Including Continuous Casting Apparatus Patents (Class 164/417)
  • Patent number: 11426777
    Abstract: Systems and methods of applying a texture on a substrate include applying a texture to the substrate with a work stand of a coil-to-coil process. The work stand includes an upper work roll and a lower work roll vertically aligned with the upper work roll. At least one of the upper work roll and the lower work roll includes the texture. Applying the texture includes applying, by the upper work roll and a lower work roll, a work roll pressure on an upper surface and a lower surface of the substrate. The method further includes adjusting a contact pressure parameter of the work stand such that the work stand provides a desired contact pressure distribution across the width of the substrate and a desired thickness profile of the edges of the substrate while an overall thickness of the substrate remains substantially constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Noveliss Inc.
    Inventors: Mehdi Shafiei, Andrew James Hobbis, David Anthony Gaensbauer, Jeffery Edward Geho, Steven L. Mick
  • Patent number: 11097323
    Abstract: A combined continuous casting and endless rolling plant for a metal strip, comprising—a continuous casting line (1) for casting a slab; —a first rolling mill (6) for roughing the slab and for obtaining a transfer bar; —a second rolling mill (11) for finishing the transfer bar and for obtaining a strip; —a third rolling mill (18), comprising at least two rolling stands (17), for further reducing the N thickness of the strip; —accumulation means (20) of the strip comprising at least one first reel (37, 37?) dimensioned to wind and unwind a coil weighing from 80 to 250 metric tons and/or up to 6 meters in diameter, named mega coil; —first cutting means (13), arranged between said third rolling mill (18) and said accumulation means (20), configured to cut the strip after the mega coil has been wound on the at least one first reel (37, 37?); —at least one second reel (48) for winding portions of strip, unwound from said accumulation means (20), up to a predetermined weight limit or coil diameter limit; —second cut
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: DANIELI & C. OFFICINE MECCANICHE S.p.A.
    Inventors: Luciano Vignolo, Mauro Guagnelli
  • Patent number: 10882102
    Abstract: Apparatus to replace a guide unit in a continuous casting machine. A platform is positioned, during use, at the side of a casting line, and is provided with at least a first positioning zone of at least a first guide unit and at least a second positioning zone of at least a second guide unit. The platform is associated with a rotation device to take, on each occasion, the first positioning zone or the second positioning zone facing the side of the casting line. A movement device moves the second guide unit from a positioning zone outside the platform and, during use, in line with the casting line, to the second positioning zone of the platform and to move the first guide unit from the first positioning zone of the platform to the positioning zone outside the platform and, during use, in line with the casting line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: DANIELI & C. OFFICINE MECCANICHE S.P.A.
    Inventors: Daniele Comand, Michele Meret
  • Patent number: 10434552
    Abstract: A method for producing a metallic strip by continuous casting-rolling, wherein a slab is cast in a casting machine and then sent to a finishing mill located downstream, relative to the transport direction of the strip. In the event that the transport of the slab or strip comes to a complete or substantially complete standstill, the following steps are carried out: (a) cutting through the strip at a first point; (b) cutting through the strip at a second point that is 0.1-5.0 m upstream from the first point; (c) removing the cut-out piece of strip to create a gap in the strip; (d) conveying new strip material into the area of the gap from the area located upstream of the first point; and (e) cutting off pieces of the new strip material conveyed from upstream according to step (d) and removing the pieces from the transport line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: SMS GROUP GMBH
    Inventors: Thomas Runkel, Christian Mengel
  • Patent number: 10179363
    Abstract: A method for producing a cast strip of molten metal, in which the molten metal passes through a casting gap defined by two oppositely rotating casting rollers and is shaped into the cast strip, as well as the cast strip that is produced. By providing the cast strip in the casting gap with a different thickness in a first length section extending in the longitudinal direction of the cast strip than in a second length section bordering thereon, a metal strip is produced that has length sections with different thicknesses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: Outokumpu Nirosta GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Klos, Johann Wilhelm Schmitz, Gerhard Gräf, Markus Daamen
  • Patent number: 10092949
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a round steel billet by continuous casting includes a local cooling step where inhomogeneous forced cooling is applied to a cast product during the continuous casting, and a rolling reduction step where rolling reduction is applied to the cast product in the opposite directions of the polar opposites by reduction rolls in the course from the completion of solidification to the completion of the recuperation of the cast product so that rolling reduction r which is a reduction ratio of a distance between middle points of the polar opposites is set to a value exceeding 0% and 5% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuro Katsumura, Hirohide Uehara, Yoichi Ito
  • Patent number: 10086418
    Abstract: There are provided a shape-correcting and rolling method and a shape-correcting device for effectively correcting the shape of high-strength steel. The shape-correcting and rolling method includes: transferring a hot-rolled coil to a pay-off reel after cooling the hot-rolled coil or directly through a hot rolling to skin pass mill direct transfer process; unwinding the coil from the pay-off reel; correcting a shape of a strip unwound from the coil by using a heat pipe roller; and rewinding the strip as a coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: POSCO
    Inventors: Gil-Ho Song, Jae-Woong Byun, Nam-Il Jo, Sang-Kug Je, Jae-Wook Bae
  • Patent number: 9399253
    Abstract: A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method for continuous casting with which slabs for heavy gauge steel plate in which porosities are decreased can be manufactured. In the present invention, when a slab for heavy gauge steel plate is continuously cast, two pairs of reduction rolls that are arranged separately from each other with a roll-interval in a range from 3 m to 7 m, between which a support roll is arranged, are used, reduction is carried out on the slab by 3 to 15 mm with the reduction rolls at the first stage under the condition where the slab includes an unsolidified portion with the solid-phase ratio in a range from 0.8 to less than 1, and reduction is further carried out on the slab with the reduction rolls at the second stage under the condition where the slab is completely solidified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiro Yamanaka, Kenji Taguchi, Naoki Tajima
  • Publication number: 20140326368
    Abstract: A method for producing an aluminum-alloy shaped product, includes a step of forging a continuously cast rod of aluminum alloy serving as a forging material, in which the aluminum alloy contains Si in an amount of 10.5 to 13.5 mass %, Fe in an amount of 0.15 to 0.65 mass %, Cu in an amount of 2.5 to 5.5 mass % and Mg in an amount of 0.3 to 1.5 mass %, and heat treatment and heating steps including a step of subjecting the forging material to pre-heat treatment, a step of heating the forging material during a course of forging of the forging material and a step of subjecting a shaped product to post-heat treatment, the pre-heat treatment including treatment of maintaining the forging material at a temperature of ?10 to 480° C. for two to six hours.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2014
    Publication date: November 6, 2014
    Applicant: SHOWA DENKO K.K.
    Inventor: Yasuo OKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20140083644
    Abstract: A continuous casting plant (1) includes at least one continuous casting line, optionally, at least one reducing unit, at least one separation device, and one or more devices for tempering the strip, and at least one auxiliary rolling line is arranged parallel to the continuous casting line with conveyors (10, 10?) for continuously inwardly transferring different slab formats into the line of the continuous casting plant (1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicant: SMS Siemag AG
    Inventors: Joachim SCHWELLENBACH, Heribert NEIFER, Dieter ROSENTHAL
  • Patent number: 8459333
    Abstract: A rolling mill for producing rolled rolling stock is operated in a continuous manner by integrally forming the rolling stock during scheduled operation from a supply device which supplies the stock to the rolling mill to one finishing rolling train arranged downstream of the rolling stock supply device by guiding the stock into the finishing rolling train continuously and rolling it to form a first outflow product. The operation is monitored for a deviation from the scheduled operation that influences the rolling process, wherein in case of a deviation measures are taken to examine whether a second outflow product, which is different from the first outflow product, can still be produced. If the second outflow product cannot be produced, the operation of the rolling mill is altered from a continuous operation to a discontinuous operation, whereby production failures caused by undesired process deviations in a rolling mill can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Matthias Kurz, Hans-Ulrich Löffler
  • Patent number: 8453711
    Abstract: An apparatus for producing hot-rolled products in a combined casting-rolling installation designed to bridge a planned or unplanned interruption in production downstream of the cutting-up and delivering device. The installation cuts off a strand portion of the continuously produced preliminary material using first shears; raises the tail part of the strand portion from the roller table using a raising device; breaks up the preliminary material passing the first shears into pieces of scrap using the first shears into pieces of scrap using the first shears; delivers the pieces of scrap and removes the strand portion unit the operational readiness of the combined casting-rolling installation is restored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Siemens Vai Metals Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Gerald Hohenbichler, Michael Jesche, Daniel Ness, Wolfgang Peitl, Heinrich Puehringer, Alois Seilinger, Robert Andrew Shore
  • Patent number: 8424586
    Abstract: An apparatus for producing hot-rolled products in a combined casting-rolling installation designed to bridge a planned or unplanned interruption in production downstream of the cutting-up and delivering device. The installation cuts off a strand portion of the continuously produced preliminary material using first shears; raises the tail part of the strand portion from the roller table using a raising device; breaks up the preliminary material passing the first shears into pieces of scrap using the first shears into pieces of scrap using the first shears; delivers the pieces of scrap and removes the strand portion unit the operational readiness of the combined casting-rolling installation is restored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: Siemens Vai Metals Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Gerald Hohenbichler, Michael Jesche, Daniel Ness, Wolfgang Peitl, Heinrich Puehringer, Alois Seilinger, Robert Andrew Shore
  • Patent number: 8365806
    Abstract: A method and a device for producing a metal strip by continuous casting and rolling, in which a thin slab is initially cast into a casting machine, and is subsequently rolled in at least one rolling train using primary heat from the casting cycle. The cast thin slab is passed between the casting machine and the at least one rolling train and at least one holding oven as well as at least one induction oven. The holding oven and the induction oven are activated or deactivated according to a selected mode of operation, that is, a first mode of operation for the continuous production of the metal strip and a second mode of operation for the discontinuous production of the metal strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: SMS Siemag Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Dieter Rosenthal, Stephan Krämer, Jürgen Seidel, Frank Benfer
  • Patent number: 8322401
    Abstract: A method for making long metal rolled products by continuous casting, made by a continuous casting machine to two casting lines; shearing to size of the cast product; direct introduction of each segment, having an average temperature of at least 1000° C.-1150° C., into a maintenance and/or heating furnace that has a first and a second movement sections, each of the movement sections is disposed in axis respectively with one of the two casting lines to receive a respective segment; lateral transfer of each segment inside the furnace to dispose each segment in a third movement section disposed parallel and misaligned with respect to the first and the second movement sections and aligned to a rolling axis of a rolling line parallel and offset with respect to the two casting lines; and reduction of the section in a rolling mill defining said rolling axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche SpA
    Inventor: Gianpietro Benedetti
  • Patent number: 8322400
    Abstract: A method for making long metal rolled products by continuous casting at high hourly productivity, by a single casting machine, a product with a rectangular section; shearing to size of the cast product to define a segment of a length between 16 and 150 m and a weight between 10 and 100 tons; introduction of the segment, having an average temperature of at least 1000° C., into a maintenance and/or possible heating furnace having a first section for moving the cast product disposed in axis with the casting axis; lateral transfer of the segment inside the furnace to transfer the segment to a second section for moving the cast product disposed parallel and misaligned with respect to the first section and aligned with a rolling axis parallel and offset with respect to the casting axis; and reduction of the section in a rolling mill.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche SpA
    Inventor: Gianpietro Benedetti
  • Patent number: 8286691
    Abstract: A method and plant for making long metal rolled products, in which a continuous casting is provided by a single casting machine, defining a casting axis, to cast a product with a quadrangular or equivalent section, a reduction of the section in a rolling mill defining a rolling axis substantially coinciding with the casting axis, and a selective accumulation and maintenance at temperature of a plurality of segments of cast product sheared to size in a misaligned position with respect to the cast axis and/or the rolling axis, inside a maintenance box furnace, for a time correlated to a condition of temporary interruption of the reduction step, so as to allow continuity of the continuous casting step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche Spa
    Inventor: Gianpietro Benedetti
  • Patent number: 8276647
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for producing hot-rolled products in a combined casting-rolling installation. A method and a combined casting-rolling installation with which an uninterrupted continuous casting process can be maintained not only when there is a planned interruption to production but also when there is an unplanned interruption to production, occurring for example in a heating zone, a finishing mill train, a cooling zone or a storage device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Vai Metals Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Gerald Hohenbichler, Michael Jesche, Daniel Ness, Wolfgang Peitl, Heinrich Puehringer, Alois Seilinger, Robert Andrew Shore
  • Patent number: 8245760
    Abstract: Provided is a continuous cast slab and a manufacturing method for the same, wherein solidified layers of a cast slab having a non-solidified layer are compressed with each other during a continuous casting process to fundamentally prevent occurrence of defects, such as center segregation or porosity, which deteriorate quality of the cast slab, thereby decreasing defects. A continuous casting method for producing a cast slab by drawing molten steel from a mold includes preparing a compressing unit, and reducing at least one side of the drawn cast slab by using the compressing unit, wherein solute-enriched residual molten steel is caused to flow back in a direction opposite to a casting direction. Thus, it is possible to produce a cast slab wherein defects such as center segregation are greatly eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Posco
    Inventors: Chang Hee Yim, Young Mok Won, Joong Kil Park, Sang Hum Kwon
  • Patent number: 8186422
    Abstract: A method for the continuous casting of thin metal strip in a continuous casting installation, in which metal is discharged vertically downward from a mold, the metal strip is deflected from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, and the metal strip is supported and/or conveyed and/or plastically deformed by a number of pairs of drive rolls. At least one pair of drive rolls plastically deforms the metal strip without significantly changing the mean thickness of the metal strip, namely with a change in the mean thickness of the metal strip of less than 5%, such that the deformation in the pairs of drive rolls produces material flow exclusively in the direction transverse to the direction of conveyance of the metal strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: SMS Siemag Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wolfgang Hennig, Holger Beyer-Steinhauer, Christian Bilgen
  • Patent number: 8171982
    Abstract: A device for manufacturing a metal strip has solidification section (3) formed as a horizontally extending conveyor element for transporting cast metal in a transport direction (F), a delivery vessel (2) for delivering liquid metal to a first location of the solidification section (3), a delivery vessel (2) for delivering liquid metal to a first location of the solidification section (3); and a device provided at or downstream of a second location spaced from the first location for maintaining a desired tension of a metal strip and including at least one driver (8, 9) for transporting the metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: SMS Siemag Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Rolf Franz, Olaf Norman Jepsen, Christian Mengel, Michael Breuer
  • Patent number: 8162032
    Abstract: Process and related plant for manufacturing steel plates with thickness <100 mm and width of up to 4000 mm from a continuous casting step for slabs, comprising a liquid core reduction step, without interruptions until completion of a finishing rolling step with high reduction ratios in at least one stand. The average temperature when entering the rolling step is ?1200° C., but can be reduced for unalloyed or low alloyed steel greatest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Inventor: Giovanni Arvedi
  • Patent number: 8087449
    Abstract: A rolling method in a rolling line, to obtain strip with a thickness varying from 0.7 mm to 20 mm, for steel which can be cast in the form of thin slabs with a thickness from 30 mm to 140 mm, the line includes a continuous casting device; a tunnel furnace for maintenance/equalization and possible heating; a rolling train having a roughing train and a finishing train; a rapid heating unit, with elements able to be selectively activated, interposed between the roughing train and the finishing train. For each lay-out of the rolling line, the position of the rapid heating unit which defines the number of stands which form the roughing train, disposed upstream of the unit, and the number of stands which form the finishing train, disposed downstream of the unit, is calculated as a function of the product of the thickness and speed of the thin slab.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche SpA
    Inventors: Gianpietro Benedetti, Paolo Bobig
  • Patent number: 8069904
    Abstract: In a method for producing hot strips from a deformable lightweight steel which includes as main elements Fe, Mn, Si and Al, melt is cast close to its final dimension in a horizontal continuous strip casting installation under a protective gas to form a pre-strip between 6 and 20 mm, and the temperature of the pre-strip is adjusted after complete solidification and before the beginning of a hot-rolling process. The pre-strip is passed through a device under a protective gas for homogenization in concert with a selective maintenance of the temperature, cooling or heating, and subsequently subjected to a hot-rolling process having at least one pass with a total degree of deformation of at least 50%, and is then reeled as a hot strip following the cooling process. The hot-rolling process is executed in-line or in decoupled manner depending on the ratio of casting speed to rolling speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: SMS Siemag AG
    Inventors: Karl-Heinz Spitzer, Hellfried Eichholz, Markus Schäperkötter, Guido Bormann
  • Publication number: 20110214834
    Abstract: A production line for manufacturing metal strips made of copper or copper alloys by means of casting and rolling. In order to lower the investment cost and operating expenses therefore, the melt is cast into a copper strip in a vertical and/or horizontal continuous strip casting process, and the hot copper strip is cleaned by milling the top and bottom face thereof, is subjected to a cold rolling process, and is prepared for shipping, or is subjected to an inspection and then prepared for shipping after being annealed, pickled, washed, dried, and optionally temper rolled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2011
    Publication date: September 8, 2011
    Applicant: SMS SIEMAG AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Hans-Peter Richter, Ludwig Weingarten, Hartmut Pawelski, Rainer Link, Wolfheinrich Müller
  • Patent number: 8011418
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a metal strip includes casting a slab (3) or preliminary strip (3?) in a casting machine (2) and subsequently rolling the cast slab (3) or preliminary strip (3?) in at least one rolling train (4, 5) in a first operating mode with the at least one rolling train being connected with the casting machine for continuously manufacturing the metal strip, and in a second operating mode removing the cast slab (3) or preliminary strip (3?) from the main transport line (6) with a shuttle system arranged between the casting machine (2) and the at least one rolling train (4, 5), storing the removed slab (3) or preliminary strip (3?), and subsequently transporting the removed slab (3) or preliminary strip back into the main transport line, with the removed slab (3) or preliminary strip (3?) being heated to a desired temperature or maintained at a desired temperature prior to the transport back into the main transport line (6) for discontinuously manufacturing the metal strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: SMA Siemag Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Dieter Rosenthal, Stephan Krämer, Christoph Klein, Jürgen Seidel, Wolfgang-Dietmar Hackenberg
  • Patent number: 7980291
    Abstract: An arrangement for maintaining the warmth of slabs which exit from a continuous casting installation and which can be transported on a roller table for further processing. In order to optimize the thermal balance between the continuous casting installation and the hot rolling mill, a supporting part is provided for receiving a slab, which supporting part can be placed on the roller table and transported thereon, and an insulating box which can be placed upon the supporting part and which substantially encloses the latter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: SMS Siemag AG
    Inventors: Thomas Fest, Erich Hovestädt, Wolfgang Mossner
  • Publication number: 20110146935
    Abstract: A continuous casting furnace for producing metal ingots includes a molten seal which prevents external atmosphere from entering the melting chamber. A startup sealing assembly allows an initial seal to be formed to prevent external atmosphere from entering the melting chamber prior to the formation of the molten seal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2011
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Applicant: RTI INTERNATIONAL METALS, INC.
    Inventors: MICHAEL P. JACQUES, KUANG-O YU
  • Patent number: 7954539
    Abstract: A process and an ultracompact plant for the endless production of hot rolled steel strip comprising an ingot mold (15) that produces a very thin slab, having narrow sides with thickness in the range between 40 and 55 mm and a central swelling, at a speed in the range between 4 and 16 m/min. Such a slab, which displays a core in which the steel is still liquid, is passed through a vertical pre-rolling device (16) that reduces the thickness of the slab and flattens it. The solidified slab may thus be subjected to a first mild rolling by a conveyor (17) and, by forming a free curve, takes a horizontal position where it is subjected to a first surface descaling, a first rolling, a heating in an inductor (23), a second surface descaling and a series of reductions in a rolling mill (30) formed by at least two stands, by maintaining its temperature along the mill above the recrystallization point Ar3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Danieli & C.Officine Meccanicite, S.p.A.
    Inventors: Gianpietro Benedetti, Alfredo Poloni, Nuredin Kapaj
  • Patent number: 7942191
    Abstract: A method for producing a wide steel strip using thin slab continuous casting and rolling by the following steps a) casting a molten steel into a thin slab having a thickness of between 50 and 90 mm; b) cutting; c) soaking; d) heating by electromagnetic induction; e) descaling; f) rolling; g) cooling with laminar flow; and h) coiling. The method can effectively control the solution and precipitation of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfide in steel with a low cost. The process is easy and flexible, and steel can be produced in a wide range of categories. Further provided is a system for producing a wide steel strip with thin slab continuous casting and rolling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp
    Inventors: Chao Zhang, Zhonghan Luo, Zemin Fang, Jionghui Mao, Shenglin Chen, Ruoping Wang, Xiangxin Wang
  • Publication number: 20110073220
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of continuous hardening press and an apparatus thereof. The process of continuous press hardening, includes: slab casting that makes a slab by continuous-casting molten steel refined by an electric furnace or a blast furnace, and then reheats and hot-rolls the slab into a hot-rolled steel sheet; blanking that conveys the hot-rolled steel sheet to a blank through a sealed oven and blanks the hot-rolled steel sheet, after the slab casting; and press hardening that conveys the hot-rolled steel sheet to a press die and presses the hot-rolled steel sheet, after the blanking. According to the embodiments of the present invention, since a high-temperature steel sheet formed by hot rolling is directly put into press hardening, reheating is not required such that the entire process is simplified and reduction of manufacturing cost can be expected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Applicant: HYUNDAI STEEL COMPANY
    Inventors: Taewoo Kwon, Chisang Yoon
  • Patent number: 7909085
    Abstract: Process and ultracompact plant for continuous production of hot rolled steel strip comprising an ingot mould (15) which produces a very thin slab at a speed between 4 and 16 m/min, wherein the thickness of the narrow sides is between 15 and 50 mm with a central swelling. Such slab has a core in which the steel is still liquid; it is run through a vertical pre-rolling device (16) which reduces the thickness of the slab, flattening it. The solidified slab can thus undergo a first light rolling process using a pinch roll (17) and, by forming a free curve, it moves to a horizontal position where it can undergo a second light rolling process by another pinch roll (22?). A heating process (if required) includes an inductor (50). A superficial descaling process and a series of reductions in a rolling mill made up of at least three stands (20?, 20?, 20??) are provided maintaining a slab temperature along the train above the Ar3 recrystallization point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A.
    Inventors: Gianpietro Benedetti, Alfredo Poloni, Nuredin Kapaj
  • Patent number: 7849911
    Abstract: A device for continuous casting and direct deformation of a metal strand, with a strand guide which is curved after the continuous casting mold in the direction of strand travel, a spray device for liquid coolant, a bending-straightening unit, and an automatic control system for a uniform temperature field in the strand cross section. The cast strand is cooled with a liquid coolant only in the longitudinal sections in which the cast strand is liquid in the cross section. The curved strand guide with the spray device for liquid coolant is followed by a dry zone, which operates without liquid coolant and serves as insulation against the elimination of radiant heat and systematically surrounds the cast strand. A reduction line is provided, which includes individual, hydraulically adjustable deforming rolls or several hydraulically adjustable roll segments and precedes, coincides with, or follows the region of the bending-straightening unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: SMS Siemag Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Axel Weyer, Dirk Letzel, Horst Gärtner, Wilfried Milewski, Adolf Gustav Zajber
  • Publication number: 20100116456
    Abstract: A process and an ultracompact plant for the endless production of hot rolled steel strip comprising an ingot mould (15) that produces a very thin slab, having narrow sides with thickness in the range between 40 and 55 mm and a central swelling, at a speed in the range between 4 and 16 m/min. Such a slab, which displays a core in which the steel is still liquid, is passed through a vertical pre-rolling device (16) that reduces the thickness of the slab and flattens it. The solidified slab may thus be subjected to a first mild rolling by a conveyor (17) and, by forming a free curve, takes a horizontal position where it is subjected to a first surface descaling, a first rolling, a heating in an inductor (23), a second surface descaling and a series of reductions in a rolling mill (30) formed by at least two stands, by maintaining its temperature along the mill above the recrystallisation point Ar3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Inventors: Gianpietro Benedetti, Alfredo Poloni, Nuredin Kapaj
  • Publication number: 20090314457
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for producing a metal strip (1) by continuous casting, using a casting machine (2) in which a slab (3) is cast. At least one milling machine (4) is arranged in the direction of transport (F) of the slab (3) behind the casting machine (2) in which at least one surface of the slab (3), preferably two surfaces which are opposite to each other, can be milled. According to the invention, in order to optimise the service life of the milling cutter of the milling machine, means (5) for cooling the milling cutter (6) are provided on or in the milling machine (4). The invention also relates to a method for producing a metal strip.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2007
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Inventors: Jürgen Seidel, Peter Sudau, Jürgen Merz, Matthias Kipping
  • Publication number: 20090314456
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for producing a metal strip (1) by continuous casting, using a casting machine (2) in which a slab (3), preferably a thin slab, is cast. At least one milling machine (4) is arranged in the direction of transport (F) of the slab (3) behind the casting machine (2), in which at least one surface of the slab (3), preferably two surfaces which are opposite to each other, can be milled. At least one descaling device (5) is arranged in the direction of transport (F) of the slab (3) behind the casting machine (2). In order to keep the temperature loss during processing and/or machining of the slab to a minimum, the milling machine (4) and the descaling device are embodied (5) as an integral unit (6).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2007
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Inventors: Jürgen Seidel, Peter Sudau
  • Publication number: 20090288798
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for continuously casting thin steel strip includes a pair of counter-rotatable casting rolls having a nip there between capable of delivering cast strip downwardly from the nip, a metal delivery system capable of forming a casting pool supported on casting surfaces of the casting rolls above the nip with side dams adjacent the ends of the nip to confine the casting pool, and a hot rolling mill having work rolls with work surfaces forming a gap between them through which hot strip delivered from the casting rolls is rolled, the work rolls having work surfaces relating to the desired strip profile across the work rolls. Misting jets may be in intervals along the path of the cast strip exiting from the hot rolling mill to form a cooling zone, the misting jets capable of directing toward surfaces of the cast strip a mixture of gas and water having a ratio of gas over water between 9 and 90 to cool the cast strip at more than 1.6° C. per liter of water used.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2008
    Publication date: November 26, 2009
    Applicant: NUCOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jay Jon Ondrovic, Eric Fulbright, Katsumi Nakayama
  • Publication number: 20090250187
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for producing a metal strip (1) by continuous casting, using a casting machine (2) in which a slab (3) is cast. At least one milling machine (4) is arranged in the direction of transport (F) of the slab (3) behind the casting machine (2). At least one surface of the slab (3), preferably two surfaces which are opposite to each other, can be milled in said milling machine. According to the invention, in order to obtain high quality surface machining by milling, in particular in relatively rigid slabs, a shaving conveying device (6) is arranged in the region of at least one milling cutter (5) of the milling machine (4) enabling the milled shavings (7) to be removed from the region of the milling cutter (5) in the direction (Q) perpendicular to the direction of transport (F) of the slab (3).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2007
    Publication date: October 8, 2009
    Inventors: Jürgen Seidel, Peter Sudau, Jürgen Merz, Matthias Kipping
  • Publication number: 20090165987
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a continuous casting machine and method using molten mold flux. The continuous casting machine includes a mold cover for covering an upper portion of a mold; a mold flux melting unit for melting mold flux to be supplied into the mold; and a mold flux delivery unit for supplying the mold with the molten mold flux melted in the mold flux melting unit, wherein the delivery unit includes an injection tube with one end connected to the mold flux melting unit and the other end positioned in the mold through the mold cover, and an injection tube heater for heating the injection tube. According to the present invention, since a slag bear continuous casting machine and method using molten mold flux is removed, a consumption of mold flux is greatly increased compared with a case of a conventional casting work, so that the friction between a mold and a solidified shell is reduced. As a result, an amount of scarfing of a cast piece is greatly reduced and no carbon pick-up occurs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2007
    Publication date: July 2, 2009
    Inventors: Jung Wook Cho, Hyun Seok Jeong, Jong Min Park, Goo Hwa Kim, Oh Duck Kwon, Joong Ki Park, Soo Kyu Lee, Sang Ho Lee, Ki Hyeon Moon
  • Publication number: 20090107589
    Abstract: Disclosed are a method and a production line for manufacturing metal strips made of copper or copper alloys by means of casting and rolling. In order to lower the investment cost and operating expenses therefor, the melt (2) is cast into a copper strip (4) in a vertical and/or horizontal continuous strip casting process (3), and the hot copper strip (4) is cleaned by milling (5) the top and bottom face (5a, 5b) thereof, is subjected to a cold rolling process (6) and is prepared for shipping, or is subjected to an inspection (12) and then prepared for shipping after being annealed (7), pickled (8), washed (9), dried (10), and optionally temper rolled (11).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2006
    Publication date: April 30, 2009
    Applicant: SMS DEMAG AG
    Inventors: Hans-Peter Richter, Ludwig Weingarten, Hartmut Pawelski, Rainer Link, Wolfheinrich Muller
  • Publication number: 20090095938
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for producing an alloy, including: a casting device which casts a molten alloy using the strip cast method; a crushing device which crushes the cast alloy after casting; and a heating device which keeps the thin laminas of the cast alloy after crushing at a predetermined temperature or which heats the thin laminas of the cast alloy after crushing, wherein the heating device is equipped with a container and a heater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2007
    Publication date: April 16, 2009
    Applicant: SHOWA DENKO K.K.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Hasegawa, Kazuya Ueno, Shinichi Osawa, Shiro Sasaki
  • Patent number: 7478664
    Abstract: A method for semi-endless or endless rolling by casting a metal strand, especially a steel strand, which is cut to length as required after solidification, wherein the cut lengths of cast strand are fed into a roller hearth furnace for heating and homogenizing at rolling temperature and are then fed at rolling temperature into a rolling mill to be rolled out. The continuous casting is continued without interruption during the rolling operation, and a sufficient buffer time for a roll change is maintained in the rolling mill. For carrying out a roll change, the casting rate is reduced as a function of the feed rate of the rolling mill and/or the roll-changing time, and/or the buffer length of the roller hearth furnace, and/or the final rolled thickness after the strand has been cut to length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2009
    Assignee: SMS Demag AG
    Inventors: Günter Flemming, Joachim Schwellenbach, Hans Streubel
  • Patent number: 7367104
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for production of a metal strip from a strip (6), cast directly from molten metal (4), whereby a trimming of the strip edges (9, 9?) of the strip (6) is carried out, characterised in that the strip edges (9, 9?) are cooled before the trimming in such way as to render said edges more brittle than the rest of the strip (6). The invention further relates to a unit for processing a thin metal strip (6), arising from the casting of thin strips directly from molten metal, characterised in comprising a unit for the controlled, exclusive or preferential cooling of the strip edges (9, 9?) of the strip (6).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH & Co.
    Inventors: Gerald Hohenbichler, Jean-Michel Damasse
  • Patent number: 7140417
    Abstract: Non-oriented electrical steels are widely used as the magnetic core material in a variety of electrical machinery and devices, particularly in motors where low core loss and high magnetic permeability in all directions of the strip are desired. A method for producing a non-oriented electrical steel with low core loss and high magnetic permeability provides a steel that is produced from a steel melt which is cast as a thin strip or sheet, cooled, hot rolled and/or cold rolled into a finished strip. The finished strip is further subjected to at least one annealing treatment wherein the magnetic properties are developed, making the steel strip suitable for use in electrical machinery such as motors or transformers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: AK Steel Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Jerry W. Schoen, Robert J. Comstock, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7137434
    Abstract: A method of continuously casting metal strip, as well as an apparatus for carrying out the process, wherein the process includes the steps of: providing a pair of casting rolls operating at a selected rotational speed and the two casting rolls being spaced apart from each other at a pre-selected distance; introducing molten metal between the two casting rolls; monitoring the separation force exerted on the two casting rolls by the molten metal, and adjusting the rotational speed of the two casting rolls in response to the magnitude of the separation force wherein the rotational speed of the two rolls is reduced when the separation force is below a lower value and the rotational speed of the two rolls is increased when the separation force is above an upper value; and processing the strip by removing any shape defects therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Inventor: Samuel F. Savariego
  • Patent number: 7086450
    Abstract: A continuous casting method is demonstrated, in which a slab including a liquid core 11 is bulged and then reduced in its thickness with a reduction roll pair 7, in which case, the uppermost surface of the lower roll 7b in the reduction roll pair 7 is located at a higher level than the lower pass line 9 of the slab. With this method, the slab can be efficiently reduced in its thickness without any loss of reduction force and the generation of segregation can be suppressed at the center area of the slab in the thickness direction. A continuous casting apparatus according to the invention is suitable for carrying out the continuous casting method according to the invention. A slab produced by the method according to the invention has good quality, since the segregation at the center area can be improved over the entire width in which the liquid core 11 is included.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sei Hiraki, Akihiro Yamanaka, Toshihiko Murakami, Seiji Kumakura
  • Patent number: 7011139
    Abstract: Non-oriented electrical steels are widely used as the magnetic core material in a variety of electrical machinery and devices, particularly in motors where low core loss and high magnetic permeability in all directions of the strip are desired. A method for producing a non-oriented electrical steel with low core loss and high magnetic permeability provides a steel that is produced from a steel melt which is cast as a thin strip or sheet, cooled, hot rolled and/or cold rolled into a finished strip. The finished strip is further subjected to at least one annealing treatment wherein the magnetic properties are developed, making the steel strip suitable for use in electrical machinery such as motors or transformers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2006
    Inventors: Jerry W. Schoen, Robert J. Comstock, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6973956
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to a device for producing a rolled metal strip from a molten metal by producing a cast metal strip in a strip casting device and then rolling the undivided metal strip in a roll stand to the final thickness of the strip. For controlling the course of the strip, strip guiding devices are provided upstream of the roll stand. In order to provide a stable insertion of the metal strip into the roll stand at the input side of the roll stand or at the site of rolling in accordance with the strip dimensions, the strip guidance interferes or is carried out at a distance of 1.0 to 10.0 times the strip width, preferably at a distance of 1.5 to 5.0 times the strip width, upstream of the roll stand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2005
    Assignee: Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH & Co.
    Inventors: Gerald Hohenbichler, Gerald Eckerstorfer
  • Patent number: 6945311
    Abstract: In a method for vertical continuous casting of a steel band, a strand (11) of a parallelogram-like cross section is cast at first in a revolving chill-mold (2) and is thereafter transferred from said initial cross section with completely solidified longitudinal edges (10) and liquid core into a band (1) with plane-parallel cross section, this occurring in such a way that an already solidified shell (9) of the strand (11) which becomes increasingly thicker by cooling is increasingly compressed in the casting direction in a forming device (4) without upsetting deformation of the completely solidified longitudinal edges (10). In order to provide advantageous conditions it is proposed that after the compression into a band (1) the strand (11) with a still liquid core (16) is guided during the complete solidification of the core merely in a forming gap with a constant width corresponding to the thickness of the completely solidified longitudinal edges (10) and is calibrated in this process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Inventor: Anton Hulek
  • Patent number: 6907915
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to an installation for producing a metal strip. The aim of the invention is to make sure that the metal strip formed in the casting installation passes through the first cooling and grain texturing phase substantially without being subjected to stress and without effects on the subsequent installations. To this end, the molten bath is fed to a two-roll casting device and a cast metal strip is formed in the casting gap between two casting rolls whose rotational axes lie in a horizontal plane (two-roll casting method), the thickness of the cast strip ranging between 1.0 to 20 mm, preferably between 1.5 to 12 mm. The cast metal strip that freely emerges downwards from the two-roll casting installation is directly deflected from the vertical casting direction to a substantially horizontal transport direction. The metal strip is taken up and conveyed in a controlled manner by means of a first drive roll stand that operates at a first transport speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH & Co.
    Inventors: Gerald Hohenbichler, Heinrich Pühringer, Gerhard Finstermann, Ernest Fuhrmann