Patent ID: 7513026

Claim:
Method for rolling thin and thick slabs ( 2 ; 3 ) made of steel materials into hot-rolled strip ( 4 a ), which slabs ( 2 ; 3 ) were previously cast in a continuous casting machine ( 1 ), comprising the steps of: heating the thin slabs to rolling temperature in a pusher furnace ( 5 ) and heating the thick slabs to rolling temperature in a walking-beam furnace ( 6 ); rolling the slabs in a common rolling train ( 4 ) into strip; and cooling and winding the strip into coils ( 18 ), wherein successive thin slab sections ( 2 b ) from a single thin slab continuous casting machine ( 1 ), which emerge from the pusher furnace ( 5 ), or thick slab sections ( 3 b ) which emerge from the walking-beam furnace ( 6 ) and are introduced transversely into the rolling train ( 4 ), are continuously selectively passed directly into reducing roughing stands ( 4 c ), which reduce thickness ( 9 ) of the slabs, through open roughing stands ( 4 c ) or directly in front of a first rolling stand of a finishing rolling train ( 12 ), finish rolled in the finishing rolling train ( 12 ) located in a pass line with the roughing stands ( 4 c ), and only then wound into coils ( 18 ).