Ternium Siderar, Argentina and SMS Siemag Germany, have successfully commissioned the X-Cast two strand continuous slab caster, which was supplied by SMS Siemag, at the San Nicolas location.

Thanks to the high efficiency continuous caster, Siderar is able to fully utilize the production capacity of the upstream meltshops and increase its production of low to medium carbon steels and peritectic grades.

Mr Sebastian Capote Lopes, Head of the Continuous Casting and Secondary Metallurgy department at Ternium Siderar said that “The continuous caster went into operation on schedule and trouble free. We were immediately able to cast an entire ladle and are very satisfied.”

Designed for casting speeds of up to 2.15 meters per minute, the plant achieves a production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of slab per year. The strand guide with twelve segments is prepared for the addition of two further segments. With this, the casting speed and, as a result, the plant's productivity can be further increased in the future. The plant is designed for 200 and 250 millimeter thick slabs with widths between 750 and 1,900 millimeters.

The technological equipment of the caster includes several Intelligent Slab Casting (ISC) modules which determine quality and production. Among these are the hydraulically powered resonance oscillation system, remote-controlled mold narrow faces for width change during casting and the position controlled CYBERLINK segments to perform Dynamic Soft Reduction.

The production of slabs of a high internal quality is thus guaranteed through the above in combination with the width dependent air mist secondary cooling and the technological Dynamic Solidification Control process model.

The plant is fully equipped with the X-Pact electrical and automation system from SMS Siemag. This comprises process automation (level 1) and technological process models (level 2) as well as commissioning. The customer personnel received intensive and true to life training.