Caterpillar casting machine and method for producing a cast material from liquid metal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10758970-B2
Application number	US-201716464636-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 24, 2017
Priority date	Nov 29, 2016
Publication date	Sep 1, 2020
Grant date	Sep 1, 2020

Abstract

A caterpillar casting machine for producing a cast material from liquid metal, including two guide rails, which are used to form two endless horizontal circulating tracks arranged opposite each other, and a plurality of support elements, which are each guided on the guide rails with cooling blocks attached thereto such that a continuous chain of support elements is formed. The support elements are moved in a transport direction along the circulating tracks. Between the cooling blocks, which arrive at the opposite position in straight sections of the circulating tracks of the guide rails, a moving casting mold for the cast material is formed. A cooling device is also provided, which has separate cooling zones each with at least one cooling nozzle, wherein the cooling zones can be individually controlled along the transport direction and/or transverse to the transport direction to adjust an opening or closing of the cooling nozzles.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A caterpillar casting machine for producing a cast material from liquid metal, comprising:
two guide rails arranged to form two endless horizontal circulation tracks that are disposed so as to be opposite one another;
a plurality of support elements which are in each case guided on the guide rails so as to form a continuous chain of support elements which in a transporting direction are moved along the circulation tracks;
cooling blocks attached to the support elements to form a moving casting mold for the cast material between the cooling blocks which in straight portions of the circulation tracks of the guide rails are positioned so as to be mutually opposite; and
a cooling installation, wherein the cooling installation has separate cooling zones having in each case at least one cooling nozzle, wherein the cooling zones are individually actuatable along the transporting direction and/or transversely to the transporting direction for setting opening or closing of the cooling nozzles, wherein cooling for the cooling blocks is adaptable to a predetermined casting width in that the cooling zones with the cooling nozzles thereof in a peripheral region transversely to the transporting direction are actuated and/or wherein cooling for the cooling blocks is adaptable to at least one predetermined process parameter made up of a type of metal, a predetermined metal alloy, the casting width, casting speed, or the casting profile, in that the cooling zones by way of the cooling nozzles thereof in the transporting direction are actuated.

2. The caterpillar casting machine according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling zones of the cooling installation are disposed so that a cooling medium dispersed by the cooling nozzles acts on the cooling blocks.

3. The caterpillar casting machine according to claim 2 , wherein the cooling nozzles of the separate cooling zones are directed toward the cooling blocks of an upper caterpillar.

4. The caterpillar casting machine according to claim 3 , wherein the cooling installation is disposed above an upper span of the upper caterpillar, wherein the cooling medium is dispersible from above onto the cooling blocks by way of the cooling nozzles.

5. The caterpillar casting machine according to claim 2 , wherein the cooling nozzles are directed toward the cooling blocks of a lower caterpillar.

6. The caterpillar casting machine according to claim 5 , wherein the cooling installation is disposed below a lower span of the lower caterpillar, wherein the cooling medium is dispersible from below onto the cooling blocks by way of the cooling nozzles.

7. The caterpillar casting machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a control installation for actuating individual cooling nozzles in the respective cooling zones, wherein the control installation has a memory in which a predetermined cooling model is stored, wherein an actuation of the cooling nozzles is carried out based on said cooling model.

8. A method for producing a cast material from liquid metal, comprising the steps of: casting the liquid metal in a moving casting mold that is formed between cooling blocks that are attached to support elements that in a transporting direction move along in each case two endless circulation tracks that are disposed so as to be opposite one another; providing a cooling installation, having separate cooling zones with in each case at least one cooling nozzle therein, along the transporting direction and/or transversely to the transporting direction, said cooling zones being in each case individually actuated in order for the at least one cooling nozzle to be opened or to be closed; and actuating the cooling zones in a peripheral region transversely to the transporting direction so as to adapt cooling for the cooling blocks to a predetermined casting width and/or actuating the cooling zones with their cooling nozzles along the transporting direction so as to adapt cooling to a predetermined process parameter based on a type of metal, a predetermined metal alloy, casting width, casting speed, or casting profile.

9. The caterpillar casting machine according to claim 8 , further comprising providing a control installation for actuating the individual cooling nozzles in the respective cooling zones, wherein the control installation has a memory in which a predetermined cooling model is stored, wherein the cooling nozzles are actuated based on the cooling model to thereby influence a temperature management of the cast material in the casting mold.

Assignees

• Sms Group Gmbh

Inventors

• Böcking Sebastian
• Fick Guido

Classifications

• B22D11/0685

  by cooling the casting belts (B22D11/0677 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B22D11/0657

  Caterpillars (B22D11/0688 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B22D11/181

  responsive to molten metal level or slag level · CPC title

• B22D11/0608 Primary

  formed by caterpillars · CPC title

• B22D11/0688

  by cooling the caterpillars · CPC title