The invention essentially is characterized in that downstream of the casting machine and upstream of the rolling device, in particular immediately behind shears for cutting the thin slab or the pre-strip, there is provided a scrap removal device, in particular a coiling device that winds the thin slabs or pre-strip into a coil which is removed from the installation as scrap. Therefore, the quality of the coil winding is not important as the wound then slab or pre-strip need not anymore be advanced to the rolling train. The resulting coil can be lifted with a forklift and bind during the emergency maintenance of the rolling train, without use of any personnel. No additional crane is required for scrap removal. In addition, no constructional measures, e.g., construction of a gravel pit for material cut by shears, are necessary.

The invention essentially is characterized in that downstream of the casting machine and upstream of the rolling device, in particular immediately behind shears for cutting the thin slab or the pre-strip, there is provided a scrap removal device, in particular a coiling device that winds the thin slabs or pre-strip into a coil which is removed from the installation as scrap. Therefore, the quality of the coil winding is not important as the wound then slab or pre-strip need not anymore be advanced to the rolling train. The resulting coil can be lifted with a forklift and bind during the emergency maintenance of the rolling train, without use of any personnel. No additional crane is required for scrap removal. In addition, no constructional measures, e.g., construction of a gravel pit for material cut by shears, are necessary.

An apparatus for the hot production of strip (N) including a casting machine (11) configured to cast a thin slab (TS), a heating device (16) configured to maintain the temperature of and/or heat said thin slab (TS), at least one roughing unit (19) and a finishing unit (20) configured to obtain a strip (N), and wherein said casting machine (11), the heating device (16), the roughing unit (19), and the finishing unit (20) are disposed aligned along a common working axis (Z).

An apparatus for the hot production of strip (N) including a casting machine (11) configured to cast a thin slab (TS), a heating device (16) configured to maintain the temperature of and/or heat said thin slab (TS), at least one roughing unit (19) and a finishing unit (20) configured to obtain a strip (N), and wherein said casting machine (11), the heating device (16), the roughing unit (19), and the finishing unit (20) are disposed aligned along a common working axis (Z).

A method for producing long metal products includes the steps of receiving long intermediate products traveling on respective continuous casting lines, to an exit area, and subsequently introducing products from the exit area into a production plant having known layout parameters; the production plant has a rolling mill for rolling the products; interconnected production lines between the exit area of the casting machine and the rolling mill, the production lines define production paths or routes; and a first and a second heating devices. The method associates a mathematical model to the production plant for dynamically calculating a reference value, or Global Heating Cost Index, correlated to heating devices; automatically determining for the intermediate products the production path or route that minimizes the reference value, or Global Heating Cost Index; and eventually automatically routing each of the products along the determined production path which minimizes the reference value, or Global Heating Cost Index.

A combined casting and rolling installation that produces hot-rolled strip with a final thickness<1.2 mm, and includes a first continuous casting installation and a second continuous casting installation, each producing slabs from liquid steel; a slab manipulator that conveys the slabs into a walking beam furnace that conveys the slabs into a rolling installation and heats the slabs to rolling temperature. The rolling installation includes a rough rolling mill forming rough-rolled strips from the heated slabs; a coil box forming a coil from the rough-rolled strip and unwinding the rough-rolled strip; a joining device forming an endless rough-rolled strip by connecting its ends without filler material; a multi-stand finishing rolling mill finish-rolling the endless rough-rolled strip to form a finished strip with the final thickness; a cooling section forming the hot-rolled strip; and a plurality of coiling devices coiling the hot-rolled strip.

A plurality of flat metal items to be rolled (3) are fed to a plurality of rolling stands (1, 2) of a rolling installation, one after the other over a feed path (4). The items (3) are rolled by the rolling stands (1, 2) past which they are fed. In the rolling stands (1, 2), the flat item to be rolled (3) is first rough-rolled in at least one roughing pass with a wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds) and then finish-rolled in finishing passes. After the finish-rolling of the flat item, a thickness taper (dd) that is present in the respective finish-rolled flat item is recorded by measuring instruments. The thickness taper (dd) is compared with a target taper (dZ). On the basis of a deviation of the thickness taper (dd) from the target taper (dZ) and the wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds), a new wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds) is determined for the at least one roughing pass. The wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds) for the at least one roughing pass for the next flat item to be rolled (3) is set to correspond to the newly determined value of the wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds), so that the next flat item to be rolled (3) is rough-rolled in the at least one roughing pass with the newly determined value of the wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds).

A plurality of flat metal items to be rolled (3) are fed to a plurality of rolling stands (1, 2) of a rolling installation, one after the other over a feed path (4). The items (3) are rolled by the rolling stands (1, 2) past which they are fed. In the rolling stands (1, 2), the flat item to be rolled (3) is first rough-rolled in at least one roughing pass with a wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds) and then finish-rolled in finishing passes. After the finish-rolling of the flat item, a thickness taper (dd) that is present in the respective finish-rolled flat item is recorded by measuring instruments. The thickness taper (dd) is compared with a target taper (dZ). On the basis of a deviation of the thickness taper (dd) from the target taper (dZ) and the wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds), a new wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds) is determined for the at least one roughing pass. The wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds) for the at least one roughing pass for the next flat item to be rolled (3) is set to correspond to the newly determined value of the wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds), so that the next flat item to be rolled (3) is rough-rolled in the at least one roughing pass with the newly determined value of the wedge-type roll gap adjustment (ds).

A method for producing a metallic strip by continuous casting-rolling, wherein a slab is cast in a casting machine and then sent to a finishing mill located downstream, relative to the transport direction of the strip. In the event that the transport of the slab or strip comes to a complete or substantially complete standstill, the following steps are carried out: (a) cutting through the strip at a first point; (b) cutting through the strip at a second point that is 0.1-5.0 m upstream from the first point; (c) removing the cut-out piece of strip to create a gap in the strip; (d) conveying new strip material into the area of the gap from the area located upstream of the first point; and (e) cutting off pieces of the new strip material conveyed from upstream according to step (d) and removing the pieces from the transport line.

A steel plant for the production of long metal products includes a continuous casting machine and a rolling mill disposed contiguous and in direct succession downstream of the continuous casting machine. The continuous casting machine is provided with at least two casting lines and the rolling mill is provided with at least two rolling lines. The plant includes a single feed apparatus for feeding molten metal, and the at least two casting lines are configured to receive molten metal from the single feed apparatus.