Russula upgrades bar mill automation and drives
Russula upgraded the automation and drives of a bar mill that produces rebar, structural steel and SBQ grades. The objective of the upgrade was to replace legacy equipment with first line control software, hardware and drives. Obsolete equipment can incur costly repairs, unscheduled downtime and lack support from OEM manufacturers. Russula specializes in the migration of legacy equipment for long product rolling mills.
All the electrical and automation equipment from the roller table of the reheat furnace exit to the cooling bed was upgraded. ABB AC450 rolling mill controllers and ABB PEC for the divide shear were replaced with Rockwell 1756 ControlLogix controllers. New ABB DCS880 drives replaced the DCS600 drives for the rolling mill stands and two of the shears. Existing AC drives and MCCs were refurbished. Russula supplied the following electrical equipment and services:
The Factory Acceptance Test occurred in the Russula workshop in A Coruña, Spain in 2020. The Russula startup team consisted of a fusion of automation and rolling mill technology experts. Cold and hot commissioning took place as scheduled.
