Continuous casting machines can produce solid or hollow section strands that are many times longer than the water-cooled mould itself.

The molten steel flows into the top of the stationary continuous mould. This cools the surface of the steel to give a strand with a sufficiently rigid skin and a glowing core. In preparation for the cooling and straightening line, the strand is guided in the bending zone from the vertical to the horizontal plane by means of water-cooled rollers supported by rolling bearings.

The bearings supporting the rollers are subjected to:

• high radial loads

• high temperatures

• misalignment

• contamination (water spray, water vapour, scale).

The speeds of 2 min^-1 are low and the available space is limited. The application also requires minimal lubrication consumption and insensitivity to rust. The bearing arrangement must include a non-locating bearing in order to compensate misalignment.