Metallurgy and casting

The repair and manufacturing of caster segment rolls has been a core competency of SMS group and its predecessor companies for over 50 years. Regardless of OEM or segment roll design, SMS group has a weld overlay process we can customize to decrease wear and corrosion of caster segment rolls.  Long-bodied roll, short-bodied rolls, or shell type rolls are not welded by the same process and overlay chemistries are varied and address specific caster issues.

Our support team includes degreed metallurgists and welding engineers. Roll tracking is a vital service provided and is needed to develop an optimized process for a given caster and customer. The goal is to extend segment life by preventing roll issues from being a primary reason for segment removal. Our years of experience in repairing continuous caster segments allows us to review the whole segment roll assembly. We can, in turn, suggest and make improvements to bearing housing designs, roll axles, and coupling to allow your segments to achieve record tonnages.

At our Oil City and Osceola locations, we supply broad-face and narrow-face mold plates for conventional slab, bloom, thin-slab, and near-net-shape casters. We can recondition; recoat using the full range of hard-facing coatings; and restore both conventional and high-speed caster molds to their original specifications. We also modify copper plates, manufacture new ones, and are the only source for NanoGuard^® and UniGuard^® Mold Coatings, which provide unique hardness and heat resistance. We custom design and build the highest quality molds and provide technical and manufacturing services plus customer service programs to track performance, analyze cost, and efficiently manage copper inventories. We also manufacture, repair, and calibrate gauges that help improve mold and continuous caster performance.

SMS group's solutions-oriented troubleshooting services are tailored to a caster’s operational requirements and use an experienced technical staff, modern thermal and stress modeling services, and years of caster mold maintenance experience to help ensure peak performance, maximize product quality, and reduce downtime.

Using our experience, equipment, technical know-how, and leading edge technologies, SMS group can restore or upgrade water-cooled oxygen lances to like-new or better-than-new condition. Operating a lance with as little as 1/4-inch tip wear or one to two inches of tip misalignment can result in poor refining performance and accelerated furnace refractory wear. Our knowledgeable repairs and upgrades can minimize or eliminate these pitfalls, improve operational safety, and extend lance service life.

To provide superior lance maintenance services, SMS group has partnered with the Tallman Bronze Company, one of the largest and most experienced lance component manufacturers in the world. Together we can expertly restore water-cooled oxygen, post-combustion, and deskulling lances from all manufacturers to original OEM specifications.  We also provide upgrades to reduce maintenance costs and improve product quality. 

Lances often get bent in the distributor area, which effects alignment. Because bent and misaligned lances can damage costly refractory materials, SMS group and Tallman Bronze have developed an Internal Lance Support System (ILSS). This patented system strengthens lances without impeding the flow of cooling water or impacting performance.  It makes them less likely to get bent and damage refractory and do not need cumbersome protective sleeves for handling.