Patent ID: 7975755

Claim:
A method of producing thin cast strip by continuous casting comprising the steps of: a) assembling a pair of casting rolls having a nip therebetween, b) assembling a metal delivery system comprising side dams adjacent the ends of the nip to confine a casting pool of molten metal supported on casting surfaces of the casting rolls, where each side dam has an upper portion and an adjacent lower portion, and where said upper portion and said lower portion each have opposite outer surfaces, one surface capable of contacting the molten metal and the opposite surface having fastening portions capable of attaching that portion of the side dam to a side dam holder to hold said portions of said side dams in place during casting, without circumferentially exposed portions of each said side dam holder extending beyond said opposite outer surface of said portion of said side dam to support said side dam, and without any portion of said side dam holder preventing a bottom surface of said upper portion of said side dam from being positioned adjacent to a top surface of said lower portion of each said side dam, c) providing force devices capable of independently urging said upper side dam portion and said lower side dam portion of each side dam toward the caster casting rolls during casting, d) introducing molten steel between the pair of casting rolls to form a casting pool supported on casting surfaces of the casting rolls confined by said side dams; and e) counter-rotating the casting rolls to form solidified metal shells on the surfaces of the casting rolls and cast thin steel strip through the nip between the casting rolls from said solidified shells.