In one embodiment, a lead strip caster for battery grids includes a nozzle, a pair of rollers, and a molten lead supply to the nozzle. The lead strip caster produces a continuous lead strip for making battery grids. The nozzle has at least one passage that communicates with generally opposed faces of the nozzle at least partially received between the rollers to supply molten lead to exterior surfaces of the corotating rollers to form a continuous solid strip of lead from which battery grids may be made.

This thin strip manufacture method is a thin strip manufacture method for manufacturing a thin strip by supplying molten steel to a molten steel pool formed by a pair of rotating cooling drums and a pair of side weirs to form and grow a solidified shell on a peripheral surface of the cooling drums, wherein a pressing force P of the pair of the cooling drums is set so that the pressing force P (kgf/mm) of the pair of cooling drums, casting thickness D (mm), and radius R (m) of the cooling drums satisfy 0.90P(DR).sup.0.51.30.

A method and apparatus of continuously casting thin strip by controlling roll crown is provided. The apparatus for continuously casting thin strip by controlling roll crown includes at least two expansion rings positioned within and adjacent a cylindrical tube and spaced within 450 mm of edge portions of the cast strip formed on opposite end portions of casting rolls during a casting campaign. Alternatively or in addition, the apparatus includes at least one expansion ring within the cylindrical tube at a position corresponding to center portions of the cast strip formed on the casting rolls during a casting campaign. Each expansion ring has at least one heating element and an insulating coating thereon and is adapted to increase in radial dimension causing the cylindrical tube to expand changing roll crown of the casting surfaces of the casting rolls and thickness profile of the cast strip during casting.

This disclosure concerns methods and apparatus for continuously casting thin strip where one or more expansion rings are positioned within at least one of a pair of casting rolls, and automatically measuring a thickness of the cast strip close to the first side edge of the strip using at least one sensor, and if the thickness measured is too thin, automatically decreasing the radial dimension of the expansion ring arranged in close proximity to the first side edge to cause the cylindrical tube to contract and increase the thickness of the cast strip during casting, and if the thickness measured indicates that the thickness of the cast strip is too thick, automatically increasing the radial dimension of the expansion ring arranged in close proximity to the first side edge to cause the cylindrical tube to expand and reduce the thickness of the cast strip during casting.

A bulk permanent magnetic material may include between about 5 volume percent and about 40 volume percent Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase domains, a plurality of nonmagnetic atoms or molecules forming domain wall pinning sites, and a balance soft magnetic material, wherein at least some of the soft magnetic material is magnetically coupled to the Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase domains via exchange spring coupling. In some examples, a bulk permanent magnetic material may be formed by implanting N+ ions in an iron workpiece using ion implantation to form an iron nitride workpiece, pre-annealing the iron nitride workpiece to attach the iron nitride workpiece to a substrate, and post-annealing the iron nitride workpiece to form Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase domains within the iron nitride workpiece.

Described herein are thin metal strips having hot rolled exterior side surfaces characterized as being primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, or at least primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, and including elongated surface structure. As a result, because the prior austenite grain boundaries are not primarily or substantially present, all such prior austenite grain boundaries are not susceptible to grain boundary etching due to acid etching or pickling. In particular examples, the thin metal strips undergo hot rolling performed with a coefficient of friction equal to or greater than 0.20 with or without use of lubrication.

A method for operating a casting/rolling system and to a corresponding system for casting and rolling an endless strand material. The casting/rolling system comprises a strand casting machine and a rolling train arranged downstream of the strand casting machine. The method has the following step: controlling the drive for the rollers of the first roller frame of the rolling train by means of a drive control in response to a target value specification of the pass sequence model. Furthermore, the drive of the at least one strand guiding roller is controlled by a strand guiding roller drive control in response to a target value specification of the strand casting machine drive model.

A side sealing device for a twin-roll continuous casting apparatus, which supplies molten metal to a molten metal pool portion formed by a pair of rotating mold rolls and a pair of side weirs through an immersion nozzle and causes solidified shells to be formed and to grow on peripheral surfaces of the mold rolls to manufacture a cast strip, seals end surface sides of the mold rolls by each side weir. The side sealing device includes a side weir pressing unit that presses the side weir against end surfaces of the mold rolls, and a side weir lifter that pulls the side weir at least upward in a vertical direction.

Described herein are thin metal strips having hot rolled exterior side surfaces characterized as being primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, or at least primarily or substantially free of all prior austenite grain boundaries, and including elongated surface structure. As a result, because the prior austenite grain boundaries are not primarily or substantially present, all such prior austenite grain boundaries are not susceptible to grain boundary etching due to acid etching or pickling. In particular examples, the thin metal strips undergo hot rolling performed with a coefficient of friction equal to or greater than 0.20 with or without use of lubrication.

A method for continuously producing a strip-shaped metallic workpiece may involve introducing a molten mass into a casting region, solidifying the molten mass introduced into the casting region at least partially, and conveying the at least partially solidified molten mass out of the casting region. Hollow bodies may be added to the molten mass and encapsulated into the workpiece. Further, an apparatus for continuously producing a strip-shaped metallic workpiece may include a casting region into which a molten mass can be introduced and in which the molten mass introduced can solidify at least partially. The apparatus may also include a conveying device for conveying the molten mass out of the casting region, as well as a metering apparatus for adding hollow bodies to the molten mass.