The new continuous slab caster No. 4 from Siemens Metals Technologies entered service in August at the Toranagallu steelworks operated by Indian steel producer Jindal South West Steel (JSW Steel). The single-strand caster installed in Steelworks No. 1 has an annual production capacity of 1.4Mt of slabs, increasing the total casting capacity of Steelworks No. 1 to 4.2Mt. Like continuous slab caster No. 3, also supplied by Siemens, the new caster is equipped with the DynaGap Soft Reduction system. The resulting high internal quality of the slabs is the basis for producing high-quality steel tubes up to X65 in accordance with the American Petroleum Institute (API) standard, as well as other micro-alloyed steels.
The new caster No. 4 is part of an ongoing expansion program at JSW Steel. With a machine radius of eight meters, it has a metallurgical length of 35 meters. Presently, slabs are cast with a thickness of 220mm and widths ranging from 800mm to 1,600mm. The machine has a design range for future slab thicknesses of up to 260 mm. The maximum casting speed is 2m per minute. The slabs can be cast from high-grade steel tube grades such as X65 according to the API (American Petroleum Institute) standard, as well as other micro-alloyed steels.