Improving continuous casting quality and productivity is a high priority for any steel caster. Top steelmakers strive to produce more, higher quality steel in less time and with less downtime. But that’s often easier said than done.
This is where data and analytics can step in. With the right data and the right tools to make sense of it, your continuous casting process can be understood.
Not sure how data fits into the equation? Here are 3 reasons why steel casters need data to improve continuous casting quality.
01. Data Helps You Understand What Problems Are Happening
The continuous casting process has traditionally been difficult to optimize. In many facilities, you can’t know if something is wrong until quality begins to degrade or after a breakout happens. The problems are not transparent, so operators rely on their own experience to choose which of hundreds of variables may be at issue. This means operators are often adjusting casting parameters or replacing parts unnecessarily, which is a problem for a few reasons.
- Your facility is unnecessarily spending money on new parts it doesn’t need.
- Your operators are spending time replacing a part that doesn’t need replacing.
- You’re not efficiently solving the right problem.
- Your facility is adding to casting downtime and quality downgrades by guessing at the cause of the problem.
With your caster instrumented with sensors that can detect minute changes throughout the casting process, you can gather the data you need to determine exactly what is happening when quality or productivity begin to degrade. With this information, your operators can address the appropriate concern quickly, which means you’re only spending time and money where it will improve continuous casting quality.
02. Data Helps You Understand Why Those Problems are Happening
Taking this line of thinking even one step further, with the right data, continuous casters can not only determine what the problem is but also why it’s happening. Sometimes one data source can be identified as the source of a problem, but more often, it is the result of a particular combination of circumstances. Looking at data from a variety of sources can identify relationships between variables and identify the effects changes make on the product and process.
Over time, you can analyze data to uncover patterns and gain greater understanding of your particular caster and casting process. Combining current data with historical data provides deep insights that can support your plant efficiency and improve continuous casting quality.
03. Identify Problems That Can Be Solved With Data
With a wealth of data across multiple touchpoints in your continuous casting process, your team can begin to identify the problems you can solve with that data. Kiss Technologies customers, for example, can answer questions like:
- How can we reduce defects?
- How can we reduce breakouts?
- Which casting parameters are optimal?
- Which mold powder is best for each steel grade?
- What is the mechanical condition of our caster components?
- How can we optimize and reduce downtime?
- How can we increase casting speed?
With comprehensive data collection across the casting process, you will be armed with the tools that can solve any problem. Data can answer questions, and it can also reveal potential risks, allowing you to solve issues before they become costly production mistakes. That’s data-based decision-making at its finest.
Take the Guesswork out of Continuous Casting with Kiss Technologies
The continuous casting industry has historically been one of trial and error. This doesn’t work if you need to increase productivity, improve quality or cast new high-tech grades of steel. A lack of data insights can seriously put you at a disadvantage in today’s competitive industry.
Bring real-time visibility to the casting process with Kiss Technologies’ CasterANALYTICS platform. Our team of steelmaking experts will help you store, manage, analyze, and make sense of your data. You’ll get scientific insight into your continuous casting process, arming you with the information you need to make data-based decisions.
If you’re ready to put data to work for you, Kiss Technologies has the data solutions you’re looking for. Get in touch with our team for more information