Patent ID: 8066054

Claim:
A measuring system for measuring the strand condition of a continuous casting machine, the continuous casting machine comprising an upper frame and a lower frame on each of which is mounted a first and second series of rollers respectively, the measuring system comprising: a caster chain on one side surface of which is pivotally attached a plate member; the plate member including a pivotally mounted arm which projects outwardly from one surface of the plate member and includes a tip which, in use, makes contact with a roller of one of the first series of rollers, the plate member further comprising an elongate edge that protrudes outwardly from the surface of the caster chain opposed to that from which the plate member tip projects and is of a length sufficient to maintain points of contact with at least two adjacent rollers of the second series of rollers; and sensors for determining the distance between the tip of the arm and the edge of the plate at any given interval during use of the system, whereby, in use of the measuring system, the edge of the plate member is and remains stable and tangential across adjacent rollers of the second series of rollers to provide an accurate datum point between the edge of the plate member and the tip of the pivotally mounted arm.