The caster is designed for a nominal annual production of 850,000 tons and the casting of 180- millimeters-square billets.
The new five-strand continuous casting machine – called S1 by Saarstahl AG – is equipped with latest technological features such as Convex molds, hydraulic mold oscillators, mold and strand electromagnetic stirrers, mechanical soft reduction and an electrical & automation system prepared for the full implementation of Industry 4.0. The S1 casting machine at Saarstahl is the first caster in the world designed with mechanical soft reduction (MSR) technology for a billet cross section of 180 millimeters square. It produces billets in a wide range of steel grades, including bearing steel, spring steel, coldheading and free-cutting steels.
In addition to the technological features, the caster is equipped with a complex discharge system, with a turnover cooling bed equipped with a forced cooling system to cool the billets down to 100 °C.
_{(source: SMS group)}