Patent ID: 6588492
Filing Date: 2003-07-08
Classification: B22D

Abstract:
An apparatus for casting metal strip includinga pair of parallel casting rolls forming a nip between them, an elongate metal delivery nozzle formed in a plurality of discrete elongate pieces disposed end to end, nozzle support means supporting the nozzle pieces such that the nozzle extends above and along the nip between the casting rolls for delivery of molten metal into the nip whereby to form a casting pool of molten metal supported above the nip, a pair of pool confinement plates at the ends of the nip, plate biasing means to bias the pool confinement plates against end surfaces of the rolls so that the plates move inwardly of the rolls to accommodate wear of the plates, and nozzle end shifter means to shift the nozzle pieces defining the outer nozzle ends on the support means with inward movements matching the inward movements of said side plates accommodating wear of the side plates thereby to maintain substantially constant spacings between the side plates and the nozzle ends, wherein the nozzle end shifter means comprises a pair of moveable structures disposed one at each end of the casting roll assembly, moving means to move those structures longitudinally of the rolls, nozzle attachment means attaching the moveable structures to the two nozzle end pieces defining the outer nozzle ends so that those two nozzle pieces are moved with the movable structures, and control means responsive to inward advances of the side plates relative to the outer ends of the rolls to cause the moving means to move the moveable structures inwardly and so shift said two nozzle pieces with matching inward movements.