This is call a broken arm centrifugal casting machine. I often though the name came from the fact that if you didn’t get your arm out of the way it certainly would be broken. LOL The name actually comes from the fact the section of the arm that hold the crucible and flask pivots 90 degrees from the plane of rotation. This increases the acceleration of the flask when the arm is released for a casting putting more centrifugal force on the molten metal being cast.

The base has a large internal spring, you wind the arm up against the spring tension and then hold it in place with a pin while you prepare to cast. The flask is placed on a cradle and the crucible, which has a hole in the end is push up against the flask. The pre-measured metal shot is put in the crucible where it is melted with a torch. Here you can see I use a rose bud tip on a full sized O2/acytlene torch.

Once the metal is melted I add a small amount of borax to gather up any oxides and the arm is released. The spinning of the arm creates centrifugal force on the molten metal and forces it into the voids where the patterns were prior to burn-out.