melt as a liquid within the die below the casting zone near the upper edge of the insulator the melt temperature drops rapidly and solidification begins in casting three quarter inch brass rod at over 100 ipm the casting zone extends longitudinally for 1 to 11 2 inches at the top of the casting zone the strand is solid estimated average temperature of brass castings in the solidification zone are 1650 u00b0 f to 1750 u00b0 f a typical temperature for the brass casting as it leaves the mold assembly is 1500 u00b0 f at the upper end of the mold assembly there is a clearance around the strand to ensure the presence of oxygen or a water saturated atmosphere to burn off zinc vapors before they condense and flow down to the casting zone the strand thus produced is of exceptionally good quality the strand is characterized by a fine grain size and dendrite structure good tensile strength and good ductility there has been described a simple low cost oscillating mold assembly and a withdrawal process for use with the mold assembly that are capable of continuously producing high quality metallic strands particularly brass at extraordinarily high speeds in particular the mold assembly and withdrawal process provide sophisticated solutions to the many serious difficulties attendant the casting environment such as extreme temperatures and temperature differentials metallic and water vapors foreign particles present in the casting furnace.