GB962526A - Improvements in moulds for the production of blocks of silicate material - Google Patents

Abstract

<PICT:0962526/C1/1> A mould for making blocks of foamed glass and like silicate materials is constructed from parts of a heat-expandable material such as unalloyed steel, each part being able to expand independently up to the maximum temperature used in the moulding operation at which temperature the parts become interlocked and relatively fixed, the top of the mould being releasable while the other parts remain united. The mould, Fig. 1, comprises a base-plate 1 to which guide bars 2 and clamp bars 3 are attached such that they diverge slightly outwards from bottom to top. Lateral walls 9 carry guide bolts 11 that slide within guide slots 5 in the bars 2. End walls 10 have slots 13 that are engaged by hooks 12 on the walls 9, Fig. 4. A cover-plate 14 with slots 15 is held in position by clamps 8 that pass through holes 7 in the clamp bars 2. The bars 2, 3 have holes or recesses 4 to reduce their thermal capacity. In use, clearances provided in the construction of the interlocking parts allow a limited independent expansion of the parts of the mould as it is heated up, the whole locking under the influence of the internal pressure set up by the expansion of foamed glass contained therein as it reaches the maximum temperature of the moulding operation.