CUTTING DEVICE WITH SLIDABLY LINKED SUPPORTING POINTS

1,222,574. Cutting continuous castings. MESSER GRIESHEIM G.m.b.H. and DEMAG A.G. 18 April, 1968 [18 April, 1967], No. 18327/68. Headings B3F and B3V. [Also in Division B5] A cutting machine 6 moves synchronously with a continuously cast strand 1 as the latter is moved over a fixed roller bed 2, 3, 4 and is borne by a chain of linked supports 20 which may form an endless chain 5 rotated by driving wheels 13, 14 as shown or may form an open reciprocated length of chain; in order to align the strand point C to be cut (by saw or oxygen jet 12 of the cutter) with the mid-point of a gap between two adjacent supports to avoid damaging the supports, the rear driving wheels 13 are retarded or accelerated before cutting is started to open out or crowd the supports 20 before the starting position B of the cutter 6. The chain 5 comprises strand-supporting bars 20 with links 18a or 18b at their ends. The axles of supporting rollers (which run in rails over the strand-supporting region) pass through circular holes in links 18b and slots in the alternate bifurcated links 18a, to permit the relative opening out or crowding of the chain parts. Instead the links may be connected by springs. A throughput-measuring device 8 measures the distance from a cut A to the new point C to be cut and causes an associated feeler 11 to check the position of the supporting bar 20a which is nearest the point B. If, as shown, this is too near the point B, this would mean that a following bar 20b would be in the same position when C coincided with B. To avoid this, a signal is automatically sent to accelerate the drive of the wheels 13.