Feeding
The process of supplying hot fluid metal to the interior of a casting, to compensate for the gradual shrinkage as it passes from a fluid to a solid state. The head, occupying an elevated position, imparts pressure; the feeding-rod, being kept hot, serves to maintain communication with the interior by preserving a passage through which the molten metal is forced by reason of the pressure exerted at the feeding-head above, where the supply is kept constant until the mass has solidified. This process is by some improperly termed churning. See FEEDING-HEAD; FEEDING-ROD; RISER; SHRINKAGE.