Method of providing metal slabs from a metal production facility

Claim 1

A method of expeditiously providing plates from a production unit which includes pouring and rolling apparatus for pouring molten metal into ingot molds and subsequently rolling the ingots formed from solidification of the molten metal in the ingot molds into slabs and plates in which method the plates are rolled from slabs which are in turn rolled from ingots containing sufficient metal to make at least two slabs from each ingot according to the mass-volume principle comprising: a. filling a series of ingot molds with molten metal to substantially the same predetermined level relative to the ingot mold structure, b. allowing the metal in said ingot molds to solidify into metal ingots, c. rolling at least one special order slab from each ingot having predetermined dimensions such that based upon the massvolume principle there may additionally be rolled from the remaining metal left over from rolling said special order slabs a single stock slab having dimensions within a predetermined range of dimensions encompassing the slab sizes necessary to provide stock for rolling plates of the historically most requested dimensions in the production unit, d. rolling the metal left over from step (c) of rolling said special order slabs from each ingot, into a single stock slab from each ingot, e. rolling the said special order slabs produced in step (c) into special order plates for substantially immediate supply to the ordering customers, and f. storing the said single stock slab from each ingot in inventory for later retrieval for subsequent rolling of additional products requiring for their production an amount of metal substantially the same as the amount of metal contained in each respective stock slab.

Claim 2

A method of expeditiously providing plates from a production unit which includes pouring and rolling apparatus for pouring molten metal into ingot molds and subsequently rolling the ingots formed from solidification of the molten metal in the ingot molds into slabs and plates in which method the plates are rolled from slabs which are in turn rolled from ingots containing sufficient metal to make at least two slabs from each ingot according to the mass-volume principle comprising: a. filling a series of ingot molds with molten metal to substantially the same predetermined level relative to the ingot mold structure, b. allowing the metal in said ingot molds to solidify into metal ingots, c. rolling at least one special order slab from each ingot having predetermined dimensions such that based upon the massvolume principle there may additionally be rolled from the remaining metal left over from rolling said special order slabs a single stock slab having dimensions within a predetermined range of dimensions encompassing the slab sizes necessary to provide stock for rolling plates of the historically most requested dimensions in the production unit, d. rolling the metal left over from step (c) of rolling said special order slabs from each ingot, into a single stock slab from each ingot, e. rolling the said special order slabs produced in step (c) into special order plates for substantially immediate supply to the ordering customers, and f. storing the said single stock slab from each ingot in inventory for later retrieval for subsequent rolling of additional products requiring for their production an amount of metal substantially the same as the amount of metal contained in each respective stock slab.