Question 1

Continuous casting is more important than any other casting of steel because of several reasons
that follows:
For example we can refer to the ingot casting. In ingot casting the molten steel is poured into
larger molds compared to continuous casting. Then the ingots are placed in tightly covered
soaking pits. The pits are heated in order to raise the temperature of the ingot. The ingots are
rolled to the desired shape in a primary rolling mill. It may require more time in the soaking pits
to achieve the correct uniform temperature throughout the ingot. The total time required, from
ingot casting to rolling of the semi-finished shape (slab, bloom or billet) can be seven or more
hours.
The continuous casting process skips all these separate steps of ingot casting, mold stripping,
heating in soaking pits and primary rolling with just 1 operation. In certain cases, continuous
casting also replaces reheating and rerolling steps. The molten steel solidifies from the outer
cooled surfaces inward during the casting process. So that finally a fully solid slab, bloom or
billet is produced. Clearly, long production runs of a particular product are made easier and more
efficient with continuous casting.

Figure 1.1: Typical Continuous Casting Process


The main benefits of continuous casting over there casting are:
Considerable better energy savings, improved labor productivity (output), improved quality of
the steel and finally reduced pollution.
Energy Savings and Increased Yield. Continuous casting process saves energy directly through
the elimination of energy intensive steps. The elimination of soaking pits, reheating furnaces and
primary rolling mills reduces the consumption of fuels (natural gas, oil and in-plant by-product
gases) and electricity. In Japan, where one half of all steel is produced by the continuous casting
process, the direct energy saving is about 50% of that used in ingot casting.


Improved Labor Productivity The increase in labor productivity with continuous casting
results from elimination of the many steps of ingot casting, all of which demand direct labor
input.

Improved Quality of Steel Most industry personnel report an improvement in quality of some
continuously cast steels. The reduced number of steps and greater automatic control of the
process both lead to fewer defects in the steel. There have been steady improvements in the
process, particularly in the production of slabs for flat products requiring high surface quality.

Reduced Pollution It is generally recognized that continuous casting reduces pollution. The
soaking pits and reheating furnaces are eliminated; less energy is required; reduced energy
requirements leads, to less pollution produced. Hot steel is exposed to the atmosphere for a
shorter time, producing fewer particulate.


Figure1.2: Continuous Casting in Industry.



Question 2
Parts of the car which involves a sheet metal forming process.
Car Door:
Its all starts with carbon steel, an alloy that is strong n malleable. Machinery uncoils and
straightens the sheet metal. Then large blade slices it to desired lengths producing sheets called
blanks. These sheets undergo a press which is called hydroforming. The press forces the blank
to a die giving it a basic shape of two car doors. Next and automated device with fingers then
grips the newly shaped steel and transfers it to a punch cutter which separates the two doors and
removes the excess unwanted metals. Figure 2.1 shows the car door after the hydroforming
process.

Figure 2.1
Shock absorber
The shock absorbers 2 tubes, the outer one are the reserve tube and inside it the pressure tube
that houses the piston rod and compression valve. Both of this tube is made of steel sheet sliced
into stripes. Inside the tube mill cooling prevents the passing strip from overheating as the sheets
undergo rolling by 1 forming roller after another gradually rounds it into a tube. Then a copper
welding wheel fuses the tube closed. At last the cutting tool cuts the rolled tube into shock
absorbers length. Figure 2.2 show the sheet metal undergoes a few rollers until it gets the round
shape.

Figure 2.2
Fuel tank
It all starts with steel sheet which is nickel-plated to make the tank rust resistance. It is placed in
a hydraulic press that applies 800 tons of pressure. This compresses the sheet between 2 dies.
The press forces the male die up against the sheet and into the cavity of female die. To make the
top part of the tank or different type of tank they simply change the die. On the top of the tank
the stamping press imprints information such as the product and lot number and the
manufacturers name. A hydraulic punch then punches 2 holes 1 for the tube to fill the tank and
the other to vent it. Two metal wheels compresses the 2 sections of the tank together and water
cools the area as the machine called the seam welder fuses the upper and lower half of the tank.
Figure 2.3 shows the fuel tank after the press forming process.

Figure 2.3