How Continuous Casting Machine Works

Continuous casting is a cost-efficient metallurgic process that is regularly used with steel, aluminum, or copper. It breaks these metals down into high-quality sections using prefabricated molds.

The result?

A strong, continuous length of metal in specified shapes is used as raw material to fit many different applications.

Let’s take a look at how the continuous casting process works.

What is Continuous Casting?

With continuous casting, you can melt and shape metals and metal alloys without stopping. In other words, the metal is melted and poured into a mold where it takes on a new shape. Water is used to cool it as the machine continues to work with the metal and get it in the right shape.

Thanks to this technology that has been around since the 1950s, all types of metals used in various industries are created from continuous castings, such as bars, tubes, slabs, and stripes. Squares and rectangles, too.

Benefits of Continuous Casting

Continuous casting provides many advantages over other types of metalwork, including other types of casting methods. A few of the benefits of continuous casting over other casting methods include:

It does not waste metal
Ability to cast metal into larger forms
The end product is always the same - very consistent
More efficient and more cost-effective

And that’s just to name a few.

The Continuous Casting Process

There are a few main steps that are involved in the continuous casting process. Below is an overview.

Step one: The metal is heated at a high temperature to liquefy it.

Step two: Using a ladle, the molten metal is poured into a tundish (similar to a funnel) that leads directly into a mold that sits underneath it. Depending on the setup, it could flow into one mold or multiple molds at the same time.

Prefabricated molds that are used during the continuous casting process will vary based on the project. They can either be expendable molds that are usable for a one-time casting process or non-expendable molds that can be used a number of times.

A continuous casting machine makes this process flow smoothly and efficiently - and produces a greater output.

Step three: Cool water surrounds the molds to lower the temperature of the exterior edges of the metal in the mold so that it can easier maintain its shape. As it is removed from the mold, it is surrounded by even more cool water which further drops the surface temperature - and helps it to maintain its shape.

The molded metal flows down a slope, cooling as it travels.

Step four: The semi-solid metal will be sent through a guide that stretches it into a desired thickness and straightens it to fulfill the dimensions. The final product can be cut as needed.

The continuous casting process is relatively standard throughout the industry. And all of these parts to create it are referred to as the continuous casting machine.

Learn More About Metals at Atlas Bronze

In many different industries, continuous casting can prove to be beneficial and keep businesses moving. It can also benefit those who are looking for metal of specific dimensions. To learn more about how this can benefit your application - or to get answers to any questions you may have - the experts at Atlas Bronze can help.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023