CA1044433A - Plant for electroslag melting of hollow ingots shaped as non-closed cylinders - Google Patents

Abstract

PLANT FOR ELECTROSLAG MELTING OF HOLLOW INGOTS
SHAPED AS NON-CLOSED CYLINDERS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a plant a carrier for withdrawing an ingot is a drum mounted turnably about the horizontal axis thereof on the side of a mould near its wall shaping the internal surface of the ingot and coaxial with the wall, with a base plate and a dummy bar and an electrode holder being faste-ned to the drum shell, said electrode holder being electri-cally insulated from the drum and carrying at least one electrode curvilinear in shape and encompassing a part of the drum and having a clearance therewith to preclude ele-ctric contact between the drum and the electrode, the drum while turning serving also as a mechanism for feeding the electrode into the mould melting space.

Description

104~

1`he present invention relates to plants for the ele-ctroslag remelting o~ corlsumable electrodes and more parti- ~ -cularly to a plant for the electrosla~ melting of hollow -~
ingots shaped as nonclosed cylinders Yhich have found favour in producin~ cement ~iln bands, flang~s, rims, shells ~or pressure vessels and other articles.
Enown in the art is a plant for the electroslag melt-ing of hollow ingots shaped a~ non-closed cylinders by feed-ing consumable electrodes into the melting space of a water-cooled mould and withdrawing therefrom an ingot with the aid ~ -of a carrier fixed on which is a base plate with a dummy bar.
In the above plant the in~ot-shaping si~ walls of the mould vhich has a rectangular cross-section axe radiall~
congruent with an ingot being melted, the mould being ~ixed ~
o~ the base plate. ~
The carrier for withdrav~ng an ingot is mounted on the-side of one of the mould end faces in the ~icinit~ of the :
mould, the carrier bein~ made as a driving flat wheel on -which an outboard base plate with a dumm~ bar is secured at rig~t angles to the dIi~Lng wheel plane said base plate clos- , ing the mould melting space from below at the initial moment. i Immersed into the mould melting space are the electro- - -des in the form of rectili~ear rods c/hose top ends are ~ixed in el~ectrode holders~. ~o secure the electrode holders and to ~ f -! ~
, ,, , , i , , ,, ~ , , , , , . ~ , . , . ~ . . ., . .
, , .>,,~ , t:

., ,~0444;~3 feed the consumable electrodes into the mould the plant is iurnished ~ri~h individual devices.
~s the consumable electrodes are being melted they are ~;
lowered into the melting space of the mould and a hollow cylindrical ingot is withdra~m ~rom below due to the rota-tion of the carrier with the base plate and dummy bar about its horizontal axis~
When melting hollow ingots shaped as non-closed c~
ders o~ the k~o~m plant, oving to an outboard attachment of the base plate with the dummy bar on a wheel-shaped carrier the end o~ the base plate is liable to displace ve~tically in thG co-~r~e of withdra~al o~ the ingot. , With ingots of large lengths this can cause the skevJ-ing and jamming o~ the ingot in the mould and the e~lue~ce of ~lag and metal there~rom with the ensuing disconti~uation oi the melting process ana producing low-qualit~ ingots.
~herefore in our opinion the length of the ingots being melted should be limited and should not exceed 300-500 mm ~
depe~ding on their thickness. , ~ -, ~oreo~er, the production of ingots o~ a strictly cylin-drical shape poses a problem since as a result o~ deforma- ^
t~on~brought about by bending moment~the ingots are shaped , ~
into a spiral. , , ' , ~ he u8e in the abo~e-described pla~t o~ co~sumable ele¢trodes i~ the ~orm of rectilinear rods necessitating the use o~ additio~al means for thelr securi~g a~d feeding " ", ", ,,. :
., .' , .
,, , ' '. .,.
s~

::

.. ...... -.
~n~o the mold melting space complicates the plant, makes it cumbersome and metal-consuming ~particularly when melt-ing ingots of large diameters), with a co~responding in-crease in the cost of the entire plant.
It is an object of the present inYention to provide a plant for the electroslag melting of hollow ingots shaped as non-closed cylinders which would make it possible to obtain high quality ingots o~ practicaliy any length.
~ nother object of the invention is the provision of a plant for the electroslag melting of hollow ingots shapsd as non-closed cylinders ensuring a reliable melting process?
ruling out the jamming of the ingot during its withdrawal irom a mould a~d the effluence o~ slag and metal therefrom - - --with the ensuing discontinuation of the melting process. -;
?` Still a~other object of the invention is the provision of a plant ~or the electroslag melting of hollow ingots -shaped as non-closed cylinders featuring s aimple desig~, i ~ 8mall overall dimensions and low metal consumption.
further object of the present i~vention is to provide plant for the electroslag melting of~hollow ingats shaped as non-closed cylinders featurin~ high quality external -surrace which practically does not reguire additional machining.
r Y.et another ob~ect o~ the invention is the provision of a plant ~or the electrosla6 melting of hollow ingots ., , .
'' '' ' , ' ~ .
, , ~ , ,, ~ , , ,. . : , . . - .
. .

.

:~

shaped as non-closed cylinders with an external surface in the form of a toothed rim.
Said and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by the provisio~ of a plant for the electro-slag melting of hollow ingots shaped as non-closed cylin-ders, comprising a water-cooled mould fixed on a frame with mould walls shaping an internal and external sur~ace of-the ingot being radially congruent with an ingot being melted, an electrode holder connected to a power supply ~ ~
source, a mechanism for feeding electrodes into a mould ~ --melting space and a carrier for withdrawing an i~got, said ~ -carrier mounting a base plate with a dummy bar, the base :
. plate being also coupled to the power supply source, whe-. rei~, according to the pre~ent invention, the carrier ~or withdrawing an ingot is a drum mounted pi~otally about the ~ .-.-horizontal thereof close to the mould o~ the side of its wall shaping an inter~al ingot sur~ace, and coaxially with ..
the wall, the base plate with the dummy bar and the ele- : .
ctrode holder being fastened to &: drum shell, said electro- -: ~
de holder being electrically nsulated from the drum and . ~:
carrying at lea t one electro.de curvili~ear in shape, e~-compassing a portion of the drum a~d having a clearance - therewith to preclude electric contact between the drum I : .:
r and electrode with the drum whlle t ~ g serving also as . the mechanism for ~eedi~g the electrode into the mould ...
melti~g space~ ; /~ -' , , ', ' ' . ' 1. , t - -- ~ " . .
,, ,, , ,, .

~7 . ~ -~04~33 In the herein-proposed plant the drum shell ma~ ca~ry spring biased rests mounted turnabl~ in the plane of rota-tion of the drum, securing both the electrode and the ingot with re3pect to the pivot axis o~ the drum.
I~ o~e o~ exe~plary embodiments of the herein-propo-sed pla~t when ingots being melted should meet more string-ent requirements as to the quality of their external sur-~ace, the fraction o~ the drum external sur~ace bounded between the base plate with the dummy bar and the electrode holder m~y act as a mould ~all shaping the internal ingot sur~ace, the d~um being cooled in this oase ~rom withi~.
i In case the above plant i~ employed for melting ingots whose perimeter exceeds their half-circumference, on the ~; --external suriace of the drum near the electrode holder in ~ ...
3 the direction o~ motion of the drum provision i8 made for a flat sufficient for removing ~inished ingots from the drum after the latter has turned.
hen melting ingots i~ the form of a toothed rim the -~
` mould wall shapin~ the exter~al surface of the ingot is provided uith teeth and i8 mou~ted with its end face~ on~
i the electrode holder a~d the ba~e plate with the dummy bar 7 s to be turnable together with the drum and movable along its 8- - .
20 pro~ide ~ree remo~al of the fi~ished ingots from the dru~ thè uld i~ capable of displaci~g horizo~tally~

:., , .
,~, . , .,, .
, ~
~ , ., ; .,, , ~ : , . ;, .

~ h~s, the essence of the present invention consists in the follo~ing.
Since the carrier is a drum mounted pivotally about the horizontal longitudinal axis thereof cloqe to the mould on the side of its ~Jall shaping an internal ingot ~urface, and coaxial with the wall, the attachment o~ the base plate with the dummy bar on the drum shell prevents the drum from being displaced vertically, owin2 to which the skewing of the ingot6 and, hence, the effluence of slag and metal from the mould and the jamming of t~e ingot can be av-Oided. All the aforesaid makes the melting pro-cess stable, reliable and ensures the production of ingots of practically any length. ~
In the herein-proposed plant use is made of cast cur-vili~ear electrodes or of cur~ed rods or sheets.
Electrode dimensions and shape should be selected to pro~ide a total cross-section of the electrodes which would e~sure aQ equality in the volume of metal fed into a slag bath and that of the ingot withdrawn from the mould.
This ca~ be explaned by the fact that the supply of the electrodes into-the slag bath and the withdrawal o~ the fini8hed ingot from the mould are effected by means of one and the same drum.
Owing to a curvilinear shape o~ the electrode e~com-pa~8ing the part of the drum and to the mode of attachment ' , : ' ,' , , i, -.. '" , ' ,, ,'' , , - - , ~ , , -, . ,, , i , , , , , , " :: , , ~t~4~433 ~.

~ -of the electrodes on the drum shell, the dru~ acts also as a mechanism for ~eeding the electrodes into the mould melting space which makes it possible to obviate the use of additional devices for securing the electrode holders ~- ;
and feeding the electrodes into the mould. ~his allowed simplif~ing the design of the plant and offered a decrease ` in its overall dimensions due to a lower height and smaller ;
`area. It also provided a lower metal consumption-~ he provision o~ the spring-biased rests mounted tur-nably on the drum shell in the drum turning plane and se-curing the electrode and the ingot ~ith respect to the drum ; - pivot axi8 precludes the origination of a large bending moment acting otherwise on the ingot being emerged from the -~
- mould. Owing to this the ingot obtained has a regular cylin- - ~
drical shape. ~ :
~ or melting ingots with an external surface meeting more ~tringtent requirements it is expedient that a plant --, be used wherein the part of the external drum sur~ace bou~-;~ ded between the base plate with the dummy bar and the ele-ctrode holder would act as a mould wall shaping the inter-nal surface oiithe ingot.~ ;
; ~hi8 can be attributed to the ract that i~ such a -pla~t relative displacement Or the internal ingot surrace and the ingot-8hapin~ mould wall, which as a rule is rela-ted to the o¢currence of dii~eren~ surface derect8 (bead-~ng8, te~r8~ etc.)~ i8 ¢ompletely ruled out.
, , , , . - , ~ ' ' . . , d ~' ~ , ', . ~
' ' i ,, , ,,,, ~",, ~, " ,, , ,, , ,, ,", .

_ 9 ~

Therefore the internal surface of the ingot being melted is smooth, has no defects and practically does not require additional machining.
In another embodiment o~ the pl&~t when the mould wall shaping the external surface of the ingot is mounted with its end faces on the electrode holder and on the base plate with the du~my bar turnabl~ together with the drum ; when the latter iæ being tu~ned, the relative displacement o~ the ingot and mould i3 also precluded, and by providing said wall with teeth or imparting it any other pro~ile it is possible to obtain an ingot with an external surface of a~ ~ntrica~e ou~iine. Since the mould waii shaping the external sur~ace o~ the ingot is movable along the drum axi~, the wall ca~ be removed $rom the mould to withdraw the finished ingot.
` Horizontal displacement of the mould is necessary to ~et the ingot which after melting has occupied a~ "under the drum" position to an "above the drum" position and to -~-remove it from the plant.
-~he nature o~ the invention will be clear from the ~
following aetailed description o~ a particular emboaiment , thereof, to be considered in conJunction with tbe acco~pa-nying arawings, i~ ~thich:
ig.1 shows a plant for meltin~ ingots - cement kiln bano8, a view on the side of the e~d face o~ the drum with a frag~ntary cutaway;
, :, ' t ' '' ' : .
~ .
.,,, .,,,.,,,.,.. ,," ,.,,,,,,,,, ,,,," ,,, ,,,,, , , :
.. . . . . . . ..

1~)4~9~33 ~ -. . ~ , Fig.2 - is a top vievr of Fig.1.
Fig.3 is a~other version of a plant, a view rrom the ' end ~ace of the arum in the course of melting an ingot.
Fig.4 - the same at the moment the finished in~ot is , being removed. ~ ' Fig.5 shows a plant for meltin~ in~ots in the form o~
toothed rims, a view rrom the drum end face with a ~ragmen- ,-', tary cutaway. ' Fig.6 - a top view of Fig.5.
Xeferring now to the drawings the plant comprises a j water-cooled mould 1 (Figs 1 through 6) fixe~ on a frame 2 i~ ,(FiK^ ,, ;) and capable of being displaced horizontally.
,' Mould walls 3 and 4 adapted to shape external and in~ernal ' surface of th~,ingot are radially co~gruent with a~ ingot ~, being melted.
~ounted close to the mould 1 on the side of its wall 4 ,, , shapi~g the internal surface o~ the ingot, a~d coaxially with 8aid wall is a drum ~ fitted on a shaft 5 and having ' ~i' a horizo~tal longitudinal axis.
~he drum 6 is mounted tur~ably about its lo~gitudinal -,, axi8. -, ~hen mou~ti~g the drum, its axis can deflect from a ~'-~, ~orizo~tal line throu ~ an angle ~ot exceeding 10. ~ , he shart 5 re~ts o~,stays 7 (Figs 2 and 6) and is , ¢onnected through a coupli~g 8 to a dri~e 9 adapted to ,', ~ rotate ths drum 6. ; , ,-~
', ' , ~' , , '~ ' .
",, , ;

,, ,. , - , s ~44~

Fixed on the shell of the drum 6 with the aid of a brac~et 10 (Fig.1) is a base plate 1~ with a dummy bar 12, and spaced from the base plate at a distance approxi~ating the electrode length is an electrode holder 14 mounted on ga~kets 13 insulated electrically and adapted to secure an electrode 15 of a curvilinear shape encompassing the drum portion between the electrode holder and mould 1.
Secured to the shell of the drum 6 are rests 16 turna-ble in the plane of rotation of the drum 6 about axes 17 ''' and pressed against the shell of the drum 6 by means of springs 18. ' ' ll'he rests 16 are adapted to fix the consumable ele- ' ctrode ~5 and an ingot 19 being melted with respect to the pivot axis oi ~he drum 6, i.e. on one side they support the ,-electrode 15 and on the other side the rests 16 upon coming , in contact with the inter~al surface of the ingot 19 prec-lude lts de~ormation ~nd provide the production o~ a cylin- - ' der-s~aped ingot. , ' -Both the electrode holder 14 and base plate 11 æ e connected to a power &Upply source 20. -~ o supp~rt'',the ingot being melted from below and to ~
~elie~e the mould 1 and base plate 11 irom the effect of ' it~ weight,the frame 2 accommodates Qpring-biased support ~ ~
rollers 21 disposed under the drum 6 and found in contact ,,- -~ith the exterual surface of the i~ot 19 bei~g melted. , S ~
- ~ . .
.`
, , ~ , . .^. . , , .
, " ,' . ' " ~ ' , , , ,:; ', ,, , .. , . , . ,, ' ~04~3 ~: :

In another embodiment o~ the plant, according to the r present invention, accomplished substantially similarly to the above-described, the part of the external sur~ace of the drum 6 (Fig.3) bounded between the electrode holder 14 and base plate 11 acts as the wall ~ of the mould 1 shaping ~ -; the internal sur~ace of the ingot 19. In this case the drum body is provided ~vith passages 22 for suppl~ing coolant (water). .
~oreover, it the vicinity o~ the electrode holder 14 i~ the direction of motion of the drum 6 during the melting ,~ process, the drum 6 is fitted with a flat 23 ~nsuring the .
:t~ removal of finished ingots 19 from the drum 6. ~he ~_ze o,-the flat 23 is selected so that the distance "a" from the ~lat sur~ace to the opposite surface of the drum 6 would ~
be less than the di~tane "b" (Fig.4) (a C b) betwee~ the , ~-. ends of the i~got 19 bei~g melted.
~ On the opposite side of the mould 1 near the drum 2 a~
movable locator 24 is fixed on the.frame 2, said locator 24 , . ~-: keeping tho ~ngot ~rom turni~g as it i~ bein~ romoved ~rom From melting ingots in the1form of toothed rim~ the ! ..
wall ~ of the mould-1 shaping the exter.nal surface of the- -~:
'f i~got ~9 ~Fig-5~ is provided with teeth and mou~ted with ~ .. ~:
i~ its e~d races o~ the electrode holder 14 and base plate 11.
j ~o thi8.end the base plate 11 and electrode holder ~4 .:.
aro ritted ~ith ~-s~ed sliae ribs ~5 and the wall end 1 '~ : . 1 ,!i .

~. , ,,, ~ ,, .,. ,.. ,,.. , ~, ,, I

:, ' b f . , , ~' - 104~33 ~
13 - ~ -`' faces - with T-shaped recesses 26 owing to which the mould wall is abls to move together with the drum 6 or along its axis when the plant is being adjusted or when an ingot is being removed therefrom.
~o provide more convenient removal of finished ingots the mould tYalls shaping ingot end faces are mounted on the , frame 2 movably in parallel with the axis of the drum 6.
-~ The herein-proposed plant operate~ in the followin~
', manner. ' `-, A case of melting ingots for cement kiln bands is , - considered hereinbelow. ~t,first the drum 6 (Fig.1) is ' -~
.; . . .
placed in a pos~tion wherein the base plate 11 with the , "
, dummy bar 12 fastened thereto closes the melting space of , -,the mould 1 irom below. , ~
~`~ Two consumabla electrodes 15 of a rectangular cross- ,l ' ection made in the form of half-rings are placed by means , ~,- o~-a crane on rests 16 of the drum 6 so that one end of ' ~
each electrode iQ i~troduced into the electrode holder 14 ~--~, while it~ another end is placed at a certain distance irom -~ --the base plate 11 depending,on electrode thick~ess. 0~ ~-~; being se~'up in place the electrodes 15 are secured i~ the ~1, olectrode holder 14. ' --~ ' Next slag i8 poured into the mould ~rom a ladle so --~
that the ends o~'the electrodes i5 are immersed into the ~
j- 81ag~ ~nd operating ~oltage ~8 applied to the consumable ' , '' ,~ olectroaes ~5. , , , ' ~j " , , , . , ~
::

~, . . .
.,. , , , . ., - ,t ff~
" ~ ' , ~C~4~33 ~:

~' Due to the heat liberated by a slag bath 27 the ends of the electrodes commence to fuse and droplet~ of metal melt off the tips of the electrodes and collect in a metal pool on the base plate 11, the metal pool merging and sett-in~ with the dum~y bar 12 to form an ingot 19.
After an electric current of a requisite magnitude has been obtained, the drum 6 is turned at a rate ensuring the required remelting current.
As the drum 6 turns to the mould the consumable ele-ctrodes 15 are lowered from above into the slag bath 27 and , the ingot is withdrawn ~rom the mould from below. ~he with- ~
drawal of the ingot is assisted by the drum 6 ~ihich acts ~ ~-in this case as a carrier.
~he drum is tur~ed until an ingot of a requisite size is~produced. After that the drum 6 is stopped and the ele- ,,-ctrode holder with the base plate are de-energized. , Next stubs are remo~e,d and the drum 6 is turned ~urth-er to e~sure the emergence of the end of the ingot 19 from ~ the mould 1. - `
,~ Follo~ing bhat the mould 1 iB shifted in a horizo~tal plane aside from the drum 6, i.e. it i~ remo~ed from the ingot-melting zone and by turning the drum in a direction , -,, opposite to the inibial one the ~inished ingot is placed i in a~"abo~e the drwm" position. , , m ~ , , ,.
J Ne,xt the d~m~ bar 12 i8 disengaged rom the base ,, pl~te 11 a~d the ~ngot 19 is removed from the drum 6.
f ; , ~ ~ .

~0~4433 ,-- ~5 -Considered hereinbelow is the functioning of allother embodiments of the proposed pla~t.
When melting ingots ~hose external su~faces should meet more stringent re~uirements use is made o~ a plant in which the portion of the external surface of t~e drum serves as a mould wall.
I~ this plant the consumable electrodes 15 (Fig.3) are placed on the drum Yrith the help of temporary electri-cally-insulati~g gaskets 28 produced e.g. from solid slag.
Ifhe insulatinff~ gaskets 28 are melted in the slag bath 27 concurrently ~ith the consumable electrodes.
- In other respects the operation o~ the above plart i~f -similar to the above-described. ~ - -When melting ingots whose perimeter exceeds their -t ~ . half-circum~erence, the ingot is remo~ed ~rom the drum in - the followi~g manner. y, ;-On removal of the stubs of the consumable electrodes 15 the dummy bar 12 is disengaged ~rom the base plate and the locator 24 thrusts against the ingot to preclude its rotation. Next the mould is shifted from the melting zone ~ ~-~
and crystallized slag is removed therefrom. ~he drum 6 is , , -~
f~ turned u~til the electrode~holder 14 strikes again~t the ~ ~- ingot 19. Following that the locator 24 is carried o~ ' , ~-$ ~. from the ingot ~uriace and the drum 6 is turned until its ' , ,~ ~lat 2~ is placed vertically. ~hen the in~ot ~9 is ~reely f romoved ~rom the drum 6.
f .. , , , ; ~ .
f~ ;
- , ,, , .. ' , , '' ----- . .

;~-109~33 Considered hereinbelow is the ~unctioning of a~other embodiments of the proposed plant.
When melting ingots uhose external surfaces should meet more stringent reguirements use is made o~ a plant in which the`portion of the external surface of the drum serves as a mould wall.
In this plant the consumable electrodes 15 (Fig.3) are placed on the drum with the help of tempora~J electri- ~ -call~-in~ulating gaskets 28 produced e.g. from solid slag.
; The in~ulating gas~ets 28 are melted in the slag bath 27 ' concurrently with the consu~able electrodes.
Gthe~ re~ct~ the operation o~ the above plant i~ ~-s~milar to the above-described.
;j. . .
When melting ingots whose perimeter exceeds their ; `
half-circum~erencej the ingot is removed from the drum in , -the following manner. ~
On removal of the stubs of the consumable electrodes ;-15 the dummy bar 12 is disengaged ~rom the base plate and --the locator 24 thrusts against the ingot to preclude its ~ ~ -rotation. Next the mould is shifted from the melting æone and crystallized slag is removèd there~rom. ~he dru~ 6 is turned until the electrode holder ~4 strikes against the -ingot;19- Following that bhe locator 24 is carried off *rom~the ingot surface and the d~um 6 is turned until its lat 23 i8 placed vertically. Th~n the ingot 19 is ~reely xemoved ~rom the drum 6~ ~ ;
s";`
~,` ' ' . ` '`:`, , .

, , , . . , ~ . , ~ .
~, . . . . . . .

- ~s i ~

~04~3 - 16 _ A case of a plant for melting ingots in the form of ~oothed rims is considered belo~.
~ o set up the electrode 15 on the drum 6 of such a plant the outside wall 3 is shi~ted relative to the drum shell due to the provision o~ the ~-shaped recesses a~d - -slide ribs accordingly in the base plate, electrode holders and ~all ends. ~he electrodes 15 are placed on electrocally- -insulating gaskets 28.
Bollowing that the wall 3 is placed in a woxking posi-tio~ whereupon the melting process is ef~ected similarly to that described above.
~o provide the formation o~ teeth on the exter~al sur- ~ -;
~ace oi the ingot prefabricated elements 29 in the form of rim teeth are placed in the recesses provided in the inter--na~ su~ace o~ the wall 3 and secured thereto be~ore the melting process has been initiated. As the ingot is being melted-the elemeDts 29 fuse together (merge) with the i~got --body forming an ingot in the form of a toothed rim. ~
~po~ me1t~n~ the toothed rim 30, the end iace walls --are shifted a~ide a~d the drum is turned so that the toothed ~ -rim--30 is set to an "-above the drum" position. Next the toothea ~all 3 of thè mould 1 i8 displaced along the drum ~ ~
axis a~d the fini~hed toothed rim i5 removed from the pla~t. --' ~ ,, . , - , ~, , .. ., - ,, ,:, , , ~., ~., :~ ~ tf iff4443;~

As it is clear from the descriptio~, there is propo-sed a plant which, owin~ to its inherent design distinguish-ed by a relative simplicit~, small overall dimensions and low metal consumption, ensures a reliable withdrawal of -ingots ~rom the mould and the production of ingots of a requisite geometry and practically an~ length depending on the drum lèngth. .
, .
- ,~

J - -; - -.~

s~
-s t ~ ~

Claims (6)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A plant for the electroslag melting or ingots sha-ped as non-closed cylinders, comprising: a frame; a water-cooled mould fixed on said frame with mould walls shaping an internal and external surface of the ingot being radial-ly congruent with an ingot being melted; a drum mounted tur-nably about the horizontal longitudinal axis thereof near the mould on the side of its wall shaping the internal sur-face of the ingot and coaxial with the wall; a base plate with a dummy bar fastened to the drum shell said base plate being coupled to a power supply source; an electrode holder also secured to the drum shell, said electrode holder being electrically insulated from the drum and coupled to the power supply source; at least one electrode curvilinear in shape, set up in said electrode holder, encompassing a portion of the drum and having a clearance therewith to preclude electric contact between the drum and electrode, said drum while turning serving also as a carrier for with-drawing the ingot and as a device for securing the electro-de holder and feeding the electrode into the mould melting space.

2. A plant of Claim 1, wherein the shell of the drum carries spring-biased rests fastened thereto turnably in the plane of rotation of the drum and securing the electro-do and ingot with respect to the pivot axis of the drum.

3. A plant of Claim 1, wherein the fraction of the external surface of the drum between the base plate with the dummy bar and electrode holder acts as a mould wall shaping the internal surface of the ingot, the drum being water-cooled from the inside.

4. A plant of Claim 3, wherein in the vicinity of the electrode holder in the direction of rotation of the drum the latter has a flat on its external surface, said flat being sufficient to remove the finished ingots from the drum after the latter has turned.

5. A plant of Claim 3, wherein the mould wall shaping the external surface of the ingot is toothed and its end faces are mounted on the electrode holder and the base plate with the dummy bar, the mould wall being rotatable together with the drum and movable along the drum axis.

6. A plant of Claim 1, wherein the mould is mounted on the frame movable in a horizontal direction to provide the removal of the finished ingot.