Acciaierie di Calvisano, belonging to the Feralpi Group of Italy, has commissioned Siemens Metals Technologies with the modernization of the billet caster in the Calvisano works in Italy. The aim of the project is to further improve the internal and surface quality of the billets and to be able to cast round (in addition to square) billets. The caster will be equipped with a new machine head, including molds and additional technology packages, like electromagnetic stirrer. The strand guide, secondary cooling and cooling bed will also be optimized. The revamped casting plant is scheduled to go into operation at the beginning of 2013.

The four-strand billet caster of Acciaierie di Calvisano, in Calvisano (Brescia Province), was installed in 1973 by a third-party company and has an installed annual capacity of roughly 750,000 tons of billets with square cross sections between 120 x 120 and 160 x 160 millimeters. The line will be equipped with a new machine head supplied by Siemens in order to produce also round billets with diameters ranging between 140 and 180 millimeters and higher-quality steel grades. The scope of supply also includes curved molds with integrated electromagnetic stirrers (EMS) and tube molds at a length of 900 millimeters. The Dynaflex mold oscillating device will be installed for flexible adjustment of the oscillation parameters. The steel grades to be cast in the line include low- and medium-carbon steels, high-grade steels, micro-, low-alloy and alloy steel, spring and casehardening steel grades.

The strand guides will be equipped with strand stirrers, and the straightening zone will be modernized to allow for continuous bending and straightening. The last of the three secondary cooling zones will also be modified, and the cooling bed will be revamped for handling round billets. The Siemens scope of supply also includes integration of the Dynaflex package and the electromagnetic stirrers into the existing basic automation and adaptation of the operating and monitoring system.

Acciaierie di Calvisano was founded in 1972. The works primarily produce billets made of ordinary steel used predominantly in the production of reinforcing bars and rod wire. The company now also produces high-grade-steel billets that are suitable for rolling or forging.

Pictured below: Computer animated image of billet caster machine head from Siemens