One of the current trends in the metal market is growing demand for continuously cast steel billets produced with stopper casting technology. Thanks to systematic measures, the BOF shop team at Kamet-Steel has exceeded its initial annual targets and achieved production of 15,000 tonnes of high-quality billets per month at CCM-1, which is almost twice the monthly output of last year.
Mastering and refining the technology of casting steel using stopper mechanisms on Continuous Casting Machine No. 1 remains a key priority for the company's specialists, as it enables the production of steel with stricter requirements for chemical composition and macrostructure, generating higher profits compared with ordinary billets. Increasing production with this technology was set as one of the shop's top priorities, and the steelmakers are consistently working towards this goal. This year alone, CCM-1 has already cast 58,433 tonnes of high-quality billets, exceeding the 2024 annual output by more than 5,000 tonnes in just eight months.
Among the key measures to achieve these ambitious targets is the fine-tuning and improvement of the auto-start parameters of casting streams during stopper casting. This has had a positive effect on casting quality and productivity by reducing the impact of the human factor on the process. At the beginning of 2025, the success rate of CCM auto-starts was nearly 80 per cent; today, technologists have already achieved more than 90 per cent successful launches without switching to manual mode.
As part of the main steelmaking equipment modernisation programme, an investment project was implemented this year. At the first stage of the CCM-1 reconstruction, frequency converters were replaced, new cable and wiring installed, and the software updated. As a result, the performance of the withdrawal units improved, which enhanced casting smoothness and start-up stability.
Following this investment project, CCM-1 achieved a record in July: 16,159 tonnes of high-quality billets cast in a single month. To put it into perspective, the maximum monthly output of such billets last year was 8,256 tonnes.
Another important area of progress is increasing the sequence length during stopper casting. Additional technological measures have enabled the plant to reach an average sequence of almost six heats this year, compared with 5.3 heats on average in 2024.
Dmytro SHYTIKOV, Deputy Head of the BOF Shop for Casting, said:
"We are currently working on selecting more durable refractory materials, which will allow us to cast longer sequences. Preparations are also under way for the second stage of CCM-1 reconstruction, during which we plan to replace the motors and gearboxes of the withdrawal and straightening units. We are also enhancing the stopper casting expertise of our steel casting operators, and each shift team now has qualified specialists. At the beginning of the year, our target was to reach production of 10,000 tonnes of high-quality billets per month. Having successfully achieved that, we have set more ambitious goals: to maintain output of at least 15,000 tonnes per month by year-end, and to reach 100 per cent successful machine launches in auto-start mode."
