core sector communique

SMS SIEMAG

SMS Siemag receives the largest order in the history of continuous casting from AG der Dillinger Huttenwerke

The firm of AG der Dillinger Huttenwerke, Germany, placed an order with SMS Siemag, Germany, in November 2011 for the supply of a thick-slab caster. The commissioning of the two-strand vertical-type continuous caster is scheduled for spring 2014.

With a total volume of around EUR 300 million, Dillinger Hutte is in-vesting in the manufacture of high-quality slabs for the demanding  production of heavy plates.

SMS Siemag is supplying the casting platform, mold, hydraulic  oscil-lator, strand guide system, edge-controlled secondary cooling and position-controlled segment adjustment as well as the pinch-roll units for the dummy bar and hot strand.

Also included in the supply scope is the complete X-Pact electrical and automation package including the commissioning.  The continuous caster is equipped with the proven technological systems for mold-level control, hydraulic oscillator, hydraulic segment adjustment with dynamic soft reduction and load compensation control. In coop-eration with the R&D departments of Dillinger Hutte, SMS Siemag has developed a hydraulic adjustment system for the pinch rolls specially for this continuous slab caster.

Use is made of dynamic soft reduction for the diameter range in question on order to manufacture semi-finished products with optimized internal quality. This involves pressing the strand shell together during casting in such  a way as to enable the material properties to be homogeneous right into the core.

The adjustment mechanisms otherwise customary in continuous casters will be extended by a further dimension on the basis of experience gained with rolling technology. The result will be a further increase in the soft reduction rates, as implemented successfully for the CC5 in Dillingen.

In conformity with the customer’s specifications, the vertical external walls of the deep parts of the foundation are not, as otherwise usual, built on a rectangular ground-plan area but on a  circular area. The self-supporting effect of this cross-sectional layout makes it possible to do without costly and time-consuming horizontal  anchoring, which makes it easier to perform the work on site .

 The design of the CC6 essentially corresponds to that of the CC5 continuous caster. This results in substantial synergy effects for operation, servicing and maintenance.

The awarding of this order represents the joint celebration by SMS Siemag and Dillingen Hutte of ‘’50 years of continuous slab casting in Dillingen’’. This means that the technology of vertical-type continuous casters has likewise proven its value for the past 50 years.

SMS Siemag supplied the first vertical-type continuous slab caster to Dillinger hutte in 1961, followed by a circular-arc caster in 1964, then again a vertical-type continuous slab caster in 1968 and in 1998.

Since 1998, Dillinger Hutte has been producing the world’s thickest slabs, at 400 mm, on the CC5 facility. The CC5 was modernized in 2010 and 450-mm-thick slabs, are now cast on it. With the new CC6 continuous caster, Dillinger Hutte is further expanding its market leadership in the production of heavy plate.