SMS Demag AG, Germany, has successfully commissioned the new single-strand Slab Caster No. 3 at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH (SZFG), Germany.

The new caster produces 250-mm thick slabs ranging in width from 850 to 2100 mm. The caster’s metallurgical length is 30.9 and its vertical section is approximately 2.6 meters. Together with two existing circular-arc casters, the new caster will expand flexibility and enlarge the facility’s annual capacity to approximately 4.7 million tonnes of slabs. The expansion will help to optimize plant capacity utilization regarding quality and section sizes, and provides the basis for promising developments for producing quality grades.

The new slab caster is equipped with technological systems that facilitate production of high-quality steel grades and lend the caster a high degree of versatility. Systems include, for example, the spring-loaded resonance oscillator^® with hydraulic drive and continuous frictional force measurement, and the CyberLink^® segments, which include soft reduction with dynamically controlled segment adjustment. The secondary cooling system is equipped with a variable spraying width that can be adapted to the respective casting width. The closed-loop control circuits are controlled by the DSC^® (Dynamic Solidification Calculation) cooling model.

The automation system includes a breakout prediction system in the mould, and process models for dynamic temperature control in the strand guide system and for calculation of the strand solidification with specification of parameters for soft reduction as well as for determination of an optimum casting speed range for process control.

SMS Demag’s scope of supply comprised mechanical equipment, basic electrical and automation systems, erection and progress supervision, and commissioning.

SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. The SMS group is internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2003 around 9500 employees worldwide generated a turnover of around EUR 2.20 billion.