Plates we supply
- Broad face and narrow face plates for conventional slab casters
- Funnel-type plates for thin slab casters
- Plate sets for bloom and beam blank moulds
- Plates with or without thermocouple holes for breakout detection
Plates are made to your drawing or copied from a used plate.
Copper grades
Cu-Cr-Zr is the standard for slab plates: it keeps its strength and hardness at mould temperatures, so plates resist distortion and cracking. Cu-Ag gives higher conductivity and suits some narrow faces and lower-load moulds. We confirm the grade, hardness and conductivity against your specification. More in our article on plate materials and coatings.
Coatings
Plates are electroplated to protect the copper at the meniscus and the lower mould, where the shell rubs hardest. We supply nickel, nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) and cobalt-nickel coatings, with a graded thickness — thicker at the bottom — to give more casts between machining.
Refurbishment
Most plates can be re-machined and re-coated several times before they reach minimum thickness. Our partner workshop in South America removes the old coating, machines the face, repairs damage, re-coats and inspects the plate. This is often far cheaper than a new plate.
Quality control
Copper chemistry, hardness and conductivity; full dimensional check of the face, slots and bolt holes; flatness; coating thickness map; and pressure test of the water channels where needed. Reports go with every set.
Frequently asked questions
Can you refurbish our used plates instead of selling new ones?
Yes. Send the drawing and the current thickness. If the plate has enough copper left, refurbishment is usually the lower-cost choice.
Do you supply narrow faces only?
Yes. We quote single plates, narrow faces only, or full mould sets.
Are the plates made in China?
No. We source from production hubs in India, Southeast Asia and Turkey, and you contract with a US company.