Caterpillar casting machine and method for producing a cast material from liquid metal

A caterpillar casting machine for producing a cast material from liquid metal, comprising:

• two guide rails arranged to form two endless horizontal circulation tracks that are disposed so as to be opposite one another;
• a plurality of support elements which are in each case guided on the guide rails so as to form a continuous chain of support elements which in a transporting direction are moved along the circulation tracks;
• cooling blocks attached to the support elements to form a moving casting mold for the cast material between the cooling blocks which in straight portions of the circulation tracks of the guide rails are positioned so as to be mutually opposite;
• and
• a cooling installation, wherein the cooling installation has separate cooling zones having in each case at least one cooling nozzle, wherein the cooling zones are individually actuatable along the transporting direction and/or transversely to the transporting direction for setting opening or closing of the cooling nozzles, wherein cooling for the cooling blocks is adaptable to a predetermined casting width in that the cooling zones with the cooling nozzles thereof in a peripheral region transversely to the transporting direction are actuated and/or wherein cooling for the cooling blocks is adaptable to at least one predetermined process parameter made up of a type of metal, a predetermined metal alloy, the casting width, casting speed, or the casting profile, in that the cooling zones by way of the cooling nozzles thereof in the transporting direction are actuated.