CA1089173A - Method of and apparatus for converting molten metal into solidified products - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract An improvement in the process and apparatus for converting molten metal, especially steel, into a finished pro-duct by first converting the molten metal into thin layers which are superimposed on one another while hot and pressure welding the layers into a unitary body that is particularly adapted for hot or cold shaping into a final size and shape, with the advantage of accelerating the cooling of the molten metal and obtaining the improved grain structure and more nearly uniform distribution of alloying ingredients obtainable from rapid solidification of the molten steel to a solid, comprises forming several separate layers from a common heat of molten metal, simultaneously or successively pressure welding utilizing the layers into a unitary body in a single pressure welding station, in contrast to methods of and apparatus for producing a pro-duct from several layers requiring a separate casting unit for each separate layer or thickness and also requiring a pair of pressure rolls for each separate added layer or thickness in the finished product.

Description

10~9173 Specification This invention is for an improvement in the method and apparatus disclosed in my application ftled in Canada on March 1, 1974 as Serial No. 193,859, and which issued as Canadian Patent No. 1,015,107 on August 9, 1977.
In the usual process of casting molten metal, and pa~ticularly steel for the production of solid sections to be ;
subsequently converted into finished products, as, for example, the process of continuous casting, the molten metal is charged -~
into an open-ended mold where the molten metal entering the mold next to the cold mold walls solidifies to a skin which at first ~;
rapidly thickens as initial solidification continues. However, ~-the rate of solidification progressively decreases as the solidification toward the center of the casting increases. The solidification time, "T`', of a billet, whether it be round, -square or rectangular, is usually expressed by the formula T = kD2 where k is a factor depending on cooling conditions and D is the diameter or thickness from one surface to the other and can be roughly approximated as proportional to the square of the -~
diameter or thic~ness.
It is, of course, well known that when molten metal, ~ ;
particularly steel, solidifies rapidly, the casting has a fine grain structure while the quick solidification prevents or ~~-minimizes segregation of some elements, as, for example, alloying ~ --: . ., elements in steel, but slower solidification leads to larger or coarser and less desirable grain structure with accompanying rejection by the crystals as they form of some of the alloying . ;~ . ' '' '~

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-2-8~173 elements, as well a~ "i~puritie~," (~hlch, in the ca~e o~ steel ~ay include S, P, AS, ZN, SN, etc.) and thelr resulting concen-tration in the area o~ the casting la~t to ~olidify. As a ~ -re~ult, the outer portion o~ the casting, o~ten reierred to a~
"the chill zone layer" i8 superior from the ~tandpoint o~ its ~ine graln stru¢ture, and also because it moYt nearly corresponds -~
to the composition of the ~elt fro~ which it ~as produced. To more nearly approach a uniformity of sectlon across a con-ventionally cast ingot, irom either a mold or contlnuous casting, heat-treating, rolling and forging operation~ are neces~ar~ ~ ~
which would not be neces~ary if a chill zone composition and ~ -structure prevailed across the entire section of the ingot.
In my pending application Serial No. 193,859, there is disclosed a method wherein ~everal continuously $ormed thin strands, or parallel portions of a single strand, are con-tinuously brought together in face-to-face contact at a solidus temperature desirably above a usual hot rolling temperature but ~here liquid metal i8 not visible. When light pressure less - ;
than that required for deforming the solidified metal i~ applied to the contacting suriaces, iusing or welding occurs by inter- `
cry8talline dii~usion ~hich takos place under these conditions.
This may be referred to as "flowless ~elding" or "pressure ~elding. M
Thus, ~hen forming a billet for example o~ diameter D
according to this method of combining several individual layers or strands, the solidiiication time, being based on the thick-ne~s of the individual layers, is accelerated, so that the formula, instead of being expressed as expressed above, T ~
will be approximately only T ~ K (D) , where S de8ignates the number of layers. In pressing together a number of strands to .
,

-3-1()~9173 effect welding, there 1~, at least in mo~t cases, a reductlon ln thickness o~ the order o~ no more than about 2% so that to secure the di~en~ion D this reduction o~ thickne~ must be taken into consideration in determining the dimension D o~ the ~i~ished casting. In other words, a ton o~ thln metal solidi~ying in ~eparate layer~ from a molten condition solidiiieg much more rapidly than a ton oi metal cast as a ~ingle ca~ting into a billet or slab o~ the dimension D.
With perhap~ t~o or three separate layers or strands ~ .-being combined into a semi~inished product, as di~closed in my copending application, the formation o~ each separate layer using separate casting roll~ ~or each layer is commercially practical, even with a ~eparate pressure roll ~ean~ ~or each additional lay~r over two, but with perhap~ ~our, iive or even ten or more layers being combined into a single slab or billet, the complication and space requirement~ ~or a plant having a :~
separate ca~ting unit ~or each layer together ~ith pressure roll pa88e8 for each layer above two layers, and the investment involred in such a plant rapidly offsets the econo~y and ~ ~:
advantages o~ the process of my earlier application. ~ ~
The present invention involves a method of and ~: -apparatus ior converting ~olten metal, e~pecially ~teel, into a ~` :
~inished product ~here the nolten metal is cast into thin layers -by contacting the moving chill suriace with molten metal against which a thinlayer o~ the metal solidi~ies, either a~ a succes-sion o~ separate pieces or as a continuous wide flat strip that iB cut into lengths or strip~ and these are delivered to a single layering or stacking unit where they are brought together with a ~ :
common means for pressure welding the~ progressively as they are placed one layer against another. There may, in come case~, be

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101~9173 optionally employed t~o casting units, but their output will be co~pacted and one layer ~used to the next in a common pressure ~elding unit.
The graln structure and composition oi a thin layer cast in the manner herein disclosed ls determined at the time a chilled layer forms on a moving chill surface and the combinlng o~ several layers into a com~on product, such as a billet or ~lab, slowing down the rate of heat trans~er from the thicker product, is of little, i~ any, consequ~nce at this time.
In the follo~ing description, the tsrm "strand" i8 used to designate the e~erging casting, ~hether continuously or intermittently produced on a cold sur~ace ~oving in contact ~ith a body of molten metal resulting in a solidiiied layer ~hich is thereafter stripped ~ro~ the moving cold or chill sur~
iace. It is desirably about 3 ~m thick and has the iine grain ;
structure and unii'orm compo~ition, ior all practical purpo~es, of the melt iro~ which it i8 formed and ~hich is oiten referred to as being of chill zone thickne~s. The term "strip" i8 used, ~;~
unle~s otherwise indicated, to designate division formed by ~-slitting the strand longitudinally, and the terms "piece" or "pieces" or "lengths" deslgnate individual pieces for~ed by cutting a strand or strip cro~swise or formed in fised lengths iD the casting unit. The output of a complete unit, ~hatever the shape or size, is generally designated "product," "unitary product," or "semiiini~hed product."
~ here several strands are being ~iaultaneously cast and combi~ed as in my original application, a higher rate o~
production can be achieved than ~ith the herein di~closed improvement, a#suming dimen~ions to be the sa~e, because ~everal ~trands are being si~ultaneously produced and co~bined into a

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1()89173 semi~inished product. However, the i~provement herein disclosed will nevertheless result in a rate o~ conversion oi liquid metal into a billet or slab ~aster than the same tonnage could be secured by conventional continuous or semicontinuous casting.
Thi~ results from the exponential increase ln solidification speed with decreased thickne~s o~ the solidiiying product.
Taking as an exa~ple, ~ 1 meter wide and 150 mm. ~ -thick steel ~labs are belng made by iusing together 3 m~. thick layers, this thickness will be achieved in approximately 1 second. Using a traveling belt conveyor as a chilling wall which, over a length of 1 meter is brought in contact with liquid steel, the belt speed can be 1 meter per Recond ~or with-drawing said 3 mm. thick solidi~ied layer. Thi~ corresponds to a production of approximately 1400 kg. per minute. To achieve this ~igure by conventional continuous casting in one strand, a rather sophisticated and axpeneive continuous casting machine would be required, considering that it would take about 6 minutes to get the section completely solidified at a minimu~
withdrawing speed o~ 1.24 moter per minute, giving an interior ~0 liquid pool of at least 7.5 meter length. During this time the strand has to be properly cooled and supported over this length. On the contrary, the ~ethod according to a simple embodiment of this invention needs a rather short traveling -~
belt or a rotating drum, a shear for cutting the layer or strand to desired lengths a~ter leaving the belt, and means stacking -~
them one upon another along with means for pressing the stacked length~ as they are progressively added onto the top o~ a pre~
viou~ layer or layer~. An even higher production rate would be obtained i~ the strand as cast is kept thinner while the length over ~hich the belt is in contact with the liquid steel i8 again ., . ~, . . .
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1~)89173 only 1 meter. Theoretically, 1 m~. thick layer would enable a ~ithdrawal speed of apprnximately 540 meter~ per minute (due to the exponential lncrease oi solidiflcation rate ~ith decreased thickness) corresponding to appro~imately 4 tons per minute. This productlvlty is hardly achlevable at continuous casting with present casting technique~ where there would be a liquid pool of approximately 21 meter~ at a ca~ting speed oi approximately 3.5 ~et~rs per minute. If the width o~ the layer or 6trand would be split longltudinally into 100 ~. ~
wide strips to be fused together into 100 m~. sq. billets, an ;-output of the order of about 54 meter billets per ~inute would be theoretically achieved.
One primary advantage of the invention i~ that all oi the layers that are integrated into a single sectlon in this ;~
manner are pro~ided on a ~ingle moving chill suriace and one body of molten metal. Hoaever, i~ desired, ~ection~ cut alternately fron one casting unit ~ay be interleaved with sections formed and cut irom another and also a ~ectlon formed on ~ single casting unit may be alternately or successively -s*acked on difierent castings being si~ultaneously iormed.
Little change-over is required in a wide machine to simultaneously produce a plurality of narrower semifinished castings of the same or of different widths at the ~ame time~
The invention may be more iully explained in ~ conJunctio~ ~ith the acco~panying drawings ~here certain ¦ specific embodiments Qi apparatus for and methods o~ practicing my invention are disclo~ed and in ~hich:
Figure 1 ~ho~s schematically a longltudinal section ~-through a casti~g plant e~bodying the apparatus and for the practice oi the method of this invention;
., .

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lC~1~9~73 Flgure 2 ls a top pl~n view oi Figure l;
Flgure 3 represents a transverse vertical sectlon in the plane o~ line III-III of Figure 2;
Figure 3A i~ a ~che~atic repre~entation oi a mean~ ior movlng the base plate in timed relatlon to the placi~g oi a length oi metal on it or on a previously deposited length;
Figure 4 i8 a modiiication illustrating fichematically a ~lde view of an apparatus and ~ethod whereln the wide thln strand is slit length~ise into ~ plurality o~ strips, which are oi selected ~idths, whlch, as here ~ho~n, are progressively narro~er iro~ one edge o~ the cast strand toward the other edge, but ~hich of cour~e could be of the ~ame ~idth or there ~ay be a di~erent nwmber and the several ~trips are then ~evered -~
transversely to pieces and piled on top of one another to pro-duce blooms or billet~, ior e~a~ple, oi preselected di~en~ion;
Figure 5 i~ a top plan view oi Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a modi~ication oi the aethod ~ho~n in Figure~ 4 and 5 ~herein the thin cast strand i8 contlnuously ~ormed on a belt, slit longitudinally into a number of ~trip~
of equal width and bent over ~hile in such manner that the parallel ~trip~ are superimposed one upon another and the stack is then pressed together and the resulting contlnuous casting ~
~o produced by the interfacial ~elding or iuse-~elding oi the ; ~ ;
~uperi~po ed strips i8 then ~evered in pieces oi predeter~ined selected length;
Figure 7 shows a ~ethod ~imilar to Figure 6 wherein there i~ a ~eparate ca~ting and ~litting unit indicated in broken : ~ :
lines along~ide the ilrst to be used ~here a thic~er ca~tlng i~
required, the unit at the leit providing the ~irst several ~ -strips onto which the strips produced by the unit at the right ~ --8- ;

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are immediately stacked, or alternately the ~trips fro~ the unit at the r~ght could be interleaved between tbe strips from the unit at the left. This ~igure also discloses ~everlng the lndividual strtp~ prlor to assembly lnto a stack before, lnstead of aiter, they have been as~embled;
Figure 8 18 a side view and Figura 9 is a top plan view of an apparatu~ in which ~ucce~sive pieces cut from a continuous strand are dellvered vertically onto a space between ~ :~
opposed pressure plates, one of which is lnclined from a ver~
tical plane to provide proper support ior each successlve piece as it i3 severed at the lead end o~ the continuously cast ~trand; :~rr~
Figure 10 is a schematic illu#tration of an apparatus -~
~herein succe~sive pieces cut fro~ a contlnuou~ ~trand are ;~
delivered alternately onto a reciprocating ~upport lnto the roll pass of a rever~ing pressure roll and the direction of travel oi the sheet plece is therefore the same as the direction of travel o~ the reciprocating support, or stack of prevlou~
depo6ited pieces already on the ~upport; -~
Figure 11 is in general a modification of the method ;`
and apparatus disclo~ed in Figure 10; :~
~ , .
Figure 12 i8 a schematic vie~ representing a longitudinal vertical section through another embod~nent especially designed for the production of flat slabs;
Figure 13 i~ a top plan view of the apparatus ~hown in Figure 12;
Figure 14 i8 a staggered transverse vertical section in about the plane of line XIV-XIV oi Figure 13;
Figure 15 is a schematic dlagra~ illustrating the conver~ion of the molten metal by thi~ process to the fini~hed ~:
product;
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~089173 Figure 16 shows schematically a ~odiiication lllustrating the layering oi the ~trand, end-over-end, to ~or~
a ~lab ~rom a contlnuou~ly caet length oi chlll c~t metal which is a aultiple oi the length o~ the iini~hed ~lab;
Figure 17 i~ a top plan view oi Figure 16;
Flgure 18 i~ a iragmentary longitudlnàl section on ~ -a larger scale showlng the electrlcally heated inlay oP
theraal in6ulation in the top oi the rev~r~ely travellng table ~-o~ ~hich the slab i~ formed; ~
Figure 19 i8 a sche~atic ~ie~, partly in longltudinal ~`
Yertical section but mainly in ~lde elevation, o~ a casting unit where successi~e pieces oi aetal oi the required length ~.
are inter~ittently produced, eliminating cutting oi the ~etal; ~ ::
and Figure 20 is a top plan vie~ o~ the apparatus ~hown .~ ;
in Figure 19.
In Figure~ 1, 2 and 3, sho~ing ~chematically one ~ :
siaple apparatus and ~ethod i~or the practice o$ the invention, ; ~-2 designates a ca~ting ladle ~ith a discharge tube 3 that -~
20 e~tends into an lntermedlate container 4 in ~hich aolten metal is normally aaintained at a depth to i~erse the di~charge end : `
of the tube. A ilow control ~alve i~ indicated in the tube 3 ~ :
at 5. For assuring that a depth o~ molten metal in the con~
tainer 4 ~111, ~nder normal operating condition , i~er~e the lo~er end o~ th~ tube 3, the container 4 has an internal ~elr

6 o~er which the ~olten aetal iloo~, and aore importantly to ~ -assure ~loatation and removal oi ~lag irom the metal. From the out~n OQ ~ide of the weir, the ~etal ~lo~ through a connecting pQs~age 7 o~ generally U-shape into a ve~sel 8.
By mean~ oi a continuou~ly moving endles~ coollng ~all, ,, .. ,,, .. , . . - -, , , , . , , - ~

1089~73 here represented by the suriace oi an internally cooled drum 9 dipping into the ve~el 8 and operating at a uni~orm speed, a thin continuous layer oi solidif~ing metal i8 depo~ited on the drum and withdra~n by the drum ~rom the ve~sel. Thi~ layer, de~ignated 10, i~ stripped ~rom the upper sur~ace oi the drum at or close to the temperature where it i~ substantially entir~y ~olidified and moved horizontally between leveling rolls 11, Aiter emerging iro~ the leveling rolls, it i~ sheared by a $1ying ~hear 12 into pleces oi uniiorm length. A limit s~itch, ~hich term includes an electric eye circuit o~ a known con-struction, ~ indicated at 13 to eiiect operation oi the shear.
At the time o~ shearing, each piece will have ~oved over parallel ~upports 14, one oi which is suspended at each side oi the machine by links 15 hung irom respective rock-shaits 16. Various mechanisms oi known con~truction, schematically indicated at 17, operate these sha$ts in unison to move the plates apart to drop each still intensely hot succe~ive length onto a movable receiving bed hereinafter described.
The very thin hot layer as removed from the drum i~
extremely ~eak and ilexible and must be supported in some way both before and aiter shearing to avoid damage. Usual 9Up~
porting and transierring ~eans would requlre cooling to avoid --destruction or the sticking of the cast metal layerj or lengths, thereto. This would result in the undesirable removal of heat that would later ne~d to be replenished, adding to the cost of equipping and operating the ~achine. The present invention contemplates that the ~upporting, guidiDg and even transport oi the layers may be accomplished by generating alternating electro-magnetic iield which ~ould provide a repelling ~orce to levitate the layer or piece~ or strip~, and ~hich might additionally supply heat to the moving ~etal.

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1~'8~173 To thi~ end there are ~upporting plates lndicat0d at 18 and 19, the latter comprising part oi the movable ~upportlng ~ `~
means 14 within ~hich are tubular ~ater-cooled tubes charged with alternating electrlc current oi a ~requency and strength, which, according to well-established ~ormula, ~ill g0nerate a field ior the purpo~e both of repelling the layer or ~evered pieces clear oi the plates and inductively generating heat ln the layer or piQces. The iorce lmparted to the metal fro~ the drum 9 and leveling roll 11 will normally be su~ficient to :~
carry the leading end oi the layer to the limit switch means 13 to eirect operation of the shear, but, with long pieces, the coil~ may be energized to progressively urge the metal in the :~
dlrection oi the limit switch and thereby supplement the iorce supplied by the drum 9 and rolls 11. ~eans ior the generation o~ such traveling magnetic iields are ~ell kno~n in the art.
As above explained, the layer or ~trand to be severed ~`
by the operation oi the ilying shear will already be ~upported over the supports 14 and their plates 19 so that the mechanism `
17 ¢an al~o be controlled by operation oi the limit switch to move supports 14 apart to allow the severed pieces to drop bet~een them. Variou~ means totrigger the operation oi the mechani~m to open and close the supports 14 in relation to the operation o~ the shear con~titute no part per se o~ the present invention and are ~ell known in automatic iurnace and other door-operating mechanis~s, .
Below the movable supports 14 there is a layering oi ~tacking unit comprising a bed-plate 20 having a iluid pressure ~;~
cyllnder and piston means 21 oi a length to move the bed-plate ; a iull back and ior~ard stroke which i8 at least as great or ; 3~ greater than twi¢e the length oi the pieces being sheared irom :
`' ' '~:

-12- ~ ;
', 108~173 the continuously cast layer. The operation of the piston i~ so tlmed that the bed-plate i~ positioned to receive each piece a~
it drop~ from the ~upport to lie flat on the bed-plate or directly on top o~ the piece la~t dropped ~ one or more piece~
have previously been dropped in starting or iorming a stack.
Immediately a~ter each piece i9 received on the top of the ~tack on the bed-plate then in progre~, or being laid on the bed-plate in the initlal stage o~ ~aking a stack, the piston operate~ to move the bed-plate toward the right as vie~ed in Figure 2 batueen a pair of rolls 22 and 23, the upper roll of the pair 22 beiDg arranged to ~ove or be moved up~ard as the height o~ it8 stac~ of pieces on the support increases but e~ert a predeter~ined light pressure on the top of the newly placed piece a~ the bed-plate reciprocates between the rolls.
In Figure 3A there i~ ~chematically lllustrated one simple type of means ior controlling the movement of the base plate in timed relation to the dropping of the lengths o~ hot metal onto it and merely indicate~ in a ~imple diagram one ~ar of doing this. ~hen one o$ the hinged supports 14 drops to a vertical position, it closes a switch 24 to energize solenoid ~-25, operating a iour-~ay valve 26 to admit ~luid pressure to the left end of the cylinder of the cylinder-piston unit 21 and relea~e pressure in the opposite end of said cylinder to ~ove the plate 20 from the left limit o~ its travel as shown in Figure 3~. At the same time s~itch 24 is closed, 6witch 27 i5 opened, but, as soon as plate 14 s~ings out oi` engage~ent ~ith ~itch 24, the ~itch means is biased to open ~witch 24 and close switch 27, ~hereupon solenoid 28 is energized to rever~e the ~our-way valve and return the base plate through the rolls 2~ and 23.

There i~ a ~loating type o~ switch indicated at 30 ~or opening the circuit to both solenoids when the base plate i~ at the retracted or right end o~ its travel when the ~tack oi pieces or lengths reache~ a predetermined height. This pro-vides a pause in its operation to enable the ~inished product to be p w hed sideway~ irom the base plate ~or sub~equent com-plete removal ~rom the casting unit, a8 indicated by the arrows ~ -ln Figure 2 and as be~t shown in Figure 3. A pusher such as, ~or e~ample, a pu~her mechanis~ herei~a~ter described may be ~ :~
used.
The right end o~ the base plate 20, as ~ho~n in Figure 1, has an elevated end portion 20a that ~lopes at 20b . ~.
to the ~lat level o~ the ~ain area of the bed-plate. This elevated level i8 bet~een the rolls 22 and 23 at the e~tended -~
or leit li~it o~ the travel oi the ba~e plate as here illus~
trated 80 as to lower the upper roll onto the ac¢umulating stack ~ith each pa~s o~ the base plate toward the right or retracted poeition.
The broken lines, de6ignated 31, indicate an enclosure beginning ~orwardly of the vessel 8 and extending past the rear ~ -! ' ` :
o~ the roller table over ~hich the base plate move~, the enclosure having side walla and a botto~ ~all so that a con- .
trolled, inert at~osphere, that is, a nonoxidizing at~o~phere, may be maintained around the ~oregoing apparatu~, and, to a .
considerable extent, heat 1088 is retarded~ At the dlscharge end o~ the machine, that i8 the right end as shown in Figures 1 :~
and 2, there is a liquid seal 32 indicated by a liquid-filled :~
ves~el into which the edge oi the enclosure 31 dips and the product being shoved side~ay~ ~ro~ th~ base plate enters this pit and is re~oved, as indicated by the curved dotted arro~ 33, ~,, ,~ ' . - ` -~ - ' 1(~89~73 the conveyor or other means for re~oving the product ~ormlng no part o~ this ~vention. The molten metal bet~een the ve~el 4 and the ves~el 8 constitutes a trap to prevent air entering the enclosure at the polnt ~here the ~olten ~etal i~ introduced into the enclosure.
In the operation o~ thl~ apparatue, a continuous layer Or metal, typically about 3 ~m. in thlckness, is iormed, ,~
cut into uniior~ length~, and the~e are stacked in the manner described to ~orm a slab or billet o~ the required thickness.
Each piece, aiter the $ir~t one, is placed on the hot piece beneath it and because o~ its high temperature and clean sur-~ace, including the ellmination or substantial elim~nation of ~ -air irom the encloaure and, thereiore, prevention o~ any appreciable o~idation oi the metal, a ~usion ~elding oi the metal bet~een the contactlng suriaces occurs under applicatlon ~
oi appropriate pressure.
; The appropriate pres~ure depends upon the phy~ical `
propertie~ oi the layers. It must be su~iicient to i~ediately establi~h inti~ate contact oi the conironting suriaces. ~hen ~0 a ~etal ~ith poor pla~tic properties is produced, it ~ay be : ~-more fea~ible to iirst apply the pressure after the metal ha~
reached a temperature ~here it can ~tand a higher pressure ~ith-out rupturing, in ~hich case t~o or more base plates arranged for alternate operation may be u~ed. In the ca~e of other grades oi metal, e.g., lo~ carbon ~teel, ~hich quickly reach good plasticlty (hot ~orking properties), relatively high pre~-~ure can be applied i~ediately since the material quickly beco~es stiif. Absolute parameters ~or part1cular grades of '; ; , carbon and alloy steels ~ay have to be deter~ined according to the size and shape o~ the product, the co~position o~ the ~etal, . ' .
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^` 1089173 the manner of applying pre~sure, as by roll~ or by a pres~, oscillating plates or the like.
Taklng as an e~ample o~ thls operation, it ~ay be assumed that 150 ~. thick slabs ~ith a length oi 3 meters will be made by iusing together layers which are 3 m~. thl¢k as they leave the solidi~ylng apparatus, with the water-cooled drun 9 operating at a ~peed oi 1 ~eter per second, at least 50 pieces cut from the continuously iormed strip ~ill be required to be stacked on the base plate Z0. She piston and cylinder 10 unit 21 should ~ake a full back-and-forth stroke ~ithin 3 seconds. Thus, a ~lab ~ould be completed every 150 seconds.
Ho~ever, a certain degree of height reduction, due to the pres-sure to ~hich the hot metal is sub~ected, ~u~t be taken into `;
eonsideration 80 that some additional pleces or layer~ ~ill be needed for achieving the deslred thickDess oi 150 D~. of the ~- ;
iinished piece. However, since the reduction oi thickness result~ in a corresponding extension of the length, the pieces --or length~ can be cut slightly shorter. Thus, the stroke cycle of the piston may be ~ome~hat shorter and the productlon rate per unit oi time re~ains the ~ame, that i8, the iinished ~eight per time unit i9 the same or approxi~ately the same.
In Flgures 4 and 5 there is schematicallr disclosed a method oi and apparatus for simultaneously forming bodies oi n~rro~er width iro~ a wide cast layer. As here sho~n, ~our ~-billets or integrated bodies oi progressively narrower ~dth /~
are iormed from a single wide strand oi metal emerging irom a `~
casting unit.
~ hile a rotary drum as disclo~ed in Figures 1 to 3 could be u~ed to ~orm the thin continuously cast layer, Figures 4 and 5 dlsclose an arrangemant ~here a continuously moving 1()1~173 heat-re~istant belt 35, the upper run o~ ~hich travel~ in the dlrection oi the arrow fro~ a aolten metal ve~sel 35a at an incline up~ardly irom qaid ves~el around a roll 36 at the di~-charge end and the return reach o~ the bel~ then pa~e~ around roll 37 at the lower end of the belt. The ve~sel 35a is of up~ardly decreasing depth and the upper reach o~ the belt, a~
here shown, mcves along under the ~olten ~etal, ~or~ing a chill bottom wall for the pool o~ molten metal on the belt over which a thin layer of metal rapidly forms. This layer o~ metal ha~
solidi~ied when it reache~ the upper end o~ the belt ~uiiicient to be ~tripped therefrom and slit longitudinhlly by slitter 38 into parallel ~trips, here de~ignated ~1, s2, S3 and S4. While the ætrips may be the sa~e width, or various combination~ of ~idths, as here illu3trated Sl i~ the widest and they are pro-gressively narrower, S4 being the narrowest.
The parallel strips then are 3heared by a flying or rotating shear 39 into pieceY oi uniform length.
BelGw the casting unit where the strips are formed and cut to length, there i8 a roller table 40 with plates 41 between ~paced rollers 42. These plates retard radiant heat los8 and ~ay have reæistance or induction heating mean~ incor-porated therein to heat the ~trips. About midway between the ends of the roller table there is a pair of pre~surerolls 43 and 44, the upper one, 43, being vertically movable as in ;~
Figure 1 to apply appropriate pressure to the stac~ of layer~
passing between them. There i~ a rever~ible drive indicated at 45 for driving one or both of these rollers. Guides are indicated at 46 ~or directing and con~ining the sheared length~
of metal into spaced parallel channel~ ad~acent the bight of the rolls 43 and 44 and other guides 47 along the roll table maintain such parallelism.

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1(~89~73 .
In order to direct the piece~ ~hich leave the ~hear 39 in close side-by-side relatlon lnto ~p~ced parallel path~, the casting un~t 1B at an angle to the roll table and the e~erglng pieces oi strips are looped do~n~ardly iro~ the ~hear to a guide roller mean~ 48 about a radlu~ o~ curvature ~hlch 1~ progres~ively larger ior the ~ucce~sive piece~ irom ~1 to B40 By rea~on oi thl~, each piece cro~s~ise oi the strips travel a longer loop, but in the same period of tlme, and undeslrable distortion oi the pieces i8 avolded.
In Flgures 4 and 5, the parallel stacks being iormed -~
are indicated as B, and each ~tack extends iro~ one slde oi the rolls 43 and 44. In operation, assume that stack B i~
traveling to the right as ~ho~n in Figures 4 and 5, there i~
a li~lt s~ltch 50 at the right end oi the roller table ~hlch ~ill be engaged by the end oi at least one billet (or other , '" , ~:
product being ioraed) to reverse the rolls 43-44 when the trailing end~ oi the billets have cleared these rolls and ~-rever~e the travel oi the bil}et into the bight oi the roll~
.~ ,;.
~hich are no~ turniDg in the reverse direction, There i8 also a li~it ~itch 50a at the leit end of the roll table.
The 100PB bet~een the shear 39 and the bight of the rolls Qust, ~or products oi ~ubstantial length, be nearly as -~
long as the iinished products, and the rolls 43-44 ~ust opernte ~aster than the speed oi the piece~ e~erging iro~ the shear 90 ', .'.' :
that when one set oi pieces are entlrely deposlted on the ~ roller table or stack being ior~ed on the roller table, they ~ill -`
3 reverse and their reverse travel will be co~pleted and the leit I ends oi the several side-by-side billets ~ill be in a po3it~on to receive the leading ends oi the next series oi parallel severed piece~.
. ~ ,' " ,, ~.

........... . . . .. . . . .~ .... . . . . . .

~hen the required number o~ layers ha~e bee~ applled to each ~tack and rolled, a ~ast-operating pusher compri~ing the bar 51 and pi~ton and cylinder unit~ 52 ~ill be op~rated either ~anually or autonatlcally by limlt s~itch 50a to move the successive bodies lnto a ~eal 53, euch aY described at 32 in con~unction ~ith Flgure 3, the ~eal being part of a co~plete enclo~ure 54 surrounding the remainder oi the ca~ting unlt.
As in Figures 1 and 2, a trap ~ill usually be provided in the molten metal inlet, indicated at S5.
There ~ill be provided loop~ng guides for directing the several pieces Sl - S4 into their proper positions bet~een the pressure rolls 43-44, but for clarity o$ illustration they have not been shown and iorm no part, per ~e, oi the in~ention.
8ince such guides ~ill remove heat iro~ the length or pieces oi metal passlng therethrough, electro~agnet~ energized iro~ an alternating current ~ource and, a8 lllustrated in Flgure 1, ~111 be assoclated with the guides to provide heat to the metal pieces and relieve, to some extent, the contact pressure oi ~;
the ~etal pieces ~ith the guide~.
In Figure 6 there i~ a casting unit oi the endles~
belt type, as ~ho~n in Figures 4 and 5, oeith an up~ardly ~-lnclined endles~ belt 60 a~ descrlbed in those iigures and means 61 for holding a body oi ~olten ~etal at a ~nlform depth irom a supply inlet (not shown) but slmllar to that ~hown in Figure 5 and al~o Figure 7, to be hereinaiter described. The molten metal is contained above the top run oi the endless belt 60, which ior~s a botto~ ior the pool oi ~etal retained by 61 and al~o provides a constantly moving chill suriace, a~ previou~ly explained, on whlch a thin layer oi molten metal i~ continuou~ly congealed. This contlnuously ~ormed layer is stripped irom the ~ -,, :

. ~ ... ....
," , , :. ~ ,... .. .
. - . : . .. . . ~ .

1(~89~73 top run o~ the belt at its upper end and pas~ed bet~een slittlng roll means 62 that dlvides the cont~nuously for~ed layer longitudinally lnto à plurality oi continuou~ parallel strlps S9 oi equal ~idth, ~hich then pa~s bet~een guidlng rolls 63. As in Figure 5, the casting unlt i~ angularly di~
posed with re~erence to the longitudlnal axis oi the hereinafter-described means to which the strips are dellvered.
The means for recei~ing the strips co~prise~ first a pair of pre~sure rolls 64 ~ith a guide means 55 in advance ~ ~;
oi the bight of these rolls o~ a ~idth to receive, ~ith only ~;
a working clearance, the strip 89, but of a depth to permit all oi tha strips, one upon the other, to enter the pass -~ -between rolls 64. At the emerging side of these rolls there is a guide 66 simllar to 65 but rever~ed thereto. Other gulde~ are provided, as indicated at 67, and else~here i~
needed. m ere is a second pair of upper and lower rolls 68 ;~ which are ilanged to provide a pass between them, and botween ~ , :
67 and 68 is another pair oi groo~ed rolls 69 which rotate ~!~ about vertical axes~ They bear against the ~ides of the iused bundle o~ strip~ emerging ~rom bet~een rolls 64.
The stacking of the several strips S9 i8 e~iected as .. .. .
in Figures 5 aDd 6 by having the parallel strip~ emerging ~rom the rolls 63, each traveling through successively larger loops irom the right side, ior example of rolls 63 to~ard the left end while ei~ecting a 180~ twist in such manner that the strip S9 at the leit side of the series, as here illustrated, becomes ,.
the lowermost strip to enter the pass between pressure rolls 64, ;;
and each strip thereafter from leit to right is guided in ~uccession onto the strip beneath, iorming a ~tack or bundle ~' of strlps, all at a temperature where they are pressed and -., .

, .... ... .. . . . . .. .
, . ~ , fuse-welded or pressure-welded as before descrlbed, and at a te~perature as explalned where ~elding under relatively llght or appropriate pressure (as hereinbeiore defined) will take place. By looping the parallel strips in the ~anner described, the ~trips are easily brought to a po~ition where they ~ill come together without destructively twisting or bending the metal.
The product o~ the process and apparatus as shown in Figure 6 may be cut into billets oi uni~orm length, or oi varying length by a ilying shear indicated at 70. The hot continuously formed product could then be delivered, for e~ample, to a rod or bar mill and reduced to a rod or bar oi indefinite length or into bar3 ~hich subsequentlr would be cut to length.
Figure 7 ~hich is a modi~ied top vie~ of Figure 6 ~hereln the corresponding parts are dasignated by corresponding ~-re~erence characters. All strips, S9, are o~ equal ~idth and, in place o~ guiding rolls at 63, there is a rotary shear 63A
~ith staggered cutter~ for progressively ~evering each oi the e~erging str~ps S9 into piece~ of unifor~ length 80 that ~hile the loops may be progre~sively larger in dia~eter iro~ one side oi the unit to~ard the other, the lengths oi all o~ the pie¢es ~ill be equal, or appro~imately so, and they will stack or bundle one upon another with both the lead and trailing ends of all of the plece~ approximately square with and vertically aligned with the corresponding ends o~ the other pieces.
Another di~i'erence between the structures shown in Fig~res 6 and 7 is that Figure 7 illustrates in dotted lines a ~econd casting, slitting, and cut-off unit 71 ahead o~ the first. ~ith this arrangement, oue bundle o~ strip~ ma~ be ' ' ., .

' ~

assembled and lntegrated and then the other unit may operslte to add additional pieces where the product to be produced 1EI o~ a dimension, either in width or thickness, or both, too groat to be produced Irall a single casting unit Also, instead of u~ing the two casting units in succe~sion, both ~ay operate at the same time and the pieces Irom one unit be interleaved ~ith tho~e OI the other to form an integrated billet.
In Figure 7 a flying shear 70 is al80 indicated, to be used as in Figure 6, or, with the piec~ sheared bei'ore stac~ingO The ~inished billets may be discharged 3ide~rays a~
sho~n in Figure 3 but ~ithout reversing direction at a loca~
tion Iollowing rolls 68 or discharged end~i~e iram the enclo~ure.
As in the other figures, an enclo~ure around the entire casting ;-and product-Iorming unit is indicated by chain lines, this enclosure being designated 73 so that a nono~idlzing atmosphere may be maintained thereabout. The ~etal inlet to the casting unit, ~hich, as previo~ly explained, al80 constitu~ a tr~p or seal, is designated 74. The apparatus OI Figures 6 and 7 ma~
be 80 interchanged that either may operate in the ~a~e way.
The arrangeDIents sho~n sche~atically in Figures 8 and 9 are designated primarily Ior the production slabs ~here they need be only o~ a relatively short length. As in the other e~bod~ents OI my lnvention, the product i8 formed b~r pro~
gressively callbining layers OI metal, one on another, and pressure-~elding each layer in turn to the next préceding one until a product of the required thickness has been produced.
In these Iigures, 8 and 9, the casting unit is shown as con~prising an endless belt type as previou~ly described, and it i8 de~ignated generally as 80, without further description OI the details. Erall the discharge end 81 oi the endle3s belt, ~ -,.. .

the continuously iormed layer at a temper~ture above a temperature ~here it ~till has lnsuiiiclent plastlcity ~or nor~al hot rolling 1~ deilected do~n~ardly into the space between two con~ronting reiractory block~, The lo~er or leit one o~ the~e blocks, a~ here ~ho~n, designated 83, 18 secured to a ~et~l supporting structure 82, The upper or right one o~
these blocks 84 is carried on a metal ~upporting ~tructure 85, The reiractory plate and it~ support 82-83 i5 hinged at 86 to swing ln a vertical arc irom one upright position where it i8 steeply incllned from a vertical plane to a horizontal po~i-tion, a ~luid pre~sure cylinder and pi~ton unit 87 being provided to effect this pivoting ~ovement.
The oppo~ite re~ractory plate and its support, 84-85, i8 supported to move toward and ~way ~rom a~se~bly 82-83.
The~e t~o assemblie~ 82-83 and 84-85 comprise pressure plates -~
or pre~s platen~ with iluid pres~ure cylinder and pi~ton element~ 88 ior movlng the plate 84-85 to~ard and away fron ~ the other one. ~-'~ The pre~sure plate~ in the po~ition shown in Figure 8 are located 80 that the descending layer of metal irom the end oi the casting ~achine enters the space between the t~o plates ~ith the inclination of the plate 83 being such that sQme support i8 provided for the layer of hot metal as it ~oves down to prevent it irom buckling or collap~ing. ~hen the leading end oi the layer oi ~etal has about reached the sup-porting ledge 86 at the lo~er end oi plate 82-83, a ~lying ~hear 89 ~ill sever the descending layer o~ ~etal.
As~u~ing that there are already one or more sheared ;~
- lengths of metal bet~een the two pre~ure plate~, the pre~-.,~
sure plate 84-85 ~ill be operated to pre~ each added length , . ..
. .
-23- ~
" ' "

~ . . .

1()89173 ~:
:; .
o~ metal again~t the face oi the preceding one. The re~ractory plate# 82 and 84 are heated to retard the 108g oi heat irom the metal piece 80 that pre~sure-welding o~ the successlve pieces is rapidly and e~ectively initiated. When the slab or billet has reached the required thickness to yield the ultimate desired product, the lower pressure plate 82-83 i8 ~uung down to the horizontal position indicated by dotted lines. ~hen ~`~
this position has been reached, a pusher 90 (~ee Figure 9) i8 operated by fluid pressure mean~ indicated at 91 to sllde the ~;
freshly ~ormed product 92 onto a roller table 93. It is tran~-ported by the roller table to a reversing roll stand 94, here indicated as a three-high stand 80 arranged that the slab may be alternately pas~ed through the upper pass in one direction and the lower pa~s in the other direction. The roll stand is someti~es referred to as a "~u~ping ~ill." This rolls the hot -product to assure complete unity oi the several layers and com-pact it to the required thickness for sub~equent processing ;~
into a iinished product. Although not shown, the product cGuld pas~ directly irom mill 94 to an adJacent rolling mill to be iurther rolled, perhap~ to iinished dimensions without reheating.
Also, ~ince the ~labs ~ay be too hot to have attained the desired pla~iticity ior proces~ing in the rolling ~ill 94, the roller t&ble 93 may be o~ a length to support ~everal o~
the freshly ~ormed ~labs at each side o~ the roll stand until they have cooled to a suitable temperature. Also, there is a third roller table 95 alongside o~ table 93 so that after pas-sage o~ the product 92 through the mill, it may be moved side-ways Prom table 93 to table 95 ~or ~urther rolling, or carried to the discharge end (not shown) o~ table 95, the ~everal arrow~ in Figure 9 indicating these options. An enclosure, as in the other ~igures, ~ould desirably surround the mill o~
Figures 8 and 9 80 that the casting, formlng and rolllng operations may be periormed in a nonoxidizlng atmo~phere, but, ~or the purpo~e~ o~ clarity, thi~ enclosure has not been shown in the~e figures.
Figure 10 illustrates schematically an arrangement in which a continuous layer 100 of ~etal ca~t on a moving chill suriace, as previously described but not sho~n in this iigure, is cut by a flying shear lQl into pieces of uniform length.
These pieces are delivered to a supporting and conveying table 102. The table 102 i8 pivoted at 103 near the shear for oscillation in a vertical arc, as indicated in the drawing.
The oscillation of the table 102 is effected by an operating ~ -mechanlsm, here indicated as a fluid pressure ¢ylinder 104 ~ith a piston rod 105. There is a pair of pre~sure rolls, co~pri~ing an upper roll 106 and a lo~er roll 107. Reversible driving means for these rolls may be of a kn~wn construction, and such means i9 not shown in the dra~ings.
There is a roller table 108 extending to each side of this pair of rolls on ~hich is a bed plate 109 that is shuttled back and ~orth through the pass between the t~o pressure roll~
and the reversing travel oi the bed plate over the roll table ; fro~ end to end is initiated by a iluid pressure cyllnder and piston unit 110 at the left end of the roll table, and a similar unit 111 at the right.
The roller table is supported for controlled vertical -~
movement ~hich ~ill enable it to lo~er a~ the ~eight on the bed~
plate increases. Thi~ is indicated schematically by dashpots ~ ~-- or like fluid pressure-controlled ele~ents 112, at various positions along the roller table fra~e. At a level ~hich is `

1()89~73 normally fi~ed with respect to the upper roll 10~ during the operatlon o~ the mlll, there 1B an entrance guide 113 on the leit side oi ~aid roll and on the oppoRite ~ide there i8 an oppositely facing entrance guide 114.
Finally, at the iree end oi the pivoted table 102 there is a supporting plato ~ection or table 115 spaced above the roll 106, and which, in efiect, forms a continuation oi table 102 ~hen the free end oi said table i~ in lts upper~o~t position. Beyond section 115 there is another table section 116 o~ a length so~e~hat greater than the length oi the pieces lnto which the contlnuously caat layer~ o~ metal are cut.
Sectlon 116 i~ pivoted at 117 between its ends to rock in a vertical arc 80 as to tilt irom the position sho~n in iull ~;
lines in Figure 10 to the position sho~n in dotted lines. In the latter position it form~ an e~ten#ion oi table 115, but ~-~hen tilted to the full-line po~ition, its left end, as bere sho~n, is ilush ~ith the inclined top surface oi roll pass -~ -entrance guide 114. There is a cylinder and piston unit 118 i~ rocking table 114 up and do~n.
~hen the table 102 is rocked about pivot 103 to the lo~er limit oi its move ent, its iree end then ior~s, in ei~ect, a continuation oi the leit roll pass guide 113.
In operation, a length or piece of the continuous casting, upon leaving the ~hear, oves down conveying table 102. ~ith the table 102 in its upper position, as sho~n in Figure 10, the cut piece ~ill move over ~ection 115, at ~hich ti~e section 116 ~ould be in the dotted-line position to receive it. ~hen the picce i8 0~ the tilting section 116, that table ;~
will tilt to the full-line position, and its lead end will pass ~rom the right under the upper pressure roll 106 onto the -;
. ~

1(38~173 bed-plate, which i~ then also Just entering the roll pa~ ~rom the right, and the p~ece ~111 move through the roll pass belng thereby pre~sure-~elded to the last piece previously placed on the roll tableO Lower roll 107 ~111 exert pressure agalnst the bed-plate 108 whlch holds the cast layer up against upper roll 106 at the appropriate pre~sure. The machine will be 80 timed by any one of several well-known type8 of control systems ~o that the lead end of the bed-plate, then mov~ng to the le~t, ~ill enter the roll pass to meet and support the lead end of the cut piece. In ~igure 10, a partially for~ed billet or ~lab i9 ~hown on the bed-plate.
When the bed-plate ha~ reached the limit of its travel toward the le~t and has cleared or about cleared the pass between the pressure rolls 106 and 107, cylinder 110 will operate to start it back through the roll pas~ in the oppo~ite direction. By this time the table 102 will have been lowered to direct the next piece sheared from the casting over the ~ -le~t guide llS to enter the roll pass and deposit the leading end of that piece on the then leading or right end o~ the bed-plate or the la~t previously deposited piece on the bed-plate.
This cycle of operation i~ repeated until the required number of piece~ have been integrated into a homogenous mas3. Then the now finished slab or billet will be pushed or otherwise .,~ ~ .-. .-removed from the bed-plate, as, for example, by pushing means ~-(not shown), but in the ~a~e manner as previously described in ~-other figures. Sequencing relays and other well-known circuitry may control the operation although manual operatlon can be pro- ~ ~-vided ~or. An enclosure 120, as in previous figures, is indicated in broken lines to keep a nonoxidizing at~osphere around the operation to prevent scaling of the ~etal and assure , 11~89~73 R clean sur~ace-to-suriace contact o~ the ~ucce~sive piece~.
The lower pres~ure roll 107 i8 yieldably supported by a cyllnder and piston means 107' to ~pply the required approprlate pres-sure upward tow~rd roll 106 but to lower as the thickness o~
the product build~ up o~ the bed-plate. 8imilarly, the roll table 108 can lo~er as the lower roll 107 lo~ers.
In Figure 11 the construction i8 ior the ~ost part the sa~e as in Figure 10, and the same re~erence nu~erals are used to designate corresponding parts in the t~o figure~. The signii'icant dii'i'erence i8 the more simple ~itching arrangement ior alternating the direction of travel of ths succes~ive pieces. In thi~ view there i8 a guide 125 at the le~t side oi the uppsr pressure roll 106 with an upwardly and rearwardly turned extension 126. A generally similar guide 127 at the right of this pressure roll 106 has an upwardly curved exten~
sion 128 that passes above the upper roll 106 and extends above the gu~de extension 126, but ~hich is spaced above it. In the space bet~een the extensions 126 and 128 there i8 a iixed gulde 129 having diverging branche~ 130 and 131 providing two pa~-sages, one o~ which, 133, extending in ~paced relation to guide e~tension 126, provides a pa~sage ior directing the leading end of a ~evered piece of a cast layer under the upper pressure roll i'ro~ the lei't and onto the bed-plate which i9 then moving ;~
to~ard the right. The upper branch 131 together with guide extension 128 provide a passage arranged to direct piece~ over ~ the top oi the upper roll and then do~nwardly under the upper < pre~sure roller i'rom the right toward the leit and against the bed-plate which is then moving toward the left. In this case the piece i~ turned over in relation to its original top and botto~ suriaces. The tilting conve~ing table 102 in this case ,~

.. . . . . .

1089~'73 ~oves between the ~ull-line posltion ~hown in Flgure 11 where it confronts and 1~ ~lu~h with the end o~ guide exten~ion 12ff and the end of~ixed gulde 129, as indicated in dotted llnes, and back down to the ~ull-line po~ition to alternately ieed the strlps under the upper pre~sure roll from the le~t toward the right and then rrom the right to~ard the le~t in isochronism with the travel oi the bed-plate, fir~t ~rom the le~t toward the right and then from the right toward the left, The move- ~
ment o~ the bed-plate may, ~or example, be timed by the opera- -tion of the flying ~hear 101, as can al80 the raisine and lowering oi the conveying table, control~ suitable for thi~ -purpoee being ~ell known.
In order to supply heat to the sheared pieces as they are alternately guided to one side of the upper pres3ure roll and then the other in the arrangement shown in either Figure 10 -`
or 11, the spaced dots in the drawlngs indicate conductors in section designed to be energized from a source of alternating current (not shown) enclo6ed or contained in the conveying table 102 and the several conveyor sections and guides to there~
by reduce the contact between the ~uccessive pieces and the tables and guides by generating repulsion iorces and perhaps also aid in efiecting their travel, and, as previously des~
cribed, inductively heat the pieces to maintain them at a temperature where they can be pre~sure welded.
Figures 12, 13 and 14 disclose schematically a mill for producing slabs or plates at a high rate of production. To ~ -this end, there is a reversing pressure roll stand 140, here illustrated as a 3-high stand ofthe type so~etimes referred to as a "jump roll." In such a roll stand the pass in one direc-tion is between the top and middle roll, as shown in the dra~ing, , .......... - ~ ........ . . ~

but between the middle and bottall roll in the opposite direction ~th means ior moving the roll~ vertlcally to maintain the roll pa~3~3 in both directions at the same level.
There is a roller table 141 at the le~t oi the pres~ure roll ~tand at a level to recei~e slab lengths of metal and support the material being rolled, and a ~imilar ::~
roller table 142 at th~s right o~ the pressure roll stand, There are two lines Ior producing ~lab length castings, one, designated generally at 143, belng along one slde o~ and parallel with the roll tables 141 and 142, and the other line, ~-al~o parallel ~ith the roll tables but on the opposite side OI said roll tables, i# designated generally as 144. There is a continuou~ casting unit 145 at one end oi each of ~aid line~
143 and 144. 'rhey are here ~hown at the left end of the respec-tive lines. ~hey are illustrated as being o~ the belt type units previously described. Each has a ~olten metal retaining vessel 146 with a molten ~etal supply inlet 147. At the di~
charge end of the continuouE~ belt there is a Ilying shear 148 that cuts the respective contlnuous thin ~lat casting pro- ~-~0 duced by the re~pective casting unit# a~ter they have been ~tripped iron- the belt into slab length pieces 149, aE~ best seen at the le~t end o~ line 143 in Figure 13. The~e pieces, --as they are sheared, pats~ over a #ectional receiving table 150 ior line 143 and table 151 ior line 144.
Sectional table 150 in line 143 i~ elev~ted above the level oi the roller table 141 and i8 co~pri~ed of two iixed ~ections 150a and 150c and t~o transversely tiltable sections ~ -150b and l50d. AB best seen in Figure 14, the tiltable ~ec~
tion~ are on ~upports 155 arranged to rock or tilt side~ays about a longitudlnal a~-is 156 ~ra~ the iull-line hori~ontal ~(~89173 position in Figure 14 to the tilted posltion sho~n in dotted lines. There i8 a movable ~top 157 between sections 150b and 150c which, in the po~ition sho~n, will block the movement oi a ~evered length 149 to retain lt on the tilt ~ection 150b, but ~hich, ii moved out oi blocking po~ition, as sho~n ln dotted lines, enables a severed length to pass along onto the second tilting ~ection 150d. By tilting one oi the table ~ections 150b or 150d, a piece supported thereon can be caused to gravitate onto the then ad~acent bed-plate 160 which i~ movable 10 bet~leen the pressure rolls of stand 140 onto one or the other o~ the roll tables 141 or 142 to be then rolled by the pressure rolls. ~ -All of the sections oi table 150 are provided ~ith ~
multiphase alternating current ~indings designated in Figure 12 ~ ;;
by the spaced, staggered, parallel lines to move the pieces 149 to the ~top 157 ii the piece ~ to be discharged onto a bed-plate 160 which is at that time entirely ~upported on table 141 to the leit oi roll stand 140. If, ho~ever, the stop 157 is withdra~n from its operating poe~ition, the piece may travel to the end oi the runway, that is, to a po~ition ~here it is centered on the tilt-table section 150d to be discharged ~lde-~ays onto the bed-plate 160 ~hich ~ill then be to the right oi -the pressure roll stand 140 and then supported on roll table 142. The alternating current ~indings may, as previously explained, also inductively heat the successive pieces of metal as they are moved along over the table sections.
llith the arrangement of tilting ~ection 150b and l50d, selected lengths of thin cast flat metal can, for exan~ple, be alternately placed on the bed-plate 160 a~ it travels back and forth, ~ir~t when the bed-plate is to the left of the pressure - ~ -. - .
,:: : . . . .
~ .. . . . ..

roll Qtand, and then to the right, and as each plece ifi placed on the one preceding, it i9 pressure-~elded and integrated with the underlying plece.
The line 144 along the other side of the mill ls arranged to operate somewhat di~ferently ~rom line 143, although it has a supporti~g table 16S for receiving the sheared pieces $rom its casting unit. Table 165, like table 150, i~
also at a level above the pre~ure roll tables 141 and 142, but it is spaced laterally rrom these tables a ~ubstantially greater di~tance than the section~ o~ table 150 on the other side o~ the mill. The successive pieces are moved along the table from the casting unit by polyphase magnetic ~eans (not shown) but arranged similarly to the mean~ in the table sec-tions of 150 as above described. There i~ a ~op 166 over table 165 ~imilar to stop 149 on the other line. I~ the stop 166 i8 in the blocking position ~hown in full lines in Figure 13, a ca~t piece ~ill be stopped on the table 165 to the le~t of the pressure roll stand 140, but, if the ~top is ~oved out d po~itlon to block the cast pieces or layerQ, they will travel along the table to stop at the other side of the pressure roll ~tand 140.
A~ best seen in Figure 14, there is a transver~sly sloping lower platen 170 alongside the table 165 and to the ad~acent side of roll table section 141. Above this platen there is a vertically movable platen 171 which i5 moved up and down by power cylinder units 172 on fixed parallel ~upporting rails173, the upper platen being movable in a plane where it~
lower face is parallel with the top sur$ace of the transvers~y ~loped lower platen. Alongside this portion o$ the table 165 there are pushQrs 174 which operate simultaneouslr to pu~h a ~heared ~ection tran~ver~elr ~rom the sur~ace o~ the table 165 to the le~t o~ the stop 166 onto the platen 1700 A second length or plece may then be pushed onto the ~irst plece and ths upper platen lowered to ~use or pre~sure ~eld the second ple~e over the first and thi~ cycle may be repeated until an integrated slab ot the desired thickness has been built up on the platen 171.
At the right end oi the table lff5 there i~ a similar press arrangement with a lower platen 170' ~ith a vertically movable transverse b inclined upper platen 171' powered by cylinders 172', also supported on the spaced rails 173. There are pusher means 174' which operate simultaneously to move successive pieces or lengths of metal that are delivered to the right end of table 1~5 to the leit from the table 165 to platen 170' to form an integrated stack o~ piece~
80th platens 170 and 170' and 171 and 171', respectively, oi each of the t~o presses have electric heating means encased therein or otherwise arranged to assure that fu3ion o~ the succes6ive layer into a unitary body, although they may not be as thoroughly fused as desired. There is a do~nwardly moYable side plate 17Qa along the lower edge of the ~ ~-lo~er platen 170'. By selectively moving one or the other oi' ~ ?
these side plate~ down, the ~used stack o~ plates thereon may ~lide onto roller table 141 or 142, as the ca~e may be, and pas~ed between the pressure rollæ 140 one or more times to ~re co~pletely efiect the ~usion welding oi the ~everal ~heet~ or l~yers in the stack~ 80 processed, the body of the slab~ at this tlne being o~ sufficient ma~ to retain enough heat to enable -such consolldatlon to be s~fectively per~ormed. ~hen this operation just de~cribed i~ being done, the bed-plate, ~hich is ~ .

lQ89173 not n~ required, may be run out oi the ~ay onto a roller table 180 indicated in dotted line~ at the end oi roller table 141 and the product may be run o~f onto a conveyor table 181, also lndicated in dotted lines in Figure 13. At thls time, end stop 182 at the leit end oi roll table 141 is lowered and end stop 183 at the right end oi roller table 142 i8 lowered to enable the ilni~hed slab to be removed.
An enclosure 190, indicated by broken lines, surrounds the mill 80 that a controlled nonoxidi~ing atmo~-phere may be maintained around the mill during its operation.
A seal i8 provided, such, ~or example, as that sho~n in Figure 3 but at the end oi roll table 142 through which the slabs are discharged end~ise. However, ~ome othersealed outlet for the di~charge oi the ~labs to the atmosphere may be provided, as ior example a "decompression" type oi multiple doors used in other industries.
Figure 15 i~ a bloc~ diagram lllustrating the entire pro e~s iro~ the conversion oi the molten metal to an inter-mediate product and then to a iini~hed product. In this diagram, 200 designates a ladle which receive~ molten metal and 201 designates both the casting unit and the mill ior con~olidating the pieces into a product, such as the mills herein previou ly de~cribed in Figures 1 to 14 or the like. The intermediate pro-duct, e1ther billets or ~labs 202, may pass directly to a rolling or finishing mill 203 and converted to a iinished pro-duct, indicated by the coil 204. Some o~ all oi the ~nter-mediate product may be direrted in adrance o~ unit 203, as indicated in dotted lines, to be stored at 205. They may then be sub~equently charged into areheating iurnace 206 and entered, a~ indicated by the dotted line 207, into the 8ame or other ~inishing unit 203.

" ~ .

3L08~173 b As thu~ illustrated, tbe molten metal is continuouslg converted into a layer or strip, then lnto a billet or slab or like body as an intermediate product of greater thic~nes~ than ~`~
the original cast layers than the ~inal product into which the metal is to be converted, and thiæ intermediate body i8 there-after rolled or ~orged into the ~inished product.
In all o~ the foregoing embodiments, a siDgle casting ~-unit produces a multiple oi lengths or widths, or both, ~rom a continuous strand that ig then cut into lengths or strips or both and layered together to produce a unitary casting by layering one above another and pres~ure welding them. In the subsequent figure~, a single casting unit is arranged to pro-duce pieces which are the length of the product to be formed and ~hich are layered to produce integrated bodie~, or, alter-natlvely produce a strand which is a m~ltiple o~ the length of -the product to be produced and which are layered by folding the casting on itself untll a product of the required thickness -~
results.
In Figures 16, 17 and 18, there is disclosed a method and apparatus ~here1n a continuously formed strand is delivered to a layering device ~herein the strand is folded upon itseli and the layers pressure ~elded. The strand is ~evered a~ter a length, corresponding to a multiple o~ the product length and sufficient to produce a product of the desired thickness, has ~; -been formed and most of lt has been supplied to the folding '~
unit ~here it i9 then severed and the formation oi a succeeding ;~
slab or billet then ~ollows in the sa~e manner. ~-In the ~igures, 210 is a reciprocable table having ~ ~;
a reversing drive, schematically indicated at 211. The table has a reces~ in the top filled with a heat insulating material '' , ';. ' ~
'' . .` ` . ' . ` ' `. . ` ' ', : . . , . ~ !

1(~89173 212 of a length and width greater than the corresponding dimension~ o~ the product to be ior~ed, and, when desired, it may be provided wlth e~bedded electric reststance or inducti~e heating conductors (see Figure 18) 213 connected wlth an energizing current source, not shown~
There is a tiltable frame 214 with trunnion~ 215 at oppo~ite side~ carried ln iixed supports 216, ~hown irag~entarily in Figure 17 only and about which the frame 214 may rock in a vertical arc. At equal distances from the axes of the trun-nionæ there are pre~ure rollers 217 and 217a and the axes of the trunnions are desirably centered on the line of centers between the rollers 217 and 217a. An estension 214a oi the fra~e at 214 at each side of the frame is pivotally connected to the upper end# oi piston rods 218a ~ith pistons, not shown, in fluid pressure cylinders 218, one such piston and cylinder ;
being at each side o~ the frame, and each of which is pivoted --at 219 to a ~upporting frame, not sho~n, in a manner ~ell kno~n in the art to accommodate ior the arcuate movement of the exten~ions 214a as the piston rods move up and down. -` 20 The heated layer or ~trand 8 of ~etal, for~ed in variou~ ways as hereinbefore described, is directed do~n~ardly through a heat insulating and, if nece~sary, ~n electrically heated enclosure 2~0 into the bight bet~een rolls 217 and 217a.
' There i~ a ~hear 221 at the exit end of the enclosure 220. ;~-Assu~ing that the table i~ moYing to~ard the right as indicated by the iull line arrow in Figure 16~ the roll 217 is depressed to bear on the hot strand descending between the rolls 217 and 217a to be pre~ed onto the top of the partially formed product 222 and thereby pressure roll and weld it to -~ 30 the underlying layer of metal on the product being formed on .

., .. ~ . . .. .
.
., , . , . ~. ~ . . .
.

1()89~73 the table. When table 210 reaches lts rlght limit of travel, the pressure cyllnder~ 218 will be operated to lift roll 217 and lower the leit roll 217a and the carrlage will re~erse to fold the metal the other way and then be flattened down by roll 217a and pressure welded to the previously completed layer, the dotted arro~ indicating this rever~e travel of the table.
As the product reaches the deslred iinal thicknes~, the shear 221 will be operated by a counter or thickness detecting switch mean~ of any well known or preferred type 80 that the last layer will be complete and the product will com-pri~e a single length o~ metal, layered and fused, the length oi metal in the strand being a multiple of thenu~bgr oi individual layers of wh~h the finished product is comprised. `~
No arrangement for removing the slab or casting when finished has been shown, but one tnble may be provided to be ~ ;
run into place to replace the one to be unloaded or the ca~ting may be slid endwise from the table onto a receiving conveyor or carriage. As indicated by broken lines in Figures 16 and 17, the apparatus is pre~erably contained within an enclosurs to which an inert, i.e. nonoxidizing, gas is supplied and ~rom -~
which air is removed to avoid oxidation of the metal.
Figures 19 and 20 show in schematic longitudinal vertical section and in a top plan vie~, respectively, a further modlf~cation wherein a moving chill surface iQ diBcontinuous to intermittently form ~eparate sections or lengths in~tead o~
... . . .
being continuous as in all of the hereinbefore described casting . :,. ~ .. '. .
apparatus. A~ here shown, there is a casting roll designated ~;
generally as 230 on a shaft designated generally as 231 and which is driven in the dlrection of the arrow shown in Figure 19 by driving means, not shown. The roll 230 has a chill . . ~ , .

-3~-1~89~3 sur~ace 232 extending ~round the greater portion of its per~phery. Th~s chill suriace ~urrounds and ~orm~, in part, a water cooling space 233. There 18 a recess 234 formed acro~s the ~ace Or the roll ~ormlng a gap in the chill suriace o~ a relatively ie~ degrees o~ arc around the periphery of the roll. In this reces~ there is an insert or segment 235 of lcw heat conductivity, being iormed mainly o~ a refractory, and its surface i~ ilush with the chill sur~ace and concentrlc with the axi~ of rotation of the roll. It may have heater elements embedded therein, as indic~ted at 236, to a~sure oi its being hot enough to prevent the molten ~etal fro~
solldifying thereon.
The shaft 231 for the roll comprises an inner tubular passage 231a connected with a supply of cooling water, not shown, and ~hich i8 ~urrounded by a concentric tube 231b forming a cooling water discharge duct, as ~ndieated by the arrow at 231e in Figure 20. Radial pas~age means 231d pro-vide for the ~low o~ water from the central passage to the peripheral water eooling ~paee 233 and passage means 231e provide an outlet irom the opposite limit oi said spaee arcuately iroa the inlet and diseharging it to tube 231b.
There is a refractory shoe 237 loeated against, or very close to, the upper left quadrant oi the roll 230 with a central passage 238 through ports 239 through ~hich molten metal is supplied to the cavity or pocket 240 formed between the ~hooand the periphery of the roll. This cavity or poc~et open~ upwardly in the direction of rotation of the roll which, as here sho~n, is cloek~i~e and retains a pool of molten ~etal against that portion oi the periphery oi the roll which at any moment is submerged beneath the said pool. As the roll rotates, , ~.

....... .
~, r.

lO~gl73 ~ thin l~yer of met~l ~olidiIies on the water-cooled suriace and Iresh metal is continuou~ly supplied through pa~sage 238 and ports 239 as metal ln the pool i~ removed. llhen the reiractory ~egment moves beneath the pool oi molten metal, none of it solidiries against said sur~ace. Belo~ the ~ur-face OI the roll 230 there may be a trough or pan 232a for holding a release compound into which surface 232 oi the roll dips to enable the castine to be more easllr stripped from the ~auri'ace oi' the rollO ~ ~imilar result may be achieved, OI
course, by operating ~he chill sur~ace continuously bu* ~ ;
periodically cutting oi'f the supply of molten metal to the pool.
Above the roll there is a track ~tructure cc~prising a center section 240 along which a supporting table or plate 241 moves ~rom leit to right Iirst over the roll 230 generally ;
tangent thereto. The solidiiying layer oi metal on roll 230 .
is stripped ~rall the drum with the aid o~ stripper 242, and held against the undersur~ace of the plate magnetically or ~
si~ply by the counterpressure exerted by a weighted or spring- ;
biased counterpre~sure roller 243, and subsequently by the pairs oi pres~ure rolls 244 and 245. A~ter the initlal pass -~
oi the plate over the roll 230, subsequent layers will be sup~
plled, each against the preceding one until a slab of the required thickness ha~ been produced.
The track structure has a run-out end section 246 to . ~ . .
the right of the center section 240 onto which the plate 241 travels between pairs of rollers 245, then elevated to travel `~-in the reverse dlrection between pair~ oi rollers 247 and ~urther bet~een rolls 247a, on track section 248 and lowered ~-to repeat a pal3s over the top of the casting roll ~here a ; ", , ,", - , .

1()~9173 ~econd and, ln a ~imilar cycle, succeedlng larers are pres~ure iused to the prev~ously applied layer until the ~lab has attalned the requlred thickness.
Each cycle starts with the right end of plate 241 in line with a vertical line oi centers extending ~rom roll 230 to counterpressure rollers 243. It will be noted that there is a heat insulating slab 241a therein, set back ~rom the leading edge of the plate. Also, at the start of the cycle, the heated segment i8 immersed under the molten metal in the cavity 240.
As the rotation o~ the roll 230 atarts, the plate 241 begins moving toward the right, and as the leadlng edge of the solidified layer on the water-cooled area o~ the roll 230 is lifted o~i roll 230, it is pre~sed between roll 230 and the leading end of the insert 241a. When the roll 230 has -~
co~pleted one conplete revolution and the refractory segment ~-is again in the "start" position, the plate 241, ~hicb is now ~
supported on track section 246, ~ill be raised by liiting the ~ ~ -track section and placed pa~sed over the casting roll but at an elevated level above it to the left onto elevated track sec-tion 248, ~hich is then lowered and the plate moved toward the right to its "start" position, Thi~ is but one ~ay in ~hich individual sections are ~ ;
formed and layered without any cutting of a continuous ~trip.
Of course, the apparatus of Figures 16 to 18 could be used by ~ - ~
feeding the successive individually cast pieces down the ~ ~ -e lo~ure 220 o~ Figure 16, but no ~hear ~ould be required. ~ -~ith such an arrangement, a separately cast length could be layered on eaeh pass o~ the table beneath rolls 217 and 217a ~-or with each pass in one direction only, Various other ,'.' ~ ~ ''~' ., :

-40- ~

1~)89173 apparatus, as herein dlsclosed, may be used ~or layering the successive length~. Blllets may be changed ln length by increa~lng the heated segment of the ca~ting roll and decreaslng the length o~ the chill sur~ace, sub~tltuting one roll ~or another.
Al~o, in the ~oregoing de~cription, any apparatus or procedure illustrated in any o~ the ~igure~ may, where relevant, be used with or ~ubstituted ~or a part having a llke ~unction in any other ~igure, such as for exa~ple, a chilled roll as shown in Figures 1 and 2, may be substituted ~or an endless belt casting unit or vice versa and elements or means or ~teps shown in one ~odi~ication may be used ~here applicable ~ -~
in other modi~ications.
In each o~ the several appæratus e~bodiments and ~ethods herein ~hounand described, there i8 a single or primary castlng unit, operating continuously or inter~ittently, capable o~ provlding all of the piece~ or layers required to produce a ,~.
complete billet, whereas, in ~y earlier filed application, a `~
minimum o~ two casting units, one ior formlng an under-layer and one ~or ~orming an over-layer, are required and for each addi~
tional layer another casting unit is neces~ary. This casting unlt o~ this invention may ~orm individual pieces directly or include means ~or continuou~ly ~orming a casting with shearing - means ~or dividing the casting as ~ormed into separate pieces ; or layers. Also in the present application successlvely ~ormed pieces are stacked at a temperature where the last layer will pressure weld to a previously ~ormed layer so that a p~s through a ~ingle pressure unit, which, however, may co~prise successive step~, as in Figures 8 and 9, where pressurs plates e~ect an initial ~u~ion which may be improved by subsequently ,~

, .. . . . .

rolling the assembled slab. In my sald copending application thera are required to be ~eparate roll ~tand~ for each added layer, The pre~ent inventlon also provides a production llne in which one stacking unit or operation takes care o~ stacklng all of the pleces ~rom a ~lngle casting unit. Thls, however, does not exclude a method or apparatus as disclosed ln Figure

7, ior example, where two casting unlts may ~upply layers to the same stacking and pressing rolls ~uccessively or by inter- -lea~ing strands fro~ t~o casting unit~ where a thlcker blllet is to be ~ormed than can be produced econo~lcally on a single ~-casting unit, or where, as disclo~ed in Figures 12-14, a ~ -single pre~sure roll unit 140 accepts indivldual pieces to $orm successive layers of a billet cast in castine unit 145 and line 150 and ~hich, at the same time, accept~ ~tacked and initially welded pieces irom line lSl and provides a second pres~ure rolling pass ~or finishing slabs assembled on stacking units 170 and 170'.
The term "casting unlt," as herein used and unless othor~ise stated, comprises either n arrangement ~herein the `~ ;
casting roll delivers individually formed ~eparate layers or pieces or where it delivers a single strand that is sheared to produce separate layer~ or pieces while the pieces are still hot enough, either as sheared or-with added heat to be pres~
sure welded to the con~ronting surface of a previously formed layer. The terms "stacking unit" or "layering unit" include apparatu~ where the cast pieces or layers are brought together -~
in superimpo~ed relation and face to iace contact, and the ter~
"pressure ~lding unit" ~or applying pres3ure, either by rolls or opposed pres~ platens or the like, may, in many cases, be also a part of the stacking or layerlng operation The term .. ~, ........ . .. . .
, . ~ . . . . . ............................... ..,, - . . . ~ . , . . ~

1089173 ~

"pre~sure welding unlt" may al~o de~ine an arrangement a~
shown, for example, ln Figure 13 ~here an initial pres~ure i8 applied in press 170-171 or 170'-171' and final con~olidation is e~fected in roll stand 140. Also it includes apparatu~ a~
disclosed in this ~igure where a slitting roll, as 62 in Figure 7, would divide the strand length~i~e into t~o piece~, one of which would be moved o~er top o~ the other and initially pressed together in unit 170-172 to then be discharged onto bed-plate 160 to await the discharge of a second pair to be then passed through rolls 140, Alternately a pair of two may first be fused together in pres~ 170-172 and then moved through roll~ 140 to receive a second pa~r ~ro~ pres~ 170'-172' and then returned to the first position and thus alternated until a piece of the required thickness had been completed. :~
It may be iurther noted that the terms "billet" and "slab" a~ used herein to designate the composite body produced as herein described are not strictly limited to bodies in~ended to be converted to a finished product by reheating, but i~
intended primarily to indicate shape, as a billet primarily ind~cates a shape which i# thicker and more nearly of square section while slab refers to a product the width of which 18 much greater than the thickness. Each term, however, i8 used in the sense o$ a semi~inished product intended to be sub-~equently converted to a finl~hed product by further wor~ing, hot or cold.
In addition, or in lieu o~, the means herein illustrated for supplying heat to the piece~ as they move bet~een the casting unlt and the pressure welding unit, torches, :
inductive heating means, etc. may ~e located at the bight where pre~ure rolls engage the layer or layers to supply heat , .

1()89173 locally to a~sure adequate pre~ure weldlng of the layers, but ~or clarity oi illustration and the small ~cale of the drawings, have not been ~ho~n.
Typically, each cast layer in a billet or 31ab will be o~ the ~ame thlckness and this thicknes~ uill be in the range o~ perhaps 2 mm. to about 5 mm., but may be thinner or sllghtly thlcker. The invention will doubtles~ ilnd applica-tlon principally ln smaller ~hop~ and in specialty ~teel production, but thi~ ls not necessarily the case.
It i8 al80 well kno~n to metallurgi~ts that, in processes such a~ this ~here intercrystalline dif~uslon take~
place, time and temperature are signiiicant variables, 90 that in some ca~es it may be desirable to retain the pre~ure ~elded ~;
product at elevated temperature in the nonoxldizing atmosphere to take adhntage o~ these factors before e~posing the product to ambient temperature.

;.

:

Claims (27)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. The method of converting molten metal into semi-finished products for subsequent conversion into finished products, wherein: (a) molten metal from a common heat substan-tially free of slag is congealed on a single casting unit with a moving chill surface on which the molten metal congeals and -discharging the casting so formed from the unit as a plurality of non-laminated thin sections; (b) transporting the sections as formed to an assembly unit where they are assembled into bodies of predetermined thickness with one section in face-to-face relation with another and with each section at a tempera-ture where it will pressure weld to the contacting surface of another; and (c) effecting pressure welding of the bodies so assembled and discharging them when the entire assembly has been integrated by welding.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the sections are discharged as individual sections in succession from the casting unit and transported individually and in succession to the assembly unit.

3. The method defined in claim 1 in which heat is supplied to each section between its initial formation and its assembly into an assembled body.

4. The method defined in claim 1 in which heat loss from each section is retarded during its transportation to the assembly unit and the metal retained at a temperature where it will pressure weld to the previously formed section against which it will be placed but below its melting temperature.

5. The method defined in claim 4 wherein the metal sections are removed from the casting unit and transported to an assembly unit where they are stacked for pressure welding wherein they are simultaneously inductively heated and electromagnetically conveyed at least in part during their transport from the casting unit to the layering unit.

6. The method defined in claim 1 in which the thick-ness of the consolidated product may be selectively increased by additionally supplying multiple sections from a secondary casting unit and assembling said additional multiple sections with those from the primary casting unit and consolidating the additional sections in the same body with the sections from the first casting unit in said common pressure welding unit.

7. The method defined in claim 1 in which the casting unit initially produces a thin, wide, flat continuous strand that is then severed into a plurality of separate sections which are then assembled and integrated.

8. The method defined in claim 7 wherein the thin, wide, flat continuous strand is severed transversely of its length into separate sections.

9. The method defined in claim 8 in which each section is at least the length of a single layer in the assembly forming the consolidated product.

10. The method defined in claim 7 in which each section is a multiple of the length of a layer in the said assembly and said multiple length section is folded end-over-end in being assembled and consolidated into a product formed of several layers.

11. The method defined in claim 7 in which the continu-ous strand is severed lengthwise into multiple sections which are layered one upon another.

12. The method defined in claim 11 in which the continuous strand is severed lengthwise and crosswise into multiple sections of predetermined length and which are then simultaneously assembled into a unitary body of predetermined length and width, with all of the layers in each body so assembled pressure welded to each other into an integrated unit, removing each said integrated body when completed and forming another.

13. The method defined in claim 1 in which a non-oxidizing atmosphere is maintained about the casting unit, the assembling of the layers and the pressure welding unit.

14. Apparatus for converting molten metal into a product for subsequent conversion into finished products, comprising: (a) a primary casting unit comprising a moving chill surface and means for supplying to and retaining a pool of molten slag-free metal against said chill surface whereby a layer of rapidly non-laminated solidified metal of substantially uniform fine crystal structure throughout is formed and carried by the chill surface away from the pool; (b) means for removing the thin layer of metal so formed on the chill surface and transferring it to an assembly unit; (c) an assembly unit to which the thin layers from the casting unit which are transported to it are stacked in full face-to-face metal contact to form the layers into all metal bodies comprising a predetermined number of layers; (d) means for maintaining the stacked body at a welding temperature below the melting temperature of the metal; (e) a common consolidating means for applying pressure to effect pressure welding of the stacked layers into a unitary body comprised of the fine crystal structure of the original layers; and (f) means for removing the bodies so formed after pressure welding has been completed.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 in which the layers so delivered to the assembly unit comprise a succession of separate pieces.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein the casting unit, transporting means and consolidating means are contained in a common enclosure in which a substantially non-oxidizing environment is maintained.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein means is provided for maintaining the sections at a temperature at which pressure welding may be effected between the stacked layers in the assembly unit but below the melting temperature of the metal sections to thereby preserve its original fine crystal structure.

18. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein the primary casting unit is a continuously operating unit in which molten metal is continuously solidified into a thin, wide strand, and means for dividing the strand into sections before they are transferred to the assembly unit.

19. Apparatus as defined in claim 18 in which the means for dividing the thin, wide continuous casting into sections severs the strip longitudinally into a plurality of strips, and the assembly unit is arranged to stack all of said plurality of strips in layered arrangement in a single operation.

20. Apparatus as defined in claim 19 wherein the means for dividing the thin, wide casting into sections is arranged to produce strip sections of different width and uniform lengths and the assembly unit is arranged to stack all of the strips of the same width in successive layers to form bodies of a predetermined number of sections, said pressure welding means being arranged to consolidate the successive layers of the bodies of different widths, and common means for simultaneously discharging all of the bodies after they have accumulated a predetermined number of layers.

21. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 in which the assembly unit and the consolidating means comprises at least one pressure roll arranged to apply pressure to the stack which is being assembled and the assembly means comprises a support for the stack wherein means is provided for effecting relative longitudinal reciprocable travel between the pressure roll and the stack.

22. Apparatus for converting molten metal into billets or slabs comprising: (a) a vessel for holding a heat of metal to be transformed into billets or slabs; (b) a casting unit to which said vessel delivers molten metal, said unit comprising a moving, continuously driven chill surface with means for retaining a pool of molten metal supplied from said vessel against the chill surface, said moving chill surface being arranged to constantly contact the pool of metal and remove therefrom a thin layer of metal congealed to its surface when it emerges from the pool as a continuous layer; (c) the casting unit having means for stripping the layer of congealed metal from the chill surface and dividing it, while it is in a freshly congealed state and still at a high temperature near its congealing temperature into sections; (d) means for transferring the sections to a stacking apparatus; (e) means for receiving and stacking the sections one upon another in full face-to-face metal contact in a plurality of layers of predetermined thickness;
(f) a common pressure welding unit in which the sections so stacked are pressure welded into uniform bodies; and (g) said means for transferring the sections to the stacking apparatus being arranged to effect such transfer while each section is at a temperature where it will pressure weld to the adjacent layer in the stack but below its melting point.

23. Apparatus as defined in claim 22 wherein the means for dividing the cast layer separates the layer transverse-ly of the direction of its travel into a succession of pieces of uniform length and the stacking means is arranged to layer said pieces into successive multilayered bodies of predetermined length and thickness, the pressure welding means being arranged to pressure weld each layer after the first one to the preceding one as the stacking of the layers is effected.

24. Apparatus as defined in claim 23 in which the receiving and stacking apparatus comprises a reciprocable bed-plate.

25. Apparatus as defined in claim 23, in which the reciprocable bed-plate has a heat insulating insert on which the stack is layered.

26. Apparatus as defined in claim 23 in which the transfer means comprises also means for supplying heat to the successive sections sufficient to assure that each section, when stacked and subjected to pressure welding, will be at a temperature where it will pressure weld to the preceding layer but below a liquidus temperature.

27. Apparatus as defined in claim 22 in which the stacking and pressure welding unit are combined into a single apparatus having opposed platens, one of which is movable toward and away from the other.