WO2024170135A1

WO2024170135A1 - Scrap clearing system, metal-strip production line, and scrap clearing method

Info

Publication number: WO2024170135A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/086231
Authority: WO
Inventors: Heinz Fürst; Thomas Lengauer; Wolfgang Peitl; Juergen Scholler
Original assignee: Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH
Priority date: 2023-02-17
Filing date: 2023-12-18
Publication date: 2024-08-22
Also published as: EP4417332A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a scrap clearing system (1) for a metal-strip production line (50), in particular a combined casting and rolling system, to a metal-strip production line (50) having a scrap clearing system (1) of this type, and to a method (100) for clearing scrap from a metal-strip production line (50). A cutting means (10) for cutting up a metal strip (2) fed to the scrap clearing system (1) and a strip catcher (20) located upstream of the cutting means (10) in a transport direction (T) of the metal strip (2) are provided. The strip catcher (20) has a pivotably mounted catching arm (21).

Description

Scrap clearance system, metal strip production line and scrap clearance process

Field of technology

The present invention relates to a scrap removal system for a metal strip production line, in particular a casting-rolling composite plant, a metal strip production line with such a scrap removal system and a method for removing scrap from a metal strip production line.

State of the art

In metal strip production lines, in particular cast-rolling composite plants for endless strip production (endless strip production plant), (continuously) cast strands or slabs made from them are rolled into strips using a rolling mill. At the end of each production line, the rolled strip can then be wound up by a reel. Once the metal coil created during winding has reached a predetermined size or the wound strip has reached a predetermined length, the strip is cut in the transport direction in front of the reel using a traveling strip shear that follows the speed of the strip, such as a drum shear or the like. Winding of a new metal coil can then begin. To enable continuous production, additional reels are usually provided to which the rolled strip can be selectively fed.

Particularly with thin rolled strips, for example with a thickness of 1 mm or less, problems can arise due to the failure of components on the production line or when threading the strip into the reel due to the high elasticity or flexibility and the high conveying speed compared to thicker strips. For example, a so-called "gobble" can form, i.e. severe deformation of the strip in a section of the strip, which prevents further conveying of the strip. In this case, operation of the production line or casting-rolling composite plant must be interrupted and the affected section of the strip removed. This requires manually cutting the strip, for example by means of several flame cuts, and lifting the strip out of the production line, for example using an overhead crane. Such a procedure is usually very complex due to the length of the section of strip to be removed. For example, if a cobble occurs in the coiler area, the strip to be scrapped must be removed over a length from an induction furnace entrance in front of a finishing mill to the coiler area and also from a laminar cooling area between the finishing mill and the coiler area. This scrap must then be manually cut into a manageable format and disposed of.

It is known from WO 2009/121678 that in the event of an unplanned interruption in production, the continuous casting process in a casting-rolling composite plant can be maintained by a) cutting off a strand section using a first pair of shears, b) lifting a foot part of the strand section from a roller table using a lifting device, c) cutting up the primary material passing through the first pair of shears into scrap pieces using the first pair of shears, removing the scrap pieces and removing the strand section until the casting-rolling composite plant is ready for operation again.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to improve, in particular to facilitate and/or accelerate, the scrapping of a strip section in a metal strip finishing line.

This object is achieved by a scrap clearance system for a metal strip production line, a metal strip production line and a method for clearing scrap from a metal strip production line according to the independent claims.

Preferred embodiments are the subject of the independent claims and the following description.

A scrap removal system for a metal strip production line, in particular a casting-rolling composite plant, according to a first aspect of the invention has a cutting means for cutting a metal strip fed to the scrap removal system and a strip catcher arranged in front of the cutting means in a transport direction of the metal strip. The strip catcher has a pivotably mounted catching arm.

A cutting means in the sense of the present invention is preferably a device that is designed to cut a metal strip. The cutting means can cut a metal strip, for example, into a first strip section and a second strip section that follows it in terms of a transport direction. The cutting means can be designed, for example, as a strip shear, such as a hydraulically actuated toggle lever shear.

A strip catcher in the sense of the present invention is preferably a device that is designed to catch or catch a metal strip, in particular an incoming metal strip head end. The strip catcher can, for example, prevent the metal strip from running uncontrolled or at least unbraked over the end of a production line, in particular especially a combined casting and rolling plant. For this purpose, a conventional strip catcher has a collecting basket that blocks the transport path of the metal strip. A strip catcher is conveniently arranged behind the last reel in the production line in one transport direction.

One aspect of the invention is based on the approach of providing an arrangement comprising a cutting means for cutting a metal strip and, with respect to a transport direction of the metal strip, a strip catcher with a pivotable catching arm upstream thereof. This arrangement can be provided, for example, downstream of a last reel of a metal strip production line, in particular a casting-rolling composite plant, and expediently forms a scrap removal system. With the help of the pivotable catching arm, a transport path to the cutting means that is blocked during normal operation of the production line can be released. The cutting means at the end of the production line enables the automatic or at least semi-automatic shredding of a metal strip section to be scrapped, without this metal strip section having to be lifted out of the production line at great expense and subsequently (manually) shredded. As a result, the scrap removal system can significantly accelerate the removal of a strip section from the production line and thus shorten the downtime of the plant associated with a loss of production. In addition, the end cutting device can reduce the risk of injuries such as cuts or burns when manually cutting the strip. At the same time, the risk of damaging components of the production line, such as rollers or cooling heads, when carrying out the necessary flame cuts can be reduced.

Preferred embodiments of the invention and their further developments are described below. These embodiments can be combined with each other as desired and with the aspects of the invention described below, unless this is expressly excluded.

In order to be able to selectively release the transport path to the cutting means, in particular downstream of a last reel of the production line, the catch arm can be pivoted according to the invention between a catch position and a release position. The catch arm blocks the transport path through the scrap removal system in the catch position. For example, in the catch position the catch arm can protrude at least partially into a transport path of the metal strip in such a way that the metal strip is guided by the catch arm out of the transport direction into a catch basket. In this way the catch arm in the catch position can reliably prevent the metal strip from being undesirably transported to the cutting means during normal operation of the production line. This can prevent damage to the cutting means and/or uncontrolled escape of the metal strip from the production line at the end. In the release position, however, a metal strip fed into the scrap removal system can pass through the strip catcher. In the release position, the catcher arm can, for example, be swung out of the transport path of the metal strip.

In order to enable reliable transport of the metal strip to the cutting device in this case and to position the metal strip in a suitable manner for cutting if necessary, it is advantageous if a first transport means is provided for transporting the metal strip past the strip catcher. The transport means can be designed, for example, as a roller conveyor, in particular as a roller table with several rollers. At least some of the rollers are expediently actively drivable, i.e. provided with a drive or coupled. In this respect, the first transport means is preferably an active transport means. The first transport means also enables seamless integration of the scrap clearance system into the production line, for example by connecting it to the transport path to the last reel of the production line.

The first transport means preferably extends over a transport section in the transport direction in front of the strip catcher and a transport section in the transport direction behind the strip catcher, in particular up to the cutting means. For example, rollers of the first transport means can be provided both upstream and downstream of the strip catcher. In this respect, the transport means can transport the metal strip from the last reel of the production line to the cutting means or at least past the strip catcher.

In order to support the transport of a metal strip located in the scrap clearance system, a second transport means is preferably provided for feeding the metal strip into the cutting means, in particular selectively or specifically. This second transport means is expediently arranged behind the strip catcher and immediately in front of the cutting means in the transport direction. The second conveyor can, for example, have a conveyor roller, also referred to as a driver roller, which is set up to actively transport the metal strip. The second conveyor is expediently arranged or can be arranged in such a way that the transport path through the scrap clearance system runs at least partially between the first and second transport means. It is preferred that the metal strip is supported on an underside by the first transport means, for example the roller table, while the second transport means, for example the driver roller, is placed against an upper side of the metal strip with a predetermined pressure.

By means of the first and/or second transport means, a head end, ie the front end in the transport direction, of the metal strip or metal strip section to be scrapped can be positioned downstream of the cutting means, for example, in such a way that an actuation of the cutting means produces a manageable metal strip or scrap part. In order to be able to transport this scrap part easily, a container for receiving the scrap produced by the cutting means is preferably provided. The container is expediently arranged behind the cutting means in the transport direction, for example in such a way that the scrap parts can fall into the container. The container, also referred to as a scrap bucket, can in particular be a container.

The metal strip production line, in particular the casting-rolling composite plant, according to a second aspect of the invention has a scrap clearance system according to the first aspect of the invention. The scrap clearance system can be used to shorten downtimes caused by the occurrence of cobbles and the associated production losses of the production line. At the same time, the scrap clearance system enables an increase in operational reliability, since fewer operating personnel are required to remove a metal strip section from the production line and, in particular, fewer manual work steps, such as flame cutting, have to be carried out. In addition, less hall crane activity may be required.

The metal strip production line can, for example, have a roughing line, an induction furnace, a finishing line, a cooling section and one or more reels. In order to be able to remove the metal strip from such a production line automatically or semi-automatically and scrap it, for example if problems arise when threading the strip into one of the reels, the scrap removal system is preferably arranged after the last component of the production line in the direction of transport of the metal strip through the production line, in particular behind the last reel in the direction of transport. The scrap removal system can in particular be attached to the production line and thus extend the production line.

In a method for clearing scrap from a metal strip production line, in particular from a casting-rolling composite plant, according to a third aspect of the invention, a metal strip located in a metal strip production line is divided into a first metal strip section and a second metal strip section, the first metal strip section being located in front of the second metal strip section in a transport direction through the metal strip production line. The first metal strip section can in this sense be understood as a preceding metal strip section and the second metal strip section as a following metal strip section.

After cutting, the first metal strip section is removed from the metal strip production line. The second metal strip section is conveyed through the metal strip production line to a scrap removal system, arranged in particular downstream of a last reel, with a cutting means for cutting a metal strip fed to the scrap removal system and a strip catcher arranged in a transport direction of the metal strip in front of the cutting means. The strip catcher has a pivotably mounted catching arm, wherein the catching arm can be pivoted between a catching position, in which the catching arm blocks a transport path through the scrap removal system, and a release position, in which a metal strip fed to the scrap removal system can pass through the strip catcher. The second metal strip section is then divided by a dividing means of the scrap removal system into a plurality of metal strip pieces, which can also be referred to as scrap parts. The second metal strip section can be divided automatically or at least semi-automatically, so that operating personnel can be saved and operational reliability can be increased.

The metal strip is expediently first divided in such a way that the first metal strip section comprises a cobble, i.e. an undesirably deformed strip section. Since such a deformation makes further conveyance of the first metal strip section through the production line difficult or even impossible, the first metal strip section is preferably lifted out of the metal strip production line. For example, the first metal strip section can be lifted out of the production line by means of a crane.

In order to be able to initiate the removal of scrap from the production line, a catch arm of a strip catcher of the scrap removal system, which is arranged upstream of the cutting means in the transport direction, is preferably pivoted from a catch position to a release position before the second metal strip section is conveyed to the scrap removal system. In the catch position, the catch arm expediently blocks a transport path through the scrap removal system. In particular, the catch arm in the catch position can reliably prevent the metal strip from being undesirably conveyed to the cutting means during normal operation of the production line. This can prevent any damage to the cutting means and/or uncontrolled escape of the metal strip from the production line at the end of the line.

In the release position, however, the metal strip fed to the scrap clearance system can conveniently pass through the strip catcher.

If the transport path into the scrap clearance system or through the scrap clearance system is cleared, the metal strip conveyed to the cutting device can be cut into pieces of metal strip. Preferably, the pieces of metal strip are conveyed into a container arranged behind the cutting device in the transport direction. For example, the pieces of metal strip can fall into the container, also known as a scrap bucket. Collecting the pieces of scrap in the container allows these scrap parts to be transported away easily and efficiently.

A further increase in the efficiency of scrapping metal strip sections in the production line can be achieved by only splitting the metal strip in the first and the second metal strip section and the removal of the first metal strip section are carried out manually. In contrast, at least the cutting of the second metal strip section by means of the cutting means into a plurality of metal strip pieces, but preferably also the conveying of the second metal strip section to the scrap clearance system, in particular by the scrap clearance system to the cutting means, is carried out automatically or semi-automatically. This means that control or operation of the production line, in particular of the scrap clearance system, for example of corresponding conveyor devices and/or that of the cutting means, by operating personnel is not necessary or only necessary to a small extent, at least as far as the second metal strip section is concerned.

The properties, features and advantages of this invention, as well as the manner in which they are achieved, will become clearer and more clearly understood in connection with the following description of an embodiment, which is explained in more detail in connection with the drawings, in which, at least partially schematically:

FIG 1 shows an example of a metal strip production line with a scrap removal system;

FIG 2 shows an example of a method for clearing scrap from a metal strip production line; and

FIG 3 an example of a scrap clearance system.

Where appropriate, the same reference numerals are used in the figures for the same or corresponding elements of the invention.

Description of the embodiments

FIG 1 shows an example of a metal strip production line 50 with a scrap removal system 1. In addition to the scrap removal system 1, the metal strip production line 50, in the present example a casting-rolling composite plant for the continuous production of metal strips 2, has a casting machine 51, descaling devices 53, a roughing line 54, an induction furnace 55, a finishing line 56, a cooling section 57, a cutting device 58 and several, in the present example three, reels 59, 60, 61. The scrap removal system 1 is connected downstream of the last reel 61 with respect to a transport direction T of the metal strip 2 through the production line 50.

A partially solidified metal strand 63 is produced using a mold 62 of the casting machine 51. The casting machine 51 is followed by the descaling device 53 for descaling the strand 63. The strand 63 is then rolled into a pre-strip 65 by several, in the example shown three, pre-rolling stands 64a, 64b, 64c of the pre-rolling train 54. The pre- strip 65 is heated by the induction furnace 55 and descaled again by a further descaling device 53 in order to be able to avoid rolling scale into the strip in the subsequent finishing rolling mill 56. In order to obtain the desired final strip thickness, the finishing rolling mill 56 has several finishing rolling stands 66a, 66b, 66c, 66d, 66e, in the example shown five. In the cooling section 57, for example a laminar cooling area, the metal strip 2 rolled so thin is cooled to a temperature suitable for winding. After a metal coil made of wound metal strip 2 wound by means of one of the three reels 59, 60, 61 has reached a predetermined size, the metal strip 2 can be cut by means of the cutting means 58 and further wound on another of the three reels 59, 60, 61 to form a new metal coil.

In particular, when changing the currently active reel 59, 60, 61, i.e. when threading the metal strip 2 into another reel 59, 60, 61, deformations of the metal strip 2 can occur due to the high elasticity or flexibility of the metal strip 2 compared to the strand 63 or the pre-strip 65. Such a deformed area of the metal strip 2 can then no longer be transported or wound, so that the metal strip 2 builds up.

However, an unwanted deformation of the metal strip 2 and the associated build-up can also occur in principle on other components of the finishing train 50. This is particularly the case if further cutting means (not shown) are provided in the transport direction T before the roughing train 54 or the finishing train 56, for example to produce slabs or to cut the metal strip 2 after reaching a predetermined length.

The build-up and the associated further deformation of the metal strip 2 is referred to as "gobble" 71 and forces production in the production line 50 to be stopped. In order to be able to restart the production line 50, the cobble 71 must first be removed. Since the shutdown of the production line 50 and the subsequent resumption of operation results in undefined production parameters or at least the specified production parameters cannot be maintained, it often occurs that a section of the metal strip 2 located in the area of the cooling section 57 and/or the finishing rolling mill 56 does not meet any specified quality criteria when operations are resumed. Therefore, in addition to the cobble 71 or a first metal strip section 2a containing the cobble 71, this additional second metal strip section 2b must also be removed from the production line 50. The scrap clearance system 1 can be used for this purpose, as explained below in connection with FIG. 2.

FIG 2 shows a method 100 for clearing scrap from a metal strip production line, in particular a combined casting and rolling plant. In a method step S1, the metal strip located in the metal strip production line is divided into the first metal strip section and the second metal strip section. The first metal strip section is located in front of the second metal strip section in the transport direction. The metal strip is expediently divided manually, for example by means of appropriate flame cuts. This makes it possible in particular to separate the cobble from the metal strip. A strip section forming the cobble expediently corresponds to at least part of the first metal strip section. Accordingly, the second metal strip section expediently corresponds to the section of the metal strip that can in principle be further processed after the production line is restarted, but would then not meet the specified quality criteria.

The first metal strip section cut out of the metal strip is removed from the metal strip production line in a further process step S2. This is also conveniently carried out manually. For example, an indoor crane can be used for this purpose.

By removing the first metal strip section, in particular the strip section contained therein that forms the cobble, from the production line, the metal strip or the second metal strip section can again be transported unhindered in the transport direction through the metal strip production line. Accordingly, in a further process step S3, the second metal strip section is expediently conveyed through the metal strip production line, past the reels, to the scrap removal system. There, in a further process step S4, the second metal strip section can be divided into a large number of metal strip pieces by means of a cutting device of the scrap removal system. The metal strip pieces can be collected, for example in a container arranged downstream of the cutting device, and then transported away with little effort.

The conveyance of the second metal strip section in process step S3 can be at least partially automated. Alternatively or additionally, the cutting of the second metal strip section in process step S4 can also be at least partially automated. The conveyance in process step S3 and the cutting in process step S4 can also be understood together as a scrapping step in which the metal strip or the second metal strip section is gradually moved a little in the transport direction and an area at the head end, i.e. the front end of the strip in the transport direction, is cut off.

FIG 3 shows a scrap removal system 1 , for example for the production line 50 from

FIG 1 , in detail. The scrap removal system 1 comprises a cutting means 10, a strip catcher arranged upstream of the cutting means 10 in the transport direction T of a metal strip 2. ger 20, a first transport means 30, a second transport means 32 and a container 40. The cutting means 10 is designed to cut the metal strip 2 fed to the scrap clearance system 1 and to be scrapped into metal strip pieces 3, which are caught by the container 40.

The metal strip 2 can be fed to the scrap clearance system 1, for example, by means of a lower driver roller 67 that is longitudinally adjustable parallel to the transport direction T in the area of a last reel 61 of the production line 50. The metal strip 2 runs between the lower driver roller 67 and an upper driver roller 68 that is fixed in position in the transport direction T. If a rotation axis 70 of the lower driver roller 67 is positioned in front of a rotation axis 69 of the upper driver roller 68 in the transport direction T, so that a tangent of the lower driver roller 67 or the upper driver roller 68 at the intersection point of a connecting line that connects the rotation axes 69 and 70 and the lower driver roller 67 or the upper driver roller 68 is tilted relative to the transport direction T, the metal strip 2 can run in the direction of the reel 61 below the lower driver roller 67. If, on the other hand, the rotation axes 69 and 70 are positioned at the same height in the transport direction T, so that a tangent of the lower drive roller 67 or the upper drive roller 68 at the intersection of the connecting line which connects the rotation axes 69 and 70 with each other and the lower drive roller 67 or upper drive roller 68 runs parallel to the transport direction T, the metal strip 2 can continue to run in the transport direction T.

The first transport means 30, for example a roller conveyor or roller table with a plurality of transport rollers 31 indicated in FIG. 3, is used to transport the metal strip 2 in the scrap clearance system 1. For reasons of clarity, only one of the transport rollers 31 is provided with a reference symbol. At least some of the transport rollers 31 can expediently be actively driven, for example by means of a motor (not shown). The first transport means 30 thus enables the metal strip 2 to be transported in the transport direction T, in particular past the strip catcher 20 to the cutting means 10. In order to be able to support the metal strip 2 during this transport, the second transport means 32, for example in the form of a driver roller, is provided, preferably on an (upper) side of the metal strip 2 facing away from the first transport means 30, so that the metal strip 2 can run between the first and second transport means 30, 32.

Of course, the lower driver roller 67 and upper driver roller 68 arranged in the transport direction T in front of the scrap clearance system 1 can also serve to transport the metal strip 2 in the scrap clearance system 1 or at least support the transport. In particular, as an alternative or in addition to the first and/or second transport means 30, 32, the driver rollers 67, 68 can transport the metal strip 2 to be scrapped to or into the cutting means 10 or at least a metal strip section through the cutting means 10. The belt catcher 20 has a catch arm 21 which can be pivoted between a catch position indicated by dots, in which the catch arm 21 blocks the transport of the metal belt 2 through the scrap clearance system 1, and a release position in which the metal belt 2 can pass through the belt catcher 20. In the catch position, the catch arm 21 can thus in particular prevent the metal belt 2 from being transported beyond the end of the production line 50 during normal operation of the production line 50 in the event of a malfunction, for example an unsuccessful threading of a front end of the belt in the transport direction T into the last reel, in the example the reel 61, and thereby possibly endangering material and people in an area at the end of the production line 50.

The catch arm 21 can in particular be a hydraulically actuated catch arm 21.

The cutting means 10 expediently has two cutting tools 11, 12, for example two cutting edges or a cutting edge and an anvil, which are arranged in such a way that the metal strip 2 can be guided through between them in the transport direction T. When a predetermined length of the metal strip 2 has been conveyed through the cutting tools 11, 12, the cutting tools 11, 12 can be moved towards one another so that a piece of metal strip 3 is severed. Since when scrapping the metal strip 2, unlike in the regular operation of a cast-rolling composite plant in which a metal strand must be continuously produced and transported away, no continuous transport of the metal strip 2 is necessary, the cutting means 10 can be designed as a strip shear with cutting tools 11, 12 that are stationary in the transport direction T, in particular as a hydraulically actuated toggle lever shear. A more complex drum or pendulum shear with cutting tools that move in sections is not necessary. By means of the transport means 30 and the conveyor means 32, the metal strip 2 can be transported step by step in the transport direction T and a piece of metal strip 3 can be cut off at a time.

Alternatively, it is also conceivable for the metal strip 2 to be continuously conveyed through the scrap removal system 1 and to be cut up using a suitably configured cutting device 10, such as a drum or pendulum shear. This can accelerate the scrapping of the metal strip 2 even further.

The container 40, which is also referred to as a scrap bucket, is expediently arranged directly behind the cutting means 10 in the transport direction T. The container 40 can in particular be arranged in such a way that the separated metal strip pieces 3 do not have to be transported further, but instead automatically fall into the container 40 after being separated from the metal strip 2. For this purpose, the container 40 is expediently arranged slightly below a level defined by the metal strip 2. If necessary, a guide for the metal strip pieces 3 can also be provided in order to ensure reliable collection by the container 40. Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by the preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the disclosed examples and other variations can be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

List of reference symbols

1 scrap clearance system

2 metal band

2a, 2b first, second metal strip section

3 metal band pieces

10 Cutting agents

11 , 12 Cutting tools

20 band catchers

21 Catching arm

30 first means of transport

31 Transport roller

32 second means of transport

40 containers

50 metal strip production line

51 Casting machine

53 Descaling device

54 Roughing mill

55 Induction furnace

56 Finishing rolling mill

57 Cooling section

58 Cutting agents

59, 60, 61 reel

62 Mould

63 Metal strand

64a-c Roughing mill stand

65 Supporting act

66a-e finishing mill stand

67 lower driver roller

68 upper driver roller

69, 70 axis of rotation

71 Cobble

100 procedures

S1-4 Process steps

T Transport direction

Claims

1. Scrap removal system (1) for a metal strip production line (50), in particular a casting-rolling composite plant, with a cutting means (10) for cutting a metal strip (2) fed to the scrap removal system (1) and a strip catcher (20) arranged in a transport direction (T) of the metal strip (2) in front of the cutting means (10) which has a pivotably mounted catching arm (21)

, wherein the catching arm (21) is pivotable between a catching position, in which the catching arm (21) blocks a transport path through the scrap clearance system (1), and a release position, in which a metal strip (2) fed to the scrap clearance system (1) can pass the strip catcher (20).

2. Scrap clearance system (1) according to claim 1, comprising a first transport means (30) for conveying the metal strip (2) past the strip catcher (20), wherein the first transport means (30) extends over a transport section in the transport direction (T) in front of the strip catcher (20) and a transport section in the transport direction (T) behind the strip catcher.

3. Scrap clearance system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a second transport means (32) for feeding the metal strip (2) into the cutting means (10), wherein the second transport means (32) is arranged or can be arranged in the transport direction (T) behind the strip catcher (20) and immediately before the cutting means (10) such that a transport path through the scrap clearance system (1) runs at least in sections between the first and second conveyor means (30, 32).

4. Scrap clearance system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a container (40) arranged behind the cutting means (10) in the transport direction (T) for receiving metal strip sections (2b) cut by the cutting means (10).

5. Metal strip production line (50), in particular a combined casting-rolling plant, with a scrap removal system (1) according to one of the preceding claims.

6. Metal strip production line (50) according to claim 5, wherein the scrap clearance system (1) is arranged in a transport direction (T) of a metal strip (2) through the production line (50) behind a last reel (61) in the transport direction (T).

7. Method (100) for removing scrap from a metal strip production line (50), in particular a casting-rolling composite plant, comprising:

- dividing (S1) a metal strip (2) located in a metal strip production line (50) into a first metal strip section (2a) and a second metal strip section (2b), wherein the first metal strip section (2a) lies in front of the second metal strip section (2b) in a transport direction (T) through the metal strip production line (50);

- removing (S2) the first metal strip section (2a) from the metal strip production line (50),

- conveying (S3) the second metal strip section (2b) through the metal strip production line (50) to a scrap removal system (1) with a cutting means (10) for cutting a metal strip (2) fed to the scrap removal system (1) and a strip catcher (20) arranged in a transport direction (T) of the metal strip (2) in front of the cutting means (10) and having a pivotably mounted catch arm (21), wherein the catch arm (21) is pivotable between a catch position in which the catch arm (21) blocks a transport path through the scrap removal system (1), and a release position in which a metal strip (2) fed to the scrap removal system (1) can pass through the strip catcher (20); and

- Dividing (S4) the second metal strip section (2b) by means of the dividing means (10) of the scrap clearance system (1) into a plurality of metal strip pieces (3).

8. The method (100) according to claim 7, wherein the first metal strip section (2a) is lifted out of the metal strip production line (50).

9. Method (100) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein before conveying the second metal strip section (2b) to the scrap clearance system (1), a catch arm (21) of a strip catcher (20) of the scrap clearance system (1) arranged in the transport direction (T) upstream of the cutting means (10) is pivoted from a catch position, in which the catch arm (21) blocks a transport path through the scrap clearance system (1), into a release position, in which the second metal strip section (2b) can pass the strip catcher (20).

10. Method (100) according to one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the metal strip pieces (3) are conveyed into a container (40) arranged behind the cutting means (10) in the transport direction (T).

11. Method (100) according to one of claims 7 to 10, wherein

- the cutting of the metal strip (2) into the first and second metal strip sections (2a, 2b) and the removal of the first metal strip section (2a) are carried out manually and

- the second metal strip section (2b) is divided into a plurality of metal strip pieces (3) automatically or semi-automatically by means of the dividing means (10).