Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel Works Co. (JYXC) Ltd. from China, at SMS Concast, a company of the SMS Group , placed an order for a three-strand jumbo continuous caster capable of continuously casting round blooms with a diameter of 1,200 millimeters. This will be a new world record in steel production technology, as it will be the first time that 1,200-millimeter round blooms can be cast in a bent continuous casting process.
The challenging new bloom caster (CC#0) with a nominal radius of 18 meters is designed to produce a wide range of round blooms from 600 to 1,200 millimeters in diameter.
The sophisticated steel grades range from rolling bearing steel to stainless steel. These qualities are targeted at the forging and large bearing industries, which in turn produce, for example, bearings and shafts for green technologies such as wind turbines.
This jumbo continuous caster is equipped with SMS cast technologies such as Invex moulds, conflow stopper mechanisms, Constir electromagnetic stirrers and dynamic mechanical soft reduction (DMSR) as well as dynamic spray cooling – both controlled by the cool solidification simulation software.
All these technologies are aimed at a stable production process and improved internal product quality. In addition, surface heaters ensure that no cracks occur during the straightening of the huge round blooms. In addition, software rigidity models support a simplified and correct decision-making process to ensure process stability.
SMS Concast’s vast experience in the design and commissioning of jumbo continuous casters, combined with the skills and field experience of Xingcheng Special Steel engineers, resulted in special design features with particular emphasis on reliability, maintainability and performance. An example of this is the solution for flexible positioning of electromagnetic stirrers in the cooling chamber to optimize the internal quality of the blooms.
The long-standing cooperation between SMS Concast and Xingcheng Special Steel started back in 2007 with the implementation of the first Dynamic Mechanical Soft Reduction (DMSR) in China. The partnership is now being successfully continued with this challenging jumbo caster project.
Despite the current difficult global economic situation, the management of Xingcheng Special Steel decided to invest in the future and the world’s most advanced technology in continuous casting, which leads to high productivity and excellent steel quality, but also focuses on optimized labor and energy consumption thanks to the latest digitalization tools. This record-breaking jumbo continuous caster is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of May 2021.
