Continuous casting

Continuous casting is used to produce very large quantities of metals in simple shapes, by casting & rolling the metal continuously in one process. The slabs are then generally further processed by methods such as rolling, extrusion or another casting method to make more useful items.

More about process methods can be found in the TLP on Metal Forming – Introduction to Deformation Processes.

Advantages:

• High yield of casting for a given volume of liquid, mainly thanks to the lack of a contraction pipe.
• Good surface finish.
• Extremely low unit cost due to the very high volume of metal that can be cast.

Disadvantages:

• A large capital investment is required to set up the process.
• Only simple shapes can be cast, which must have a constant cross-section.