A steel producer in eastern China has tasked Primetals Technologies with the supply and implementation of a 1-strand thick-slab continuous caster upgrade. The scope includes key mechanical equipment, a comprehensive Level 1 and Level 2 automaton solution, and implementation services.
The project will expand the continuous caster’s thickness range up to 360 millimetres. With the new equipment, the producer will be able to manufacture plates for heavy-gauge, high-end applications, including the wind turbine sector. Annual capacity will be 1.9 million tons of high-quality slabs, with startup scheduled for mid-2026.
The machine will be equipped with Single-Roll DynaGap (SRD) segments from Primetals, enabling dynamic alignment of individual casting gaps when production parameters such as steel grade, cooling grade, and casting speed change. The SRD segments apply forces of up to 4,000 kilonewtons per roll, ensuring supreme internal microstructures and defect-free, high-quality thick plates.
Smart Segment is Primetals Technologies’ patented continuous bending and straightening concept. This solution results in significantly improved slab-surface quality. Additionally, Primetals will also install new Smart Molds with a DynaWidth mold-width adjustment system, allowing for fast and smooth slab-width changes.