Patent ID: 7823623

Claim:
A method of continuously casting a metal slab in strip form directly from molten metal in which the molten metal is confined and solidified in a casting cavity oriented for horizontal slab casting, the cavity being vertically defined by upper and lower cooled, endless, flexible travelling casting belts supported by respective upper and lower belt supporting mechanisms that rigidly support the belts within the cavity, wherein an upstream fixed cooled casting region is provided in the casting cavity in which the supporting mechanisms confine the belts to fixed upstream paths, and a downstream cooled casting region is provided in the casting cavity in which the supporting mechanism of at least one of the belts in said downstream region is tiltable about a pivot having an axis of rotation extending transversely of said belts at a mid-region of the casting cavity to adjust the path of said at least one of the belts within said downstream region between a position aligned with the upstream fixed path of said at least one belt and a position out of alignment with said upstream fixed path, and depending upon the composition of the metal being cast and the exit temperature required, adjusting the downstream supporting mechanism of said at least one belt and thereby the downstream belt path such that the belts separate from the cast slab at a predetermined point within the casting cavity; wherein said upper and lower belt supporting mechanisms comprise cooling pads facing the belts and fixed to a plurality of bulkheads extending transversely of the belts, and wherein, for at least one of said belts, bulkheads adjacent to said downstream region are attached to a subframe tiltable on a support carriage about said pivot, whereas bulkheads adjacent to said upstream region are fixed to said support carriage.