A super-thick slab caster 2 at Minmetals Yingkou Steel is now mass-producing 475mm slabs - the thickest in the world.

Supplied by CISDI, it is a vertical-curved caster designed to produce super-wide and super-thick slabs, ranging from 335mm to 375mm and 475mm in thickness and from 2,000mm to 2,400mm in width.

The slab’s surface and internal quality are meeting production targets. These results officially designate this type of caster as a critical thick slab producer.

Steel grades range from quality carbon steel, high-rise building steel, bridge steel, shipbuilding steel, pipeline steel, weather-proof steel, pressure vessel steel and die steel.

Annual output will reach 1.30 million tonnes.

The caster’s smooth mass production relies upon CISDI’s patented super-thick casting process model, mould’s online width adjustment, mould’s expert system, composite electromagnetic intervention, dynamic soft and heavy screw-down and energy-efficient dry cooling tech.

A particular specialism is 2,000-tonne heavy screw-down forces for each segment, a new record for similar equipment.

CISDI also foresees the requirement for a heavy screw-down function for fully-solidified slab in the future, to enable new, high-end steel grades to be produced and for process optimisation.

Mass production of 475mm slab, the world’s thickest specification, happening at the Minmetals Yingkou vertical-curved caster, supplied by CISDI