There are two casting processes in production of steel ingot or steel billet, die casting and continuous casting process. There are their typical merits and shortcomings, though the continuous casting process acts an important role, but the die casting process can't be replaced.
The die casting process is one batch of molten steel to be cast into multi-ingots on and off, after solidification and cooling, then to obtain the ingot after removing the mould. The structure of die casting piece is compact and its mechanical properties are high.The uniformity of alumina inclusions and carbides is higher than that of continuous casting materials, and the contact fatigue life of die casting materials is higher than that of continuous casting steels.
The die casting process difficultly realizes high productivity. Some steel characteristics cannot adapt to continuous casting mode, and large steel workpieces common are cast with the die casting method like turbine rotors for hydropower, and spindle of ten thousand ton ship etc.
Steel continuous casting process means that the steel liquid continuously flows into tundish, then after shunting to enter the mould cooling and solidifying into billet or slab that is used as semi-product or raw material of rolling line. The steel types produced by continuous casting are more than 500 kinds of steel like super pure steel, high grade silicon steel, stainless steel, Z direction steel(lamellar tearing resistant steel), pipeline steel, heavy rail, etc.
Comparing the die casting process, the continuous casting process has less process course, and can reduce 30% floor space and save 40% operation cost. Moreover, consumption of the refractory matter can be reduced 15%. The loss of cutting head and tail of billet is less than the former, and the metal yield is improved about 9%. The continuous casting process has high automation degrees and can decrease the labor intensity of workers greatly.
