up the hardening process. This can disrupt the internal structure of the metal and lead to cracks.

Aluminum is one of the most common metals on earth. It is present even in the human body, so what can we say about the surrounding reality. Every home or personal car has aluminum functional elements, parts or assemblies that, alas, break quite often. These are furniture and window fittings, guides for doors and shutters, lock latches and other necessary little things.

They can be replaced with purchased new products, repaired, or made independently. In the last two cases, you may need to melt aluminum at home.

Source

How to melt aluminum over a fire

Aluminum is a very common metal in both industry and households. It is not uncommon that when a part breaks, there is a need to smelt a replacement.

Melting aluminum at home is attractive because it is possible at a relatively low temperature.

To carry out the operation yourself, you need to know the characteristics of the metal when exposed to temperature and its physicochemical properties.

Using a homemade smelting furnace

The easiest way is to lay several fire bricks in the shape of a hearth. It is convenient to use a metal container as a frame.

A hole should be made on the side to connect the air supply tube. A suitable metal pipe will do.

You need to connect a vacuum cleaner, hair dryer or other device that supplies air to it.

Charcoal is placed in the hearth, the fire is lit and air is supplied. The container in which the aluminum will be melted is placed in the furnace.

It is also necessary to line the sides with coal. The best option would be to create a lid so as not to waste heat.

You can only make a passage for smoke.

Application of kitchen stove

For piece melting it is not necessary to create your own stove. You can reach the required temperature even using household gas. Given the mass of aluminum blanks for melting, the procedure itself will not take more than 0.5 hours.

You can take any suitable container, for example a tin can. It houses crushed and cleaned aluminum.

However, it will not be possible to melt aluminum simply by placing a jar on the fire; the required temperature is not reached.

To preserve heat, the following scheme has been invented.

A jar with a crowbar is placed inside another, larger one, on supports so that a gap of up to 10 mm is maintained.

In this case, there is no need to remove the burner divider.

The resulting structure is installed above the burner. The burning flame will pass into the inside of the larger jar and heat the container with the metal.

In this case, a large tin will act as a kind of shell that retains heat. a suitable lid is placed, but a gap is left so that combustion products escape.

When heating, the intensity of the flame must be adjusted.

Using the crucible and auxiliary equipment

The previous method is good, but the jar cannot withstand more than one use and may burn out. In this case, there is a risk of metal spilling onto the burner.

To work in the furnace several times, it is recommended to prepare a special container - a crucible. It is made of steel. It is quite possible to use a piece of pipe whose bottom is welded.

A good device can be obtained if you use a cut-off fire extinguisher or a small oxygen cylinder with an oval profile.

In this case, it is worthwhile to provide for the presence of a side chute for draining molten aluminum.

This may require auxiliary equipment, such as pliers.

The ideal case would be to use side clamps and lower fixed stops - analogues of industrial installations.

You will also need a long spoon to skim off the slag.

Open method

The simplest option is to pour molten aluminum into an existing container, for example, a tin can.

After the metal hardens, the ingot is removed.

To facilitate removal from a form that has not yet completely cooled down, it is necessary to tap slowly.

If you don’t need a specific clear shape, you can simply pour the liquid alloy onto a non-flammable surface.

Closed method

If it is intended to produce more complex shapes or ingots, then first of all a mold must be produced that meets all the characteristics of the part. To ensure greater accuracy, it is made of several components.

Materials used for molds If an open method is assumed, then the simplest ingredient that can always be found is mainly used - silica.

The soil must be laid using layer-by-layer compaction. A mock-up mold is placed between the layers, leaving an imprint after compaction.

This model is subsequently removed and molten metal is poured in its place.

In some cases, river sand is used to create forms, to which liquid glass is added. Less commonly, cement mixture and brake fluid.

When it is necessary to create a model with a complex configuration, plaster is often used.

However, it can mainly be used once.

When aluminum is cast into a plaster mold, a paraffin or foam blank can serve as a model.

When using paraffin, the workpiece is immersed in plaster. In this case, it is necessary to leave a small hole into which the wax is poured after the mold hardens and reheats.

If foam plastic is supposed to be used, then it is poured inside a plaster mold, in which it remains until it hardens. Subsequently, liquid metal is poured directly onto it.

Due to the temperature, it melts and evaporates, and the vacated cavity is occupied by aluminum.

In this case, it is necessary to take into account that the work should be carried out in a well-ventilated area or in the open air, since evaporated foam vapors are harmful to health.