Continuous Casting Process for Steel Billets
How liquid steel becomes a solid billet in continuous casting, and what controls quality.
The basic process
Liquid steel flows from a ladle into a tundish and then into a water-cooled copper mould. A solid skin forms, and the strand is drawn down through spray cooling until it solidifies fully. It is then cut to length.
Why refine first
The steel is refined in a ladle furnace to adjust chemistry and temperature, and degassed under vacuum for forging grades. Cleaner steel gives billets with fewer inclusions.
Process controls that matter
Casting temperature and speed, mould lubrication, cooling rates and electromagnetic stirring in some plants all affect centre soundness and surface quality.
Typical billet defects
Centre segregation, porosity, surface cracks, and oscillation marks. Process control and testing are used to limit them. See the guide to billet defects and quality checks.
Related guides
What Is a Steel Billet? Sizes, Grades and Uses
A plain guide to steel billets: how they are made, typical sizes, grades and where they are used.
Steel Billet Defects and Quality Checks
Common billet defects, what causes them and which tests find them.
Reduction Ratio: Why It Matters When Rolling or Forging Billets
How the reduction ratio between billet and finished section affects soundness, grain and ultrasonic test results.
Billet size chart · Weight calculator · Steel grade directory