Bearings for Continuous Caster

Continuous casters are a type of casting equipment that uses a continuous process to produce metal products. ADAPT bearings are bearings that are specifically designed for use in continuous casting applications.

Continuous casters are typically used to produce steel products such as billets, slabs, and thin sheets. They have a cooled copper mold that forms the outer shape of the desired product and a pouring opening for introducing the molten metal into the mold. The continuous casting process involves continuously introducing molten metal into the mold, cooling the metal to solidify it, and then withdrawing the solidified metal from the mold.

ADAPT bearings are designed to handle the unique conditions of continuous casting operations. They typically have a larger diameter and thicker walls than standard bearings to handle the high loads and temperatures encountered during continuous casting. ADAPT bearings also have special coatings or lubrication systems to provide maximum wear resistance and extended bearing life under the severe operating conditions of continuous casting.

ADAPT bearings are typically mounted in the support structure of the continuous caster and support the mold as it is withdrawn from the solidified metal. They must be able to withstand the high loads and temperatures while maintaining accurate alignment and rotation to ensure a smooth and continuous casting process.

FV now offers various designs of roller bearings to continuous casters, including Spiral Spring Bushing Bearings, Spherical Roller Bearings, RUB Needle Roller Bearings, and SKF-CARB Bearings. However, with the industry continuously upgrading and innovating, Timken's ADAPT series bearings have become widely popular in steel plants across China, India, the United States, and other countries. FV bearings are designed to meet the requirements of steel mill users, and the company has been studying the ADAPT roller bearings of CCM since 2018. It is expected that the project of localizing ADAPT bearings will be completed in 2021, which will benefit the steel plant industry. FV bearings can help global steel plants save significant production costs.

ADAPT Roller Bearings

The ADAPT roller bearing is an innovative design that combines the benefits of both cylindrical and spherical roller bearings. It features a proprietary outer race and roller profiles, along with a cylindrical inner ring, resulting in a unique three-point contact design geometry, which enables the bearing to perform well in terms of misalignment and axial displacement while also optimizing the distribution of contact stress and promoting roller stability. As a result, this bearing offers superior reliability and dynamic performance.

The ADAPT bearing is made up of three main components - an inner ring, an outer ring, and a roller/retainer assembly. These components can be easily separated, which makes installation, removal, and inspection a breeze. The retainer is responsible for holding the rollers in place, ensuring that they don't get damaged during the mounting and dismounting process. One advantage of this bearing is its reversible inner and outer rings, which prevent common mounting errors. Best of all, no special tools are required. The accompanying image shows a three-quarter angle view of the three main ADAPT-bearing components - the inner race, cage, rollers, and outer race - against a white background.

ADAPT for Continuous Caster Applications

The metal industry operates in a challenging environment, which puts considerable demands on equipment. Therefore, maintaining operations and minimizing downtime is crucial, particularly for continuous casters where performance and reliability are of utmost importance. ADAPT has introduced an innovative design that sets a new standard for the preferred type of bearings used in the float position of strand roll support segments. Currently, the most popular ADAPT bearing models are TA4020V, TA4022V, TA4024V, TA4026V, TA4028V, TA4030V, TA4032V, and TA4034V. Let me know if you need any further assistance.

If you need detailed technical data on bearings, please consult the table provided below.

• The bearings have the following features:

• - Size range: from 100 mm to 170 mm bore (3.94 inch. to 6.69 inch.).

• - Their full-complement design comes with a roller retainer that helps to prevent roller fallout.

• - They can simultaneously handle full misalignment and axial displacement.

• - The unique internal geometry of the bearings optimizes contact stress and roller stability.

• - Standard ISO dimensions make it easy to interchange with toroidal and spherical roller bearings.

• - The bearings have a high static radial capacity that ensures maximum reliability.

• - They can handle misalignment of up to +/-0.5 degrees (8.7 milligrams).