Performance Modules enable the production of high-grade steel products

At their steel plant in Völklingen, Germany, Saarstahl AG has successfully commissioned a new five-strand billet caster, supplied by SMS Concast, a member of SMS group. The caster is designed for a nominal annual production of 850,000 tons and the casting of 180-millimeters-square billets.

The new five-strand continuous casting machine – called S1 by Saarstahl AG – is equipped with latest technological features such as CONVEX molds, hydraulic mold oscillators, mold and strand electromagnetic stirrers, mechanical soft reduction and an electrical & automation system prepared for the full implementation of Industry 4.0. The S1 casting machine at Saarstahl is the first caster in the world designed with mechanical soft reduction (MSR) technology for a billet cross section of 180 millimeters square. It produces billets in a wide range of steel grades, including bearing steel, spring steel, cold-heading and free-cutting steels.

Saarstahl AG was the first manufacturer in the world to apply mechanical soft reduction in billet casting. With the new S1 caster, Saarstahl AG is now even better positioned to further strengthen its leading position in this technology and to successfully cope with the volatile and increasing market demands.   

In addition to the technological features, the caster is equipped with a complex discharge system, with a turnover cooling bed equipped with a forced cooling system to cool the billets down to 100 degrees Celsius.

Source and photo: SMS group