A method for the continuous casting of a metal strand in a continuous casting installation, in which, in a casting machine, the metal formed into a slab, with a still molten core, is brought out vertically from a mold, wherein, downstream of the mold in the conveying direction, the slab is made to move along a casting bow, through a number of casting bow segments, and is deflected into the horizontal, wherein each casting bow segment has a number of segment rollers, which are designed for coming into contact with the surface of the slab. In the region before the end of the casting machine, a number of segment rollers are lifted off from the surface of the slab, or are not installed in receptacles provided, and so the contact between the slab and the segment roller is interrupted or there is no contact.

A method and device for producing hot-rolled products in a combined continuous casting and rolling system includes a device for separating and removing. In order to overcome a disruption in production in a part of the system located downstream of the device for separating and removing, the method includes: (a) separating the endlessly produced precursor material into a strand portion with shears; (b) clamping the strand portion; (c) raising the trailing part of the strand portion from the roller table by a raising device, so that the strand portion is drawn away from the shears in the direction of transport; (d) cutting the precursor material into a precursor material portion with the shears; (e) removing the precursor material portion from the roller table, and removing the strand portion until the combined continuous casting and rolling system is ready to operate again.

Methods of forming a high-strength metal alloy precursor by tailor-casting strips having a tailored thickness across a width of a strip material are provided. The tailor-cast strips have varying thickness throughout the width, which can then be further tailor rolled to a final required thickness profile/tailored thickness. Such tailor-casting method can be conducted by contacting a patterned surface of a casting roller or a casting block with a liquid high-strength metal alloy in a continuous casting process. The present disclosure provides methods of continuously casting a strip having varying thickness across the width allows for improved product in subsequent processing, like tailor rolling. Methods of making a high-strength metal alloy structural automotive component from a tailor-cast blank having a tailored thickness are also provided.

Continuous casting equipment includes a casting product reduction apparatus and a casting product drawing apparatus, the casting product reduction apparatus including a pair of casting product reduction rolls that sandwich and apply pressure to a casting product and being configured to apply reduction to the casting product, the casting product drawing apparatus being provided in a following stage of the casting product reduction apparatus and configured to sandwich and draw the casting product with a pair of casting product drawing rolls. At least one of the pair of casting product reduction rolls includes a large-diameter part that projects radially outward in an axial-direction center region and applies pressure to a width-direction center region of the casting product. The casting product that is subjected to reduction by the casting product reduction apparatus has a depressed part corresponding to the large-diameter part. At least one of the pair of casting product drawing rolls of the casting product drawing apparatus includes a depressed part supporting part that contacts with and supports the depressed part, and is driven by a driving mechanism. An axial-direction length L.sub.2 of the depressed part supporting part and an axial-direction length L.sub.1 of the large-diameter part of the casting product reduction roll satisfy 0.5×L.sub.1≦L.sub.2<L.sub.1.

A steel sheet has a composition comprising, by weight: 0.010%≤C≤0.080%, 0.06%≤Mn≤3%, Si≤1.5%, 0.005%≤Al≤1.5%, S≤0.030%, P≤0.040%, Ti and B such that: 3.2%≤Ti≤7.5% and (0.45×Ti)−1.35≤B≤(0.45×Ti)−0.43, optionally Ni≤1%, Mo≤1%, Cr≤3%, Nb≤0.1%, V≤0.1%, the remainder being iron and unavoidable impurities resulting from the smelting. The steel sheet has a structure consisting of ferrite, at most 10% of austenite, and precipitates comprising eutectic precipitates of TiB.sub.2, the volume fraction of TiB.sub.2 precipitates with respect to the whole structure being of at least 9%, the proportion of TiB.sub.2 precipitates having a surface area lower than 8 μm.sup.2 being of at least 96%.

The present invention discloses a product comprising a 1xxx, 3xxx and 8xxx series aluminum alloy made by a non-ingot casting process, where the aluminum alloy has a thickness of about 5 micrometers to about 150 micrometers for a foil product. The product has an O-temper tensile strength, O-temper elongation, and O-temper Mullen pressure that are at least 10% greater compared to the average values of the same alloy in O-temper cast using a slab or roll-casting process. The product is substantially free of pinholes caused by centerline segregation of intermetallic particles. In another embodiment, the present invention discloses a 8111 or 8921 aluminum alloy made by a non-ingot casting process, where the aluminum alloy has a thickness of about 5 micrometers to about 150 micrometers for a foil product. The product has an O-temper tensile strength, O-temper elongation, and O-temper Mullen pressure that are at least 10% greater than the average values of the same alloy in O-temper made from feedstock prepared by slab or roll casting processes. The product is substantially free of pinholes caused by centerline segregation of intermetallic particles.

The present invention relates to an aluminum alloy product for use as a finstock material within brazed heat exchangers and, more particularly, to a finstock material having high strength and conductivity after brazing. The invention is an aluminum alloy finstock comprising the following composition in weight %: TABLE-US-00001 Fe  0.8-1.25; Si  0.8-1.25; Mn 0.70-1.50; Cu 0.05-0.50; Zn up to 2.5; other elements less than or equal to 0.05 each and less than or equal to 0.15 in total; and balance aluminum.
The invention also relates to a method of making the finstock material.

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 method for altering the width of a strip-shaped rolled material (5), before, during or after hot rolling the rolled material in a hot rolling mill. The problem is to specify a method for altering width so that the length of a rolled out transition piece lying outside width tolerances can be reduced. Scrap losses are to be reduced. The crown of at least one working roll and/or at least one backing roll of a stand (7) is set as a function of a width error e=B−B between a setpoint width B.sub.setp and the width B of the rolled material (5), wherein the crown is increased when e>0 and the crown is reduced when e<0. AA R.sub.crown BB B.sub.setp.

In exemplary implementations of this invention, an actuated fabricator deposits structural elements (e.g., tensile structural elements) in a 3D pattern over large displacements. The fabricator is supported by at least three elongated support members. It includes onboard actuators that translate the fabricator relative to the ends of the support members. The fabricator is configured, by actuating different translations along different support members, to translate itself throughout a 3D volume. In some implementations, each of the actuators use fusible material to fuse metal tapes together, edge-to-edge, to form a hollow structure that can be shortened or lengthened.