Patent ID: 7308930

Claim:
A method of continuous casting thin strip comprising the steps of: a. assembling a pair of casting rolls laterally positioned to form a casting pool of molten metal supported on casting surfaces of the casting rolls confined by side dams adjacent opposite ends surfaces of the casting rolls, and a nip between the casting rolls through which cast strip can discharge downwardly, b. at the start of a casting campaign, pressing the side dams against the end surfaces of the casting rolls such that the side dams exert a pressure against the end surfaces of the casting rolls of less than 3.0 kg/cm 2 but more than 1.25 kg/cm 2 , c. after a target casting pool height is reached, reducing the pressure exerted by the side dams against the end surfaces of the casting rolls to below 1.25 kg/cm 2 to reduce wear of the side dams against the end surfaces of the casting rolls while resisting ferrostatic pressure from the casting pool.