Instrument Packs are prepared using the same sand that will make the mold and a
small wooden form (the form and a pile of sand are seen in the foreground of this
picture). Thermocouples are placed in the form at approximate depths from what will
become the surface of the casting and sand is hand-packed around them. The actual
thermocouple depths are measured with a micrometer depth gage after the casting is made.
Here is the wooden form and the thermocouples used to make a single thermal
instrument pack. A 150mm scale is barely visible just in front of the form.
The thermocouples will be laid into the slots for packing, and the wooden form will be
removed when the pack is complete.
The thermocouples are laid into the form, as seen in the next photograph, and set
back from the surface by and approximate distance using a millimeter scale. After
the casting is made, the precise distance are obtained using a micrometer depth gage.
Here is a completed thermal instrument pack. The thermocouple wires extend
from the back of the pack, and the "front" will become part of the surface of
the mold. Not visible in the picture are two thermocouple wires which protrude from
the front surface. These thermocouples provide a reading of the surface temperature
of the aluminum plate as it solidifies.
The photo at right
shows the finished upper half of the mold. This particular mold has three sensor
packs integrated into its surface (two are eddy current sensors, which are another part of
this research story). You may be able to make out the outline of these three packs
(they are in a vertical line in the center of the cavity). The one in the center is
the thermal pack.
Instrument Packs are prepared using the same sand that will make the mold and a
small wooden form (the form and a pile of sand are seen in the foreground of this
picture). Thermocouples are placed in the form at approximate depths from what will
become the surface of the casting and sand is hand-packed around them. The actual
thermocouple depths are measured with a micrometer depth gage after the casting is made. 
Here is the wooden form and the thermocouples used to make a single thermal
instrument pack. A 150mm scale is barely visible just in front of the form.
The thermocouples will be laid into the slots for packing, and the wooden form will be
removed when the pack is complete.
