FIELD: metallurgy. SUBSTANCE: method involves introducing start-up pieces into vertical crystallizer; feeding melt into crystallizer; forming billet crust; deforming and ejecting billet from crystallizer. Apparatus has crystallizer with two pairs of walls. First pair of walls has inclined upper part positioned for rotation. Second pair of walls is positioned for reciprocation. First pair of walls is provided with longitudinal water-cooled channels equally spaced from working surfaces. Second pair of walls is made in the form of heating tubes provided with thermocouples and automatic system for regulating temperature of wall surfaces. Method and apparatus allow profiled billets of any thickness to be produced from difficult-to-deform alloys. EFFECT: increased efficiency, improved quality of surface and structure of billet and increased yield. 3 cl, 2 dwg
