Ingots are the most usual form in which, after melting, aluminium is supplied to the industry. Such ingots have long been produced in horizontal, trapezium-shaped moulds open at the top, of which several are connected to one another to form endless units, and go through a discontinuous casting process in cycles. The standard size of 50 lb (22.7 kg) has become established on the market. The Italian manufacturer Continuus-Properzi S.p.A., successful since the 1940s all over the world in the development and production of more than 300 continuous casting and direct rolling systems for the production of non ferrous wire rod, has years ago been seeking a method for producing ingots continuously as sections of an endlessly cast strand. From an intermediate step with a casting wheel diameter enlarged to 4.2 metres, a new technological concept called 'Track & Belt' has been developed. In this, smooth and safely stackable aluminium ingots are produced from a horizontally cast endless strand, cut into reproducible lengths with close tolerance limits.
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