OREANDA-NEWS. On 23 May 2008 was announced, that cold tests of a thin-billet continuous casting machine (CCM) have been launched at the Foundry and Rolling Facility (FRF), whose construction is underway in the Vyksa District, Nizhni Novgorod Region.

CCM, manufactured by Danieli, Italy, is part of the in-line equipment of the FRF Electric Furnace Shop (EFS) and its testing is an important stage of the prestarting operations that are now in progress. At present, all the units mounted on CCM are undergoing functional testing. Special emphasis is placed on technological process automation. The current work includes automatic equipment testing, programming, as well as parameter check-out and setting.

"The thin-billet CCM installed at FRF is unique for Russia and the FSU countries," said EFS Head Andrey Chernovol. Similar equipment is available in Egypt, China, Canada, North America, France, and Italy. Their equipment, however, is not as advanced as ours. At FRF, all the main processes will be automated."

The CCM cold tests are scheduled to be completed on June 14. That will be followed by the warm start and the first melting operations. The CCM will manufacture thin billets (width:  1,800 mm; thickness: 90 mm or 70 mm) to be used for manufacturing sheet-steel coils, FRF's main product. The steel assortment will vary with the needs of the primary consumers (Vyksa Steel Works and Almetyevsk Pipe Plant).

Besides the CCM, the following EFS facilities are to be commissioned: an arc-furnace, a ladle furnace, a system for loading loose materials, and a gas cleaning system.