Long Product Rolling
Long product rolling is an automation challenge due to its high speeds and frequent change-overs to produce a wide range of steel grades, shapes and dimensions. The goals in automating a rolling process are to maximize the mill availability, minimize the downtime and maintain a consistent high quality product.
In the past three years alone, Russula has executed over 70 engineering projects for profile, section, bar, wire and rod mills. Among our areas of expertise:
Long product rolling:
- Reheat Furnace Optimization model - Temperature control model that improves energy savings
- Tension control - Obtain minimum tension in the rolled material where loops cannot be formed due to too large material dimensions.
- Loop control - Controls and maintains tension-free rolling with the aid of a loop of material between stands. A loop strategy which allows high production in the mill and smooth change between consecutive billets.
- Shear control - The bar is scanned longitudinally to monitor its progress towards the shear and to determine the optimum point for cutting.
- Tracking and automatic cobble detection – to avoid cobbles and to ensure smooth sequence control Billet head and tail ends are tracked accurately through the mill to ensure a smooth sequence control.
- Laying head control – For producing wire at high speeds control corrections for front end orientation, wobbling and tail end speeds are important.
Benefits
- Increases production and mill availability
- Reduces gap times
- Reduces delays with more reliable equipment
- Improves yield with less cobbles and cut length optimization
- Spare parts cost savings with latest generation equipment
- Modern Microsoft® Windows™ based engineering tools