Successful start-up of the largest Segment Caster in the world
On December 23rd 2020, INTECO made its customer Tianma as well as itself an early Christmas present by successfully producing the first two ingots at the world’s largest Segment Caster of its kind. In this first cast, two 6m blooms with a diameter of 700mm and a single weight of 18t have been casted.
Segment Casting is a revolutionary technology developed and patented by INTECO and represents an alternative technology to the traditional Ingot Casting process. Large-sized ingots made of special steels can be cast economically in improved quality with higher yield, combining technological features from different fields, such as Ingot Casting, Continuous Casting, Electro Slag Remelting and even tundish heating technologies used in Metal Powder production. In this novel process, the ingot is kept in its vertical position until full solidification after casting. During the solidification process, electromagnetic stirrers ensure optimal internal quality using an innovative online solidification model.
This Segment Caster for the Chinese ball bearing producer is equipped with all available, most advanced technological features such as a servo drive oscillator, an electromechanical stopper rod, hybrid moveable electromagnetic stirrer and an inductive feeder for hot topping. In general, the machine is designed for a maximum ingot diameter of 1000mm with bloom lengths of up to 13m. With this dimensions and features the caster will definitely set new standards in the industry.
We at INTECO are looking forward to further positive news from the upcoming weeks in which all Segment Caster features will be tested.