Near-net-shape casting of steel through the strip casting process for stainless and low-carbon steels has after years of research now reached a full commercial level in several production plants worldwide. It has been proven that these steel grades can reach the same or even better mechanical properties via the twin roll strip casting process than via the commercial route. This makes it interesting to investigate the castability of TWIP, TRIP or HSLA steel grades. The dipping test simulator of the department of metallurgy at the Montanuniversität Leoben is a cheap possibility to reproduce casting parameters of the strip casting process. After an upgrade of the simulator with an optical temperature measurement tool there is now the opportunity for a better understanding of the cooling and transformation behaviour of the dipping test samples. Because of this upgrade and the purchase of a portable heat-treating-furnace the chance is given to display nearly every step of the strip casting process. For a better explanation of the mechanical behaviour of steel grades made via the strip casting process, samples a taken after a longer holding time in the liquid melt so the thickness of theses samples can increase. After a special preparation the samples can be used for hardness and special tensile tests. This study presents the first outcomes of these new applications by means of four variations of a S700 MC HSLA steel grade, moreover some possible applications of the new dipping test simulator an its add-ons are given.