Patent ID: 8322400

Claim:
A method to make long metal rolled products, comprising the following steps: continuous casting at high hourly productivity, from 35 t/h to 200 t/h, done by a single casting machine, defining a casting axis, of a cast product with a rectangular section, wherein the rectangular section has a ratio of a larger side to a smaller side which is higher than or equal to 1.02 to less than or equal to 4; shearing to size of the cast product to define a segment of a length comprised between 16 and 150 m and with a weight comprised between 10 and 100 tons; introduction of the segment, having an average temperature of at least 1000° C., into a maintenance and/or heating furnace, comprising a first movement section for moving the cast product disposed in axis with said casting axis; lateral transfer of the segment inside the maintenance and/or heating furnace transferring the segment to a second movement section for moving the cast product disposed parallel and misaligned with respect to the first movement section and aligned with a rolling axis parallel and offset with respect to the casting axis; reduction/roughing of the rectangular section of the cast product in a reduction unit positioned upstream or downstream of said maintenance and/or heating furnace correlating to a speed of entrance by the cast product at an entrance of a first stand of the reduction unit, wherein the reduction/roughing transforms the rectangular section into a squared, round or oval section for a subsequent rolling step; and reduction of the section in a rolling mill defining said rolling axis.