Continuous casting, also called strand casting, is the process whereby molten metal is solidified into a “semi-finished” billet, bloom, or slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. Continuous casting is an energy-saving technique to cast the molten steel to a section shape or a certain size billet continuously and continuous casting machine is the equipment to complete this process.

Liquid steel is usually cast in continuous casting machines in the shape of billets, blooms, or slabs. In some plants, it is also being cast in continuous casting machines in the shape of thin slabs or dog bone sections. These shapes are processed by hot rolling by passing them through plain or grooved cylindrical rotating rolls to produce plates, sheets, rods, structural sections, and tubes etc.