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There exists among many in strip casting technology, a tacit acceptance that in the Jumbo 3CM, Pechiney has a strip caster with an edge on its rivals. This caster has now been brought together with Kvaerner Metals' rolling technology in a minimill package designed to roll thin strip and foil. By casting at 2mm, the Optifoil arrangement obviates the need for a cold mill. Thus the two companies have designed the plant to produce 20 OOOt/y and made it less capital intensive than existing low-end options.
Pechiney Aluminium Engineering and Kvaerner Metals have recently joined forces to design and promote a new type of plant for the production of about 20 OOOt/y of aluminium thin strip and foil products with a thickness range of 160µ down to 6.35/x. The target is to feed the thin strip and foil market, which is growing at nearly 3% per year worldwide and more than 5% in Asia.
The proposed plant covers all equipment from the foundry to the rolling and finishing equipment, including auxiliaries, handling and packing equipment. And it could be fed directly with liquid aluminium from a local smelter or with aluminium ingots.
The Optifoil concept - as it is known - has been made possible thanks to Pechiney Rhenalu's latest technological development in continuous strip casting: the !umbo 3CM thin strip caster.
The Kvaerner Metals thin strip rolling mill has been designed to roll either thin strip or foil products. This versatility necessitated the choice of non-conventional mill entry and exit mechanical equipment to ensure both product quality and high productivity. The plant includes also a finishing doubling foil mill.
THE PRODUCTS
The Optifoil...