We transform ... the world of metals

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SMS group

Eduard-Schloemann-Strasse 4 Phone: +49 211 881-0 E-Mail: [email protected] Düsseldorf, Germany Fax: +49 211 881-4902 Internet: www.sms-group.com

What connects the world originates with us. We plan, design, and construct plants worldwide for producing and processing steel, aluminum, and copper.

The result: Quality products that stand up to top strains ensure sustainable quality of life around the globe. And that brings us closer together.

The whole world of metals ... from one source

We transform ... the world of metals.

THE MAGAZINE OF THE SMS GROUP ISSUE 02 / 2015

With their experience and know-how, the technicians and engineers of the SMS group secure the success of plant operators – to be experienced at METEC 2015.

COMPETITIVE IN THE LONG TERM

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CONTENTS

118 3-roll PSM®.

50 Paul Wurth

52 Metallurgical technology

56 Steel refining

61 Continuous casters

64 Hot rolling mills

67 Cold rolling mills

76 Aluminum plants

80 Strip processing lines

86 Furnace technology

89 Tube & pipe plants

98 Long products plants

99 Forging plants

103 NF metals

103 Heat treatment technology

38 MADE TO BE TOUGH Inductive hardening to meet exacting demands on drive components.

40 GROWTH MARKET High-strength steel grades

are gaining more and more importance.

42 TRAINS RUNNING ON TIME The SMS group is the expert in wheel rolling lines for rail vehicles.

34 Aluminum grades from SMS. 72 Good cooperation.

112 TRACK RECORD CONTINUED NLMK and the SMS group con-clude a comprehensive mainte-nance contract.

ECOPLANTS

121 INNOvATIvE DEDUSTING SySTEM China-based Shougang Qian’An will employ the SMS group’s new fine-dust extraction sys-tem at its steel works.

SERVICEPROJECTSMARKETS

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New service office in SeoulSMS group, Seoul

By January 1, 2015, DUMA-BANDZINK moved to the SMS Business Park in Mönchengladbach, Germany. The previous locations in Duisburg and Langenfeld were closed and all opera-tions, including own manufacturing capaci-ties, combined at the new site. The company is part of the SMS group and offers equip-ment for galvanizing and aluminizing as well as key components and modernizations for strip processing lines and cold rolling mills. The product portfolio furthermore comprises a wide range of ser-vices. In August 2012, DUMA-BANDZINK emerged from DUMA GmbH and BAND-ZINK GmbH.

SMS group, Düsseldorf

Malaysia in focus

RelocationDUMA-BANDZINK

At the end of 2014, the B-to-B initiative “German-Malaysian Round Table” (GMRT) staged a seminar in Düssel-dorf, Germany, which was titled “Busi-ness Opportunities in Malaysia”. Host was Datuk Sri Mustapa Mohamad, Ma-laysian Minister for International Trade and Industry. Guido Kleinschmidt, Member of the Managing Board of the SMS group, followed the invitation along with about 180 other guests.

www.sms-group.com

SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

Patrick [email protected]

On January 1, 2015, the SMS group service opened a new office in Seoul, South Korea, to further expand its global network. By setting up this of-fice, the foundation is laid for active

service marketing in the Korean re-gion. A team of three employees is re-sponsible for supporting local custom-ers and their facilities. Two thereof are long-term employees of Paul Wurth and able to serve this company’s port-folio, too. The office provides a com-prehensive range of services.

in brief

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IN BRIEF

Paul Wurth for the first time presented the “Paul Wurth Master Thesis Award” to students for outstanding Master’s theses on energy and environment-related topics. The aim of the award is to foster engineering and science students from Luxembourg, who are doing scientific research in the fields of environmental technology or energy/energy recov-ery. On January 15, 2015, Georges Rassel, CEO of Paul Wurth, recognized the two students Roberto Palumbo and Eric Gonderinger in the name of the company for their Mas-ter’s theses.

The prize winning students received the awards from Georges Rassel, CEO (right), in the presence of representatives of the HR department.

Young talent awardPaul Wurth

www.paulwurth.com

Paul Wurth

Since March 1, 2015, Johann Rinnhofer has been a new mem-ber of the Board of Management of SMS Elotherm. Johann Rinnhofer, aged 52, acts as the Spokesman of the Board. With his vast experience in thermal process technology and the engineering of related plants, his main areas of responsibility will be Technology and Sales. He succeeds Andreas Seitzer, who left SMS Elotherm effective April 30, 2015 after acting as member of the Managing Board for twelve years.

SMS Mevac

New Head of Sales

SMS Elotherm

New Board member

Jochen Schlüter [email protected]

At the ceremony of the European Business Awards for the Environ-ment, which took place in December 2014, Paul Wurth was recognized as

runner-up in the category “pro-cess” for its “Dry BF slag granu-

lation process with energy recovery.” Also in December 2014, the same “dry granu-lation process” was recog-nized as “Technological in-

novation of the year” at the 10th Global Slag Conference in

Aachen, Germany.

Johann Rinn-hofer, member of the Board of Management of SMS Elotherm

Jochen Schlüter, Manager of Sales SMS Mevac

Awards for innovation

On February 1, 2015, Jochen Schlüter started as the new Manager of Sales at SMS Mevac. In this position, he co-ordinates all sales activities of the company, which is specialized in sec-ondary and tertiary metallurgy as well as hot metal pretreatment. He is sup-ported by a team of experienced sales and project planning engineers. Pri-or to his new assignment, Jochen Schlüter, a graduate metallurgist, was Vice President Special Technolo-gies at SMS Siemag for nine years.

www.paulwurth.com

IN FOCUS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

MOVING THE WORLD WITH INNOVATIVE

SOLUTIONSAt the METEC, GIFA and THERMPROCESS trade fairs, the SMS group will present technologies covering the

entire metallurgical process chain that “move” the steel and non-ferrous metals industries – toward more

economic efficiency and higher productivity.

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The SMS group in 2015 8The countdown has started The SMS group at METEC 12Know-how from one source Investments 14Quality by SMS made in a global network Innovative crude steel production 18Taking the lead with new concepts Less energy consumption 20High-tech: The MEERdrive® technology Economic slag processing 22For the sake of the environment Energy-cutting miracle 24One step ahead with PERFECT® arcModernization of older plants 26Old becomes new

OVERVIEW

IN FOCUS — METEC 2015

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The solutions provided by the SMS group move the world. Numerous end products contain a part which has been processed in a plant made by the SMS group.


In FOcUS — METEc 2015

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THE COUNTDOWN HAS STARTED

Steel and non-ferrous metals move the world. These materials have paved the way for

achievements like safe airplanes, energy-efficient cars and wind turbines for sustainable energy production. The foundations for the specific properties of these materials are laid at the very beginning of their production chain – namely, by the plants and equipment built by the SMS group. Our metallurgical plants and rolling mills give these ma-terials their broad range of functionalities and the high quality which aircraft manufac-turers, car makers and many other companies demand. Our innovative solutions move the world. To the benefit of the end user, and above all to the benefit of our customers. As systems providers for the entire metallurgical process chain, we offer a broad port-folio of future-oriented solutions from a single source, covering everything from consultation and planning, me-chanical and electrical equipment including automation systems, through to a full range of service offers. All ele-

Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman of the Managing Board of the SMS group

ments are harmonized in order for our customers to be able to produce competi-tively in the long run. Flexi-bility, efficiency and a clear focus on our customers’ in-dividual expectations. This is what we, the SMS group, stand for, be it that the cus-tomer is interested in a new plant, is planning a revamp or needs a spare part.

This is illustrated, for ex-ample, by our extensive net-work of workshops and sales offices, which spans the whole world and allows us to act quickly and flexibly. Meanwhile, we are present

at more than 60 locations worldwide. We are expanding our workshop capacities to be able to offer cost-efficient prod-ucts catering to the specific needs of local markets. The most recent example is the manufacturing and service workshop which we opened at the end of 2014 in Bhu-baneswar, India, at a short distance from many Indian steel producers. The new workshop, which covers an area of 21,000 square meters, has been designed to supply

Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman of the Managing Board of the SMS group, on the importance of the corporate mission, the international development of the group and the high-tech plants the group will have on display at METEC.

All this with permanent focus on customer intimacy.

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In FOcUS sms group newsletter 02 / 2015

steelworks equipment and provide services tailored to the growth market India. However, customer intimacy alone is not sufficient. More than ever, steel, aluminum and NF-metals producing companies are setting great store by the economic efficiency of their operations, a competent and flexible service and, to a growing extent, environmental as-pects. Here, we are the partners of choice, who understand our customers’ requirements and know how to fulfill them. We comply with strict environmental standards by providing intelligent solutions, as, for example, in our current project for Big River Steel – the construction of a complete steel mill complex on the Mississippi River in Arkansas. Once completed, this steel complex will be one of the cleanest steelworks in the U.S.A., last but not least thanks to our gas cleaning technology which we will implement there.

QUICK RETURN ON INvESTMENT

However, ecology must also pay off. This is the maxim of any new development because plant operators require a quick return on their investment. This we ensure with our pre-project calculations. It is not always the best choice to invest in the construction of a brand new plant. Often, the revamp of an existing plant may leverage the same effect – at lower investment costs. These days, there are many re-quests for plant modernizations and also for these we are the partners knowing how to develop intelligent concepts capable of making machines as old as 50 years fit for the

»Steel and non-ferrous metals move the world. Our technicians and engineers develop and design the high-tech plants that produce

and process these materials. It is their experience, know-how and passion that give plant operators a competitive edge.«

Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman of the Managing Board of the SMS group.

140million Euros is the sum the SMS group has invested worldwide in new machinery and manufacturing sites in recent years.

In FOcUS — METEc 2015

11

future. Plant operators benefit from our one-stop-shop-ping solutions, our longstanding experience, the know-how of our teams and our high-tech equipment. These are the elements of successful cooperation based on mutual trust. Environmental technologies, plant modernizations and new workshops are only a part of our activities. Through the promotion of development activities, we have gained a worldwide technological leadership position. This is impressively illustrated by the joint “Horizontal Belt Casting of Steel” project, conducted together with Salzgit-ter Flachstahl AG and the Technical University of Claust-hal. This development was one of three developments put forward for the German President’s 2014 Award for Innova-tion in Science and Technology. Moving ahead means progress.

HIGHEST MANUFACTURING STANDARDS FOR BEST QUALITy

Our objective is to continue to be one of the leading suppli-ers of technology for the metallurgical and rolling mill in-dustry. To achieve this objective, we apply highest manufac-turing standards. In order for our customers to always receive top-quality plants, we have invested more than 140 million Euros in new machine tools and machining centers at our various manufacturing locations. Quality-critical core components will be continued to be manufactured in Germany, where we build on the expertise that our employ-ees have accumulated over several decades. Our interna-

Burkhard [email protected]

iSMS group

The SMS group

convinces with

efficient plants,

intelligent solutions

and flexible service.

The company con-

tinuously invests in

new machinery and

manufacturing sites

to maintain its tech-

nological leadership

also in the future..

tional workshops will primarily focus on products which are specifically geared to the respective local markets and which we can manufacture there at a close distance to the customers.

Steel and non-ferrous metals move the world. Our technicians and engi-neers develop and design the high-tech plants that produce and process these materials. It is their experience, know-how and passion that give plant operators a competitive edge. Allow yourself to be convinced of the quality of our products on the SMS group booth in hall 5 during METEC from June 16 to 20, 2015 – and beyond.

Being a systems provider the SMS group offers a portfolio comprising plants and machinery throughout the entire metallurgical process chain.

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KNOW-HOW FROM ONE SOURCEFrom June 16 to 20, 2015, experts from metallurgical technology, foundry technology,

furnace technology and precision casting will meet at the metallurgical trade fairs METEC, GIFA, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST in Düsseldorf. The SMS group will be

present with two booths, one at METEC and one at GIFA/THERMPROCESS.

The SMS group’s METEC booth in hall 5 (booth 5E22).


IN Focus — METEc 2015

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Examples demonstrating the manu-facturing competence of the SMS group will be the SIEFLEX-HT® high-performance spindle and PQSC® piercer plugs.

APPLIED KNOW-HOW

The second SMS booth in hall 10 will link the two trade shows GIFA and THERMPROCESS, addressing both foundry and thermal process technol-ogy experts. Also here, the SMS group will demonstrate with exhibits how the group implements its technological know-how in practice.

Both booths provide an inviting set-ting for talks with the experts of the SMS group. Short technical papers presented on the fair booth will feature key trends and outstanding new devel-opments of the SMS group. Concur-rently with METEC, from June 15 to 19, 2015, the 2nd European Steel Technol-ogy and Application Days (ESTAD) will be staged at the Congress Center on the Düsseldorf fair ground. Experts of the SMS group will contribute to this conference with about 50 technical pa-pers. The event will provide the par-ticipants a forum to obtain in-depth information on latest developments in steel technology.

At the two trade fair booths, METEC in hall 5 (booth 5E22) and GIFA/THERMPROCESS in hall 10 (booth 10H41), the SMS group will present its solutions for the steel and nonferrous metals in-

dustry. “For us, this worldwide leading metallurgical trade show is by far the most important trade fair event of all,” says Dieter Rosenthal, member of the Managing Board of SMS group. Under the title “The Bright World of Metals,” the event is expected to draw almost 2,000 exhibitors and approximately 80,000 visitors. As the world-leading plant and mechanical engineering company for the steel and NF metals industry, the SMS group will be presenting its whole range of products. Plants built by the SMS group pave the way for achievements like fuel-saving cars, safe airplanes and reliably rotating wind turbines.

CONTROL ROOM OF THE FUTURE

The thematic focus will be on plants offered by the SMS group to successfully deal with the future challenges of the steel and NF-metals industry. These include new technol-ogies, solutions for plant revamps, innovative Ecoplants concepts, customized service and manufacturing excel-lence, to mention just a few. The SMS group illustrates its solutions by a wide selection of highly informative exhibits. The centerpiece of the booth will be the “Control Room of the Future,” a control facility complete with an operating pulpit, the discussion desk “DAVID” and a rolling mill sim-ulator.

The ergonomically designed control room serves as workplace, control center and as a central meeting place in a plant for the exchange of information. With the rolling mill simulator, visitors can gain hands-on experience with the SMS operating philosophy. Other highlights of the SMS group booth will be two exhibits to experience live new de-velopments in continuous casting technology for flat prod-ucts: the HD mold and HD LASr.

www.sms-group.com/metec/en

More information

about other exciting

topics awaiting

visitors to the SMS

group booth is

available via the

METEC App and

our Microsite at

www.sms-group.

com/metec/en

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40Thanks to the improved workshop processes, the processing times have in many cases decreased by more than 40 percent, to the benefit of the customers.

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QUALITY BY SMS MADE IN A GLOBAL NETWORK

The SMS group is setting new standards with investments in its manufacturing facilities. Shorter lead times, higher productivity

and the highest technological standards are the resulting advantages for companies of the steel and NF metals industry.

tons, in the existing machining shop 15 new machining tools have been in-stalled. Altogether, 75 percent of the machinery has been replaced here.

However, purchasing new machin-ery and building modern workshops is not enough. At least not if you design and build high-tech equipment, as the SMS group. “We have analyzed our production processes and introduced major changes in certain areas, such as the establishment of manufactur-ing cells,” says Jens Overberg, Head of Production of the SMS group. “The process organization has been re-aligned to ensure a smooth flow of material. This provides a better over-view, accelerates processes and makes the final products better. Com-pared to the situation before the mod-ernization, more than 40 percent of time is saved. A big advantage to the benefit of our customers.” An example in this context is the new horizontal turning and milling center for coiler parts in Hilchenbach. This machine combines the formerly separate pro-cesses of turning, milling and gear cutting in one unit. Machining of a coil-er mandrel can now be accomplished in fewer process steps. However, not only in terms of the material flow

Adouble strategy for success: While being committed to Germany as engineering and production location, the SMS group also fosters the expansion of manu-facturing assets at international locations in order

to come up to the challenges of the global market for metal-lurgical plant and machinery. “A key element is our closely interlinked global network of manufacturing facilities and workshops,” says Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman of the Man-aging Board of the SMS group. “We will continue producing the sophisticated machine and plant components at our Ger-man sites – at the highest technological standards and with a know-how grown over several decades. Expanding our inter-national workshops enables us to offer products specifically tailored to the needs of local markets.” With its local presence, the SMS group also guarantees its customers a swift and straightforward service.

CLOSELy NETWORKED PERSONNEL AND PROCESSES

At its two major German workshops, the SMS group has invested in new machinery and buildings, has improved processes and has trained far more than 1,000 employees. At the Hilchenbach location, new buildings and workshops covering an area of more than 10,000 square meters have been set up during the last few years, accommodating new facilities for welding and tube production, a painting shop, a warehouse and manufacturing shops for gears and hydrau-lic equipment. SMS also purchased several new machines. The last hall was completed in 2014. It accommodates a modern dispatch and surface-finishing center. Also the Mönchengladbach workshop has seen major changes. In addition to building a new heavy-duty workshop with an area of 4,000 square meters and a crane capacity of 180


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processes are well interlinked. A key advantage of the workshops in Mönchengladbach and Hilchenbach is the close cooperation between development, engineering and production. “Our engineers can easily and quickly clarify whether an idea is feasible. All they need to do is walk over to the colleagues in the workshop,” adds Heinz-Joachim Gietmann, Head of Production of the SMS group in Mönchengladbach. A plus compared to many competitors.

CUSTOMER INTIMACy AND WORLDWIDE SMS QUALITy

While the quality-critical core components, such as the SIEFLEX® HT high-performance spindles for hot strip mills or PQSC® piercer plugs for an improved internal surface quality of tubes, are manufactured in Germany, the SMS group manufactures series parts in workshops outside Germany. “Throughout the world, we can guarantee that the increasingly demanded locally produced equipment

and locally provided services are of the SMS quality our customers have got used to,” says Dahmen. To be closer to, and within easy reach of, the customer, new workshops have re-cently been opened in China and India. Alone in China, the SMS group has more than 1,000 employees. In India, the number is about same. “We guar-antee our high quality standards by closely interlinking our workshops. For example, we have common train-ing programs for our workshop staff,” explains Dahmen.

ASSURING QUALITy

Additionally, the high quality of the manufactured components is guaran-teed by a dedicated team of quality as-surance experts. “Our NDT personnel is certified according to EN 473. We also use internal manufacturing spec-ifications and product-related stan-dards, which are more exacting than the general standard,” says Olaf Thamke, Head of the Product Quality Department of the SMS group. “In the workshop, everyone inspects the parts he or she is working on. For this, our employees receive regular training. These inspections are complemented by tests conducted by our quality as-surance personnel, partly by means of measuring devices.” Investments

In Mönchenglad-bach, Germany, the SMS group manufac-tures PQSC® piercer plugs.

The HD mold is one of the core compo-nents manufactured in the Hilchenbach workshop.

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have also been made in machines for quality-relevant measurements, as, for example, a teeth measuring ma-chine that neutrally checks the geometry of the gear wheels. This machine can also be used to detect local overheating due to grinding. As soon as any thermal de-fects are found on the wheels, these wheels will not be shipped to the customer. The machine can handle gear wheel diameters up to 5,500 millimeters with a vertical measuring range of 2,200 millimeters and wheel weights of up to 40 tons. “Definitely a competitive edge,” says qual-ity expert Thamke. SMS deals exclusively with suppliers who have an own quality managements system in place. “In this respect, we are without compromise. We do not water down our standards for specific countries,” contin-ues Thamke. “For German suppliers and, let’s say, Chinese

www.sms-group.com

FACTS + FIGURESTHE WORKSHOPS

Hilchenbach (Germany): 40,000 square meters, machining shop, workshop assembly, welding shop, test field, training workshop

Mönchengladbach (Germany): 42,000 square meters, machining shop, workshop assembly, welding shop, test field, training workshop

Zhangjiagang (China): 12,780 square meters

Shanghai (China): 17,000 square meters

Tianjin (China): 4,640 square meters

Bhubaneswar (India): 21,000 square meters

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suppliers, the same high standards apply. Our auditors visit the compa-nies on a regular basis in order to check and document their quality standards.” All these elements ensure the high quality of the individual com-ponents and eventually high-perfor-mance production plants. Steel plant and rolling mill operators benefit in various respects from these quality standards applied by the SMS group. Their plants operate at the highest productivity levels, require little main-tenance and make products of excel-lent quality. Plant operators may con-vince themselves of the quality of technology from the SMS group at METEC 2015. Selected high-tech components will be presented on the SMS group booth in hall 5, for exam-ple, the SIEFLEX® HT high-perfor-mance spindle for hot strip mills, PQSC® piercer plugs for an improved internal surface quality of tubes and the “intelligent” HD mold for continu-ous casting plants.

Download the new

brochure to get a

full view of the SMS

group’s manufacturing

competence. Learn

more about the indi-

vidual workshops, the

machinery and

the persons to contact.

www.sms-group.com/

qr/manufacturing

At its two major German workshops, the SMS group has invested in new machinery, has improved processes and has trained far more than 1,000 employees.

The SHARC in action at the operator and cooperation partner HLv.


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In Focus — METEc 2015

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TAKING THE LEAD WITH NEW CONCEPTS

High efficiency, low energy consumption, flexible use of raw materials: This is what steelmakers demand from crude steel production. The SMS group

offers new steelworks concepts that fulfill these targets exactly.

reliable continuous process, the S/EAF® yields 30 percent higher productivity with lower energy consumption. The S/EAF® is a stationary electric arc furnace designed for the use of HBI, DRI, hot metal and steel scrap. A key compo-nent ensuring continuous operation is the electrode hold-ing and slipping device. It allows the S/EAF® to operate con-tinuously with energy consumption reduced to a minimum.

BENEFITS FOR LIQUID STEEL PRODUCTION

The PEM (Primary Energy Melter) is a shaft furnace that uses primary energy to melt scrap. The technology is cost-efficient and eco-friendly because there are no transforma-tion costs and no losses due to the transport of electricity, as would typically arise in coal-based electricity genera-tion. To control the oxidation of the iron, the shaft furnace is sub-stoichiometrically fired from the bottom with gas/oxy-gen burners. Then the gas is combusted in the upper levels of the shaft furnace. The use of primary energy cuts CO2

emissions, reduces the production costs and improves the energy balance. A PEM can be used, for example, to boost the production of the BOF shop in situations where the blast furnace capacity is insufficient.

At METEC 2015, visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the innovative steelworks concepts offered by the SMS group, for example, in the short technical papers presented at the booth.

The SHARC (Shaft Arc) furnace in operation at Hel-lenic Halyvourgia (HLV) in Velestino, Greece, is a 95-ton DC electric arc furnace with two preheating shafts, in which the scrap is dried and preheated.

Scrap preheating in the SHARC is highly efficient. When being charged from the shaft into the furnace, the scrap mix has a mean temperature of more than 700 degrees Celsius. Energy consumption per ton is not more than 280 kWh.

In the SHARC, extremely low-density scrap can be used without any additional conditioning. The operator has the highest flexibility in terms of the mix of charge materials, while benefiting from low production costs. The furnace cross-section over the complete height of the two shafts is available as a preheating surface for the energy transfer – in addition to a longer dwell time of the high-temperature off-gases. This is facilitated by the symmetrical shape of the hearth equipped with DC high-voltage technology.

At the end of 2014, the operator, Hellenic Halyvourgia, and the SMS group signed a cooperation agreement with the aim to combine the Shaft Arc Furnace (formerly Circo-arc) know-how available on both sides. From now on, visits of the site can be arranged for customers interested in the furnace. Customers buying the SHARC will receive on-site training.

A COST-EFFECTIvE AND CONTINUOUS PROCESS

When energy and production costs are rising, innovative plant technology is required to keep production profitable. The ARCCESS® steady EAF (S/EAF®) developed by SMS al-lows continuous operation for a duration of one week. This technology originates from SMS’s long-standing experi-ence in the fields of submerged-arc furnaces (SAF), electric arc furnaces (EAF) and CONARC® technology. Owing to its

Thomas [email protected]

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HIGH-TECH: MEERDRIVE® TECHNOLOGY

Flexible and efficient: The MEERdrive® concept simplifies roll ring management, creates greater flexibility in roll pass design and minimizes

maintenance efforts. The efficient individual motors help to improve roll ring utilization and to reduce energy consumption.

The MEERdrive® concept enables customers to se-lect pass reductions according to their require-ments. Roll pass designs can be customized with regard to the finished size and the steel grade con-

sidering the varying spreading behavior. Consequently, wire rod manufacturers do not have to stick to standard sizes only. Different cross-sectional reductions allow rolling any intermediate sizes that exactly meet the customer’s de-mands.

MEERdrive®PLUS is a variant, which represents a separate 4- stand sizing block for final rolling, allowing conventional as well as thermomechanical rolling. All finished sizes are rolled in this rolling block from a one-family roll pass de-sign. MEERdrive®PLUS blocks roll-typical diameter ranges

IM FOKUS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

Convincing: MEERdrive® is manufactured in the workshop of the SMS group in Mönchengladbach, Germany.

from 5.0 millimeters up to 26 millimeters at speeds up to 120 meters per second. Because of the great speed range in this block for rolling speeds between ten meters and 120 meters per second, SMS combines compact switch gears with individual motors.

REDUCED ROLL RING STOCK REDUCES COSTS

In a conventional wire rod block the reductions and thus also the roll ring diameters are fixed (roll ring family). If a roll ring is worn, either a second or even a third identical roll ring diameter is required or the whole roll ring family has to be replaced. This is not the case with MEERdrive® as every roll ring pair is driven by an individual motor. Vari-able roll ring diameters can be used on individual block

IN Focus — METEc 2015

21

to a conventional wire rod block, the MEERdrive® allows for operating cost savings of approx. 31 percent. During METEC 2015, interested visitors can find out on the stand of the SMS group which further advantages MEERdrive® has for wire rod manufacturers and how precisely the system operates.

positions and the required reduction ratio will be adjusted by relevant speed settings of the individual motors. As a result, the stock of roll rings can be reduced by approx. 60 percent. The huge medium-voltage motor of the wire rod block is replaced by numerous small, low-voltage motors. This also has advantages for spare parts, as no similarly huge motor with a long delivery time is required as a spare. Furthermore, the individual drive concept replaces a vast amount of mechanical gear equipment, which is subject to wear and maintenance. Thus, wear of the equip-ment is reduced significantly in comparison with any con-ventional solution.

ELECTRICS AND AUTOMATION

The advanced electrics and automation technology enables a reliable and stable synchronization of the individual drives and motors for speeds higher than 120 meters per second. The heart of this system is the control logic, which is incor-porated in a standard highly dynamic modularly designed PLC. Since 2006, the highly flexible MEERdrive® technology has already been realized successfully in AC and DC appli-cations and it can be combined with any existing mill auto-mation system. The MEERdrive® system is modularly con-structed and can be applied to any wire rod block or combination of blocks, independent of the number of stands. Thus, MEERdrive® blocks can be integrated into ex-isting rolling mills without any problems.

LOWER OPERATING COSTS

With MEERdrive®, the operating costs of wire rod blocks can be substantially reduced due to simplified roll ring management, including redressing effort, lower electrical power consumption and reduced maintenance. Compared

Günther [email protected]

Service

The worldwide

service network of

the SMS group with

60 locations ensures

quick and safe

service not only for

wire rod manufac-

turers. With remote

maintenance, ware-

housing solutions

and local support,

SMS experts ensure

maximum plant

availability. Since

1950, SMS has

installed more than

250 wire rod mills.

Saving operating costsA comparison of operating costs on different blocks

-31 %

Conventional MEERdrive®

Δ Roll ring management

Δ Electric energy Maintenance Redressing Roll rings in operation

Drive train of a MEERdrive® wire rod block.

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IN FOCUS sms group newsletter 02 / 2015

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FOR THE SAKE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

For many years, Paul Wurth’s INBA® slag granulation process has been recognized as the Best Available Technology. It contributes to cost-efficient

furnace operations, while protecting the environment. Visitors to METEC will have the opportunity to also inform themselves about latest developments in this field.

belt inside the drum ensures the con-tinuous discharge of the dewatered slag sand. All wear parts are easy to dismantle and the conveyor belt can be removed from the drum to ensure easy maintenance. The water sepa-rated from the slag is collected in a conical tank below the drum and pumped back to the system. Convinc-ing features of the system offered by Paul Wurth are the compact, modular design, little maintenance require-ments and low need of makeup water. The slag flow is continuously mea-

INBA® granulation tank

Hot runner

Internal hood (for stream condensation)

Wear-resistant concrete

Blowing box

Water level

The INBA® slag granulation and dewatering sys-tem is a proven route for converting molten slag into a value-added product for the cement indus-try. With more than 265 references worldwide,

this technology today is the most common granulation system. The INBA® system comprises two main compo-nents: the granulation unit with a granulation tank and an integrated blowing box, and the INBA® dewatering drum. Operation of the system is largely independent of blast furnace operations. As it is a dynamic system, even ex-tremely long tap times do not affect or limit the granula-tion and dewatering processes. “We offer the INBA® de-watering drums in different sizes,” says Horst Kappes, Head of Department, Energy & By-Products at Paul Wurth, Luxembourg. “This allows us to customize the INBA® sys-tem to the given furnace slag flow rates.”

EFFICIENT GRANULATION PROCESS

The granulation process is based on quenching the liquid slag with hot or cold water under pressure. Inside the granulation tank, heat exchange between the slag drop-lets and the water creates glassy sand particles, which can be used as a clinker substitute in the cement industry. The slag sand-water mixture can leave the granulation tank either by gravity or by slurry pumping.

Steam produced by the quenching process is vented into the atmosphere through a chimney. Optionally, a con-densation tower can be installed on top of the granulation tank. Here, nozzles spray water into the vapor to condense the steam and reduce the H2S and SO2 output. In the de-watering station, the slag-water mixture is regularly repartitioned on the entire length of the drum. A conveyor

Paul Wurth

On the SMS group

booth at METEC

2015, experts from

Paul Wurth will

explain the DSG and

INBA® processes and

the benefits for blast

furnace operators.

i

IN FoCus — METEC 2015

23

Horst [email protected]

Marc [email protected]

sured, providing important informa-tion for optimizing the control of the blast furnace process.

The Paul Wurth dry slag granula-tion process (DSG) is a new develop-ment, which combines the advantages of wet granulation with energy recov-ery. This saves natural resources and reduces the CO2 emissions by 900 kilo-grams per ton of slag. Moreover, in dry slag granulation, no water is con-sumed and the heat contained in the blast furnace slag can be recovered – a respectable 1,800 MJ from one ton of slag. The process also reduces sulfu-rous emissions. As a result, the cus-tomers save the costs of building a condensation tower.

PILOT PLANT IN DILLINGEN

In 2013, in a first phase, Paul Wurth commissioned a pilot plant for dry slag granulation operated at blast furnace No. 4 in Dillinger Hütte, Ger-many. The pilot plant has a proven ca-pacity of up to eight tons per minute, which is the peak slag flow rate of blast furnace 4.

Pilot plant for dry slag granulation in Dillingen.

INBA® slag granulation and dewatering plant.


24

ONE STEP AHEAD WITH PERFECT® ARC

Achieving energy savings of 30 percent and attaining a better weld seam for spiral- and longitudinally seam-welded pipes, this exactly

ensures PERFECT® arc of PWS, thus providing an improved pipe quality.

At the heart of PERFECT® arc is a purely digital power source, charac-terized by superfast control interven-tion frequency and thus enabling con-trol and adaptation of the welding arc within microseconds. In this way, the energy supply in the welding process is among others regulated with pin-point precision. Processes are con-trolled and regulated with high pre-cision using PERFECT® control. PERFECT® arc achieves an energy ef-ficiency of about 90 percent. For plant operators this means that energy costs are reduced by up to 30 percent compared to conventional welding systems. The welding machine reach-

PERFECT® arc is intended for both arc and sub-merged-arc welding. The advantages are that as compared to conventional welding procedures, PER-FECT® arc is 50 percent faster in tack-welding and

20 percent faster in submerged-arc welding. Consequently, the productivity of welded pipes in spiral pipe mills or plants for longitudinally seam-welded pipes can be doubled or tri-pled depending on the design. In addition, there are substan-tial energy savings. Compared to conventional welding, energy costs for each individual welding wire can e.g. be considerably reduced with the aid of the digital current source by control-ling the power supply precisely when multi-wire submerged-arc welding is applied.

GROWING MARKET REQUIREMENTS

Spiral- and longitudinally seam-welded pipes are among others used as gas and oil pipelines, or applied in ship-building and for wind power plants – particularly offshore installations.

To meet the growing demands of these sectors, for ex-ample in terms of high pressures or improved resistance to corrosion or under arctic temperature, the pipes are increas-ingly manufactured from higher-strength steel grades. This means increased quality requirements with regard to the weld seams and at the same time, a reduction of heat input into the steel to ensure that the strength of high-strength steels is not again lost due to termperature influences in the welding process. Without the use of digital current sources the welding requirements of high-strength pipeline steels would be difficult to implement. PERFECT® arc now provides a solution that, on the one hand, ensures high-quality weld seams even for higher-strength materials, and, on the other hand, is characterized by high profitability.

90percent or more of welding efficiency, as confirmed by the test of PERFECT® arc under practical conditions.

Short lectures

Ecoplants technol-

ogies will be a main

focus of short lec-

tures during the

exhibition on the

METEC stand of the

SMS group. More

information on the

talks can be found

from early June

at www.sms-group.

com/metec.

i

25

es an unparalleled capacity of 1,500 A at 44 V and a duty cycle of 100 percent. For each arc or submerged-arc weld-ing operation requiring a welding capacity between 1,000 A and 1,500 A, just one PERFECT® arc welder will be suffi-cient (instead of two units with a nominal capacity of 1,000 A). Operational and investment cost savings will be real-ized immediately from lower electrical connection load and lower energy consumption during welding. In terms of capital and overheads, half the number of welding ma-chines simply means lower investment costs in equipment and less maintenance costs.

FASTER WELDING, LESS DEFECTS

Due to the ultra-precise closed-loop control and superfast control speed, PERFECT® arc is able to weld faster in either arc or submerged-arc welding, and with fewer defects. PERFECT® control and its true closed-loop circuit, coupled with extremely high control speed, are able to adjust the welding parameters ideally to the respective conditions from one millisecond to the other. This results in less weld-ing spatters during tack-welding (in MAG welding mode), and submerged-arc weld seams are achieved with excel-lent profile geometry. Thanks to the technology of PERFECT® arc, pipe producers attain higher production volumes of welded pipes with minimal weld defects in the pipes, at the same time having the effect that production is increased, costs for repairing defects are reduced and loss of yield is decreased.

PERFECT® arc has already confirmed its high productiv-ity and energy savings under practical conditions: the Chi-nese pipe producer Shandong Shengli Steel Pipe Co. Ltd. in Rizhao City has equipped its new spiral pipe mill from PWS with this technology. The operating results are con-

vincing, with energy savings of 30 per-cent. PERFECT® arc is therefore one of the Ecoplants technologies that are in the focus of the SMS group at METEC 2015. Interested visitors are able to learn more on the latest Ecoplants so-lutions at the exhibition booth 5E22 in hall 5.

Michael [email protected]

Frank Lichtenthä[email protected]

For additional infor-

mation on energy-

saving equipment

of the SMS group

please go to www.

sms-ecoplants.com


With PERFECT® arc, productivity in spiral pipe mills is doubled.And it can even be tripled depending on the design.

26


With high-tech components, old plants become competitive again.

27

IN FoCus — METEC 2015

OLD BECOMES NEWIn times of ever-shorter innovation cycles and ever-faster

changing markets, it is important to have a reliable partner at one’s side. By upgrading older plants, the SMS group

ensures that its customers remain successful and competitive market players over decades.

It is a good feeling to see an old plant run at a new perfor-mance level,” says Klaus Lazzaro of the SMS group. Over decades, the plant and mechanical engineering compa-ny has accumulated the know-how to take old plants –

which may be more than 50 years old – to new performance levels. Lazzaro personifies this expertise. As the Head of the Drives/Drive Components Department in Hilchenbach, he is one of many experts who know which solutions and compo-nents are needed to make older plants fit again. For exam-ple, a main drive, a pinion gear and SIEFLEX® HT gear-type self-aligning spindles have recently been supplied to Arce-lorMittal Gent, in Belgium, for stand F1 of the hot rolling mill. “Thanks to the modernization, the drive train can now transmit much higher rolling torques. These are necessary in order to be able to roll hot strip made of high-strength steels,” says Lazzaro. The implemented measures have in-creased the productivity and flexibility of the ArcelorMittal Gent plant.

MORE THAN 500 PLANTS UPGRADED

A plant upgrade is often less expensive than a new invest-ment, especially as an upgrade may be implemented in various stages and – with little lead time - adapted to cur-rent needs. With the right modernization measures imple-mented, also older machines will be able to remain com-petitive. ArcelorMittal Gent is only one out of many examples. As plant and machinery builders for the steel and NF-met-als industry, the SMS group are experts not only in the con-struction of brand new plants, but particularly also in up-grading existing plants. During the last ten years, the SMS group has successfully completed more than 500 modern-ization projects. This is experience on which the plant op-erators can rely. “For certain plant types, we have developed complete modernization modules. These are practice-prov-

en solutions characterized by high economic efficiency and individual adaptability. The plant operators bene-fit in various respects,” says Guido Kleinschmidt, member of the Manag-ing Board of the SMS group. In any case, a plant upgrade is more than the mere replacement of parts.

Four points are critical to a suc-cessful plant modernization: a detailed analysis of the present plant status, an intelligent modernization strategy, good planning and top technologies aligned to the specific requirements of each individual customer. “Our experts have all these four points in mind,” adds Kleinschmidt. Every project starts with the identification of the plant components to be upgraded. First, the SMS engineers analyze the existing plant in great detail and

500During the last ten years, the SMS group has modernized more than 500 plants.

SMS group – we

modernize any plant

type. Watch our

video on moderniza-

tions via the follow-

ing link or scan the

QR code below.

www.sms-group.

com/qr/moderni-

zation

28


review the areas subject to a renewal. “The starting point for a successful modernization project is to determine the current status of the plant,” says Kleinschmidt. “We analyze the equipment, the product range and the techno-logical processes with a view to future requirements. Quite often, we are able to reveal hidden potentials as early as in this first phase.” Following this survey, SMS will draw up a concept taking into account the specific plant parameters and customer wishes. Any required plant downtime during the reconstruction phase will be planned with utmost scru-tiny together with the customer. For this – like for new plant projects – the SMS group uses Virtual Engineering. Indi-vidual measures become visually perceptible to all parties involved and complex processes can be assessed so as to be able to fulfill the requirements of the customer.

SHORT DOWNTIME, HIGH PERFORMANCE

One central objective always is to keep downtimes as short as possible. “Plant downtimes always mean a big loss,” says Kleinschmidt. “We minimize downtimes by using preassem-bled units and preparing the new plants components along-side the running production line. This allows us to accom-plish the actual conversion in a very short time.” This approach was successfully implemented, for example, at Outokumpu VDM GmbH in Siegen, Germany, in 2013. The rolling mill upgrade by SMS included a new four-high mill stand with X-Pact® electrical and automation equipment, furnace charging and discharging equipment down to the crop shear as well as a new descaler. SMS implemented the plate mill upgrade during a five-week downtime. The entire automation systems were set up in the test field in Hilchen-bach and tested according to the proven Plug & Work con-cept, allowing the production process to be simulated and the automation functions to be optimized together with the customers under near-reality conditions prior to the instal-lation on-site. Today, Outokumpu VDM is in a position to supply products with tighter geometric tolerances and high-er unit weights.

LEvERAGING POTENTIAL THROUGH AUTOMATION

Especially in older plants, major potential can be tapped from an upgrade of the automation equipment. “In metal-lurgical plants, modern electrical and automation systems make production safe and reliable and ensure high product quality,” says Detlef Ehlert, Executive Vice President, E & A Division of SMS group. SMS also offers pure automation so-

lutions for plant expansions. “From the meltshop through to the caster, from the rolling mill through to the strip pro-cessing line, under our X-Pact® brand, customers are provided with solutions that all come from a single source,” continues Ehlert. “We also retrofit plants designed by third-party suppli-ers with our automation solutions.”

Also small modules have an effect. Although the Energy Advisor is a small tool, it is a good example of the great positive impact modernization activi-ties have. “This tool allows us to moni-tor the energy balance of the produc-tion processes and derive concrete measures to make existing plants more eco-friendly and reduce their en-ergy consumption,” explains Ehlert. Less energy consumption means less costs and an improvement of our cus-tomers’ competitiveness.

TRUSTFUL COLLABORATION

Modernization solutions developed by the SMS group help plant operators to prolong the life cycles of their equip-ment. “Customers benefit from solu-tions coming from a single supplier. Expertise, know-how, high-tech equip-ment and constructive and trustful col-laboration are the keys to success,” says Kleinschmidt. “Thanks to our ex-pertise, old plants become young again.”

www.sms-group.com

iShort papers

Modernization

competence of the

SMS group and suc-

cessful references

will be a main topic

of the short technical

papers presented

at the METEC booth

of the SMS group.

More information on

the papers will be

available from the

beginning of June

at www.sms-group.

com/metec

29


Prior to the instal-lation on-site, the complete automation system is tested in the test field. This cuts commissioning times.

High- lights

SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

Party on fair booth

Get-together at the trade fair booth

The METEC/GIFA/THERMPROCESS trade fair is the key event for the steel and nonferrous metals industry. This event is not only a venue for intensive discussions and the exchange of pro-fessional information, but also for so-cializing in a relaxed atmosphere. Join us for a party at our trade fair booth on Friday, June 19, 2015, starting 5.30 p.m. Come and have a good time with us.

METEC, hall 5, booth 5E22

Mold for copper

High casting capacities

ESTAD 2015

60 technical papersConcurrently with METEC/GIFA and THERMPROCESS, the Steel Institute VDEh is organizing the “2nd European Steel Technology and Application Days” (ESTAD) at Congress Centrum Düsseldorf (CCD) from June 15 to 19, 2015. In around 60 technical papers, the SMS group will be presenting new developments and successful refer-ence projects from the last few years at ESTAD 2015.

water control, high casting capacities at constant quality can be achieved during casting campaigns lasting several weeks.

GIFA/THERMPROCESS, hall 10, booth 10H41

Nowadays, horizontal continuous casting of extruded bil-lets is the most economic way of producing starting mate-rial for the extrusion of tubes, rods, bars and sections from brass alloys. The exhibit shows a mold with hot changing frame for attachment to an inductively heated pressure-controlled holding furnace. Owing to an improved water flow inside the cooler and fully automated cooling-

Those interested in more details about the topics and the timetable are invited to visit www.sms-group.com/metec/en

30

31


Short presentations

PQSC® piercer plugs HD mold

Trends and solutions

Economical Reliable

How can sustainability and economic growth be brought in unison? Which in-novative concepts for steel production and processing have emerged? How can revamps make existing plants fit for the requirements of the future? How can services offered by SMS support you in the operation of your plants? And: Which new solutions are suitable to further develop steel as a material? These and other topics will be covered by a series of papers presented on our trade booth. Detailed information about the topics of the presentations and the time-table will be available from the beginning of June on our microsite: www.sms-group.com/metec/en


Due to a special ceramic coating and higher service life, PQSC® piercer plugs (Premium Quality Surface Coat-ing) ensure that enhanced internal pipe surfaces are attained. They are used during the first step of seamless tube production. PQSC® piercer plugs from SMS withstand extreme thermal and mechanical stresses for a partic-ularly long time. In this way, pipe producers are able to reduce tooling costs and raise productivity of their plants. In addition, PQSC® piercer plugs meet high standards in terms of production reliability, freedom from

The HD mold is an “intelligent” copper plate with an integrated fiber-optic-based temperature gage. It provides measured data of high quality and reli-ability. Temperature measurement is up to three-times faster and non-sen-sitive to electromagnetic effects. With only one third of the wiring effort found in the conventional solution, the num-ber of measuring points can be tripled. A special feature of the HD mold is that it provides more information about the casting process than any system of the past. The fact that the breakout rate is reduced thanks to the unambiguous detection of stickers and of longitudi-nal cracking, and the marked reduc-tion of operating costs, are further im-portant advantages of the HD mold.


HD LASr

Perfectly aligned

HD LASr facilitates the exact alignment of the

containment zone. Even small mis-alignments may result in poor quality or lead to disruptions in operation. It only requires a short familiarization time to be able to perform all mea-suring tasks with the plant assistant HD LASr, which features a three-di-mensional laser gage and an intuitive operating concept. HD LASr is the most intelligent solution on the mar-ket. The high quality of the measure-ments, its precise and reliable log-ging function and the meaningful assessment of the measured objects make it a system of unparalleled per-formance features.

errors and dimensional accuracy, and thus ensure the quality of the product.


MARKETS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

32

MATERIALS PUSH MOBILITY

Vehicles are expected to be light, safe and environmentally friendly. The demands on materials keep on growing, be it steel or

aluminum. The equipment offered by the SMS group lays the foundation for sustainable and future-oriented mobility.

MARKETS — MOBILITY

Growth market 34

Technologies for car body shells

Inductive hardening for drive components 38

Fully automated hardening process

High-strength automotive steel grades 40

Steel – the material in our vehicles

Trains running on time 42

Getting driving forces safely onto rail tracks

OVERVIEW

SMS group technologies help automotive manu-

facturers use aluminum as lightweight material.

34


For further infor-

mation on the SMS

group’s solutions

for the automotive

sector please refer

to the link below and

the QR code.

www.sms-group.

com/qr/automotive

35


TECHNOLOGIES FOR CAR

BODY SHELLS

With its new model F1-150, America’s best-selling pick-up, the U.S. car man-ufacturer Ford is setting new bench-marks in the application of aluminum in 2015. In future, the entire car body will be made of the lightweight and du-rable metal. The result is a weight re-duction of 320 kilograms per vehicle. For 2016, Ford is planning to realize its full annual capacity of 850,000 units of the F-150 model. This means the com-pany will have a demand of 350,000 tons of aluminum strip per year. “We are seeing motion on the market, not only at Ford,” says Michael Schäfer, Ex-ecutive Vice President Flat Rolling Plants Division of the SMS group. “Forecasts predicting a triplication of the demand for rolled aluminum prod-ucts in the automotive industry within the next two or three years may be deemed quite realistic.” Aluminum is mainly used for structural components and car body exposed outer parts.

Aluminum producers are respond-ing to the looming bottleneck in the market for high-quality strip. To be able to satisfy the demand for new grades with specific strip properties,

plant operators are already investing in rolling mills and heat treatment facili-ties. In addition to new facilities, exist-ing rolling mills are increasingly being modernized to meet the requirements imposed by automotive grades. Here, the SMS group offers an array of tech-nologies for aluminum rolling mills satisfying the growing process- and product-quality requirements.

ROLLING MILLS WITH EDT TECHNOLOGy

Electro Discharge Texturing (EDT) is a process to remove small particles from the roll surface by means of elec-tronic discharging. The resulting rough roll surface transfers its crater-like texture to the strip during the last pass at low rolling force. The automotive in-dustry counts on this isotropic rough-ness of the strip surface. Excellent formability during pressing and a per-fect surface appearance after painting, irrespective of the starting material, are crucial demands on aluminum strips to be used for car body shells. Aluminum strips produced with EDT rolls deliver all the characteristics needed for this application.

Less greenhouse gas despite more traffic. A challenging target to automobile manufacturers. One important element

to achieve this goal is the use of weight-saving materials. And this is where aluminum is playing a key role.

Rolling mills with integrated EDT tech-nology for aluminum strip rolling are much asked for. Single-purpose mills in conventional two-high or four-high design can be arranged as stand-alone units or be integrated in continu-ous heat and chemical processing lines. The suitable stand configuration depends on the necessary degree of flexibility and the material mix the plant operator wants to produce. While stand-alone four-high mills offer high flexibility, in-line two-high mill stands score due to their lower investment and operating costs. Today, many new aluminum cold rolling mills must be conceived with a flexibility permitting high reduction in the rolling pro-

850,000is the envisaged number of F-150 vehicles Ford wants to make in 2016. For this, the company will need 350,000 tons of aluminum strip.

Markets� sms group�newsletter 02�/�2015

36

cess, but also EDT passes with low rolling forces. Both operating modes should afford effective performance without having to accept compromis-es in terms of strip quality. Therefore, the combined mills for reducing and EDT rolling as offered by the SMS group are equipped with CVC® plus technology and EBS (Extended Bend-ing System). These two technologies ensure a multitude of rolling condi-tions can be satisfied.

Contrary to conventional rolling with defined reductions, the final EDT pass is done with low rolling force. As com-parable experience is already available from steel production, the SMS group has developed the EBS technology to retain the highest accuracy during an EDT pass in aluminum rolling opera-tions and advanced it for combined rolling and reducing mills. In the EBS mode, the upper backup roll is raised and the required low rolling force transmitted by additional bending cyl-inders. The extended bending system substantially improves the control of the rolling process through reduced friction. Aluminum rolling mills equipped with EBS cover a wide range of rolling forces from the lowest to the

highest ones, and they are character-ized by dynamic behavior and high per-formance.

ADvANTAGE FLATNESS MEASURING ROLL

Maximum robustness, low mainte-nance, easy adaptation and the highest possible technological performance are frequently named demands on state-of-the-art automation systems. Being part of the X-Pact® automation packages of the SMS group, AluCon-trol® is tailored to meet the specific re-quirements involved in the hot and cold rolling of aluminum. It includes both control strategies for conventional re-duction passes as well as specialized controls for EDT roll passes.

The X-Shape flatness measuring roll is fitted at the rolling mill exit side and supports, over the full strip width, the uniform transfer of roll roughness to the strip. The flatness measuring roll measures the distribution of strip ten-sion over the strip width. The readings are used by the X-Pact® AluControl® to adjust the roll gap by tilting via the EBS and work roll bending system. Mea-surements made by the X-Shape flat-ness measuring rolls are based on the BFI principle, with force sensors being

integrated in the measuring roll body. Supersensitive Piezo sensors detect even the smallest differences in the strip elongation. The in-roll signal am-plification is adjusted to the actual process needs allowing for an appro-priate and high resolution of the mea-surement. Optionally, an online strip roughness measurement can be add-ed to the exit side of the mill.

FAST AND EFFECTIvE COOLING

For numerous automotive applications, the cold rolled aluminum strip must be subjected to a heat treatment process combining annealing with fast cooling to attain the necessary formability and the needed material strengths. A flota-tion-type annealing furnace and the downstream cooling section make sure the material properties demanded by the automotive industry are achieved. This means the flotation-type anneal-ing furnace and the downstream cool-ing system are the relevant process components that determine the high quality of the finished material.

As mentioned above, the cooling system arranged downstream of the annealing furnace has a major influ-

The flatness mea-suring roll developed by the SMS group.

Core components

Typical arrangement of the components in a heat treatment and chemical coating line.

One or two payoff reels

One or two tension reels

Entry section

Exit section

Process section

Stitcher

Inspection

Pre-aging oven

Dividing shear

Side trimmer (optional)

Pre-cleaning section (optional)

Side trimmer (optional)

Oiling machine (optional)

Entry looper

Exit looper

Furnace

Tension leveler

Cleaning section

Chemical treatment

37

Aluminum sheets Extruded aluminum profiles Vacuum-cast structural parts (aluminum) High-strength steel plates


ence on the flatness of the strip. Pure air cooling achieves average cooling rates of up to 30 Kelvins per second and millimeter and hence an excellent flatness. Depending on the type of al-loy demanded by the transport indus-try, however, higher cooling rates of up to 400 Kelvins per second and millime-ter are needed. For this purpose, the SMS group offers combined high-per-formance water-cooling equipment with subsequent air cooler. The strip is uniformly cooled by means of several spraying beams fed with de-mineral-ized water.

Another important process is chem-ical coating of the strips to prepare them for transport and further pro-cessing. Being a systems supplier, the SMS group is able to deliver complete heat and chemical treatment lines, and can present references from reputed aluminum producers covering all sectors.

A unique selling point of the SMS group is its ability to supply the modu-lar lines completely from one source, including process components, high-performance and energy-efficient fur-

nace technology, reliable mechanical equipment as well as electrical and automation systems. Hence, there are no interface problems between the various plant sections, and all pro-cesses, including electrical and auto-mation systems, are perfectly harmo-nized right from the start of the project. Prior to commissioning, a Plug & Work integration test is made comprising a software check plus training of the customer’s staff.

The SMS group solutions help op-erators of aluminum rolling mills sat-isfy the rising demand and growing requirements of the automotive indus-try – and not only for the F-150.

www.sms-group.com

The material aluminum offers numerous benefits for vehicle manufacturing.

Surface structure of a strip rolled with EDT.

RecyclabilityNearly 90 % of auto aluminum is recovered and recyclable

Resistance to corrosionAluminum oxide coating prevents corrosion

Excellent formabilityFirst-class surface quality, sharp design

Weight reductionUp to 40% weight reduction in key automotive compo-nents possible

High strengthHigh strength and energy absorption

Markets� sms group�newsletter 02�/�2015

38

FULLY AUTOMATED HARDENING PROCESS

Drive components in vehicles must withstand the usual wear and tear, on the one hand, and convey the sensitivity for road surface and driving dynamics

to the driver, on the other hand, through precise mechanical characteristics. Here, induction hardening is of particular importance.

With the hardening systems EloFlex™ customers are well prepared for today’s and future requirements. That is to say for complex and also simple components.

To find out more

about induction

solutions from

Elotherm, click on

the following QR

code and link: www.

sms-elotherm.com/

de/news-medien-v/

fachberichte.html

Markets — Mobility

The global mobilization of large sec-tions of the population, even in coun-tries such as China and India and the necessity for lower-emission technol-ogies lead to the growing importance of advanced drive train concepts. Their miniaturization results in increasingly more compact engine, steering and gearbox components. The loads on the components of drive train and modern steering systems are constantly on the rise. With the solutions of SMS Elo-therm, these components withstand the increased demands.

This includes for example Elo-Crank™ and EloFlex™. The EloCrank™ series is designed for hardening crankshafts. EloFlex™ is constructed for axle and gearbox components and many other workpieces. “With our modular induction systems for hard-ening automotive components, plant operators are well prepared for today’s and future demands,“ says Dirk Schi-bisch, Vice President, Sales and Mar-keting at SMS Elotherm.

120 CRANKSHAFTS PER HOUR

EloCrank™ is the system solution for surface hardening of car crankshafts. A distinction is made between Elo-Crank™ with single station and Elo-Crank™ with double station. The sin-gle-station solution is mainly suited for medium and small series focusing on hardening different crankshaft types, whereas the double-station sys-tem is particularly required for large series and thus for hardening with high throughput, especially in the au-tomotive industry. In continuous in-dustrial operation the machine with double station is capable of producing up to 120 crankshafts. Both machines can be expanded individually by vari-ous optional packages and may be easily retrofitted to, for example, other shaft geometries. By hardening of up to 1,500-millimeter-long crankshafts, the EloCrank™ L system opens up a

Dirk [email protected]

broad range of applications, for example in the trucks sec-tor and for other large vehicles. The system can be equipped with up to 13 transformer inductor suspensions. In this way, a short cycle time is reached even for large crank-shafts.

FULLy AUTOMATED HARDENING PROCESS

Apart from classical car engines, such of rail-bound vehi-cles and marine engines requiring large crankshafts are increasingly manufactured. In this case, the components are exposed to even higher loads. With EloCrank™ XL the giants among the crankshafts can be hardened highly pre-cisely and above all economically. “Depending on the ap-plication, crankshafts may be up to twelve meters long,” says Sales Director Schibisch. “Here, rotational hardening with rotating crankshaft and locally hardened bearing loca-tions is of particular significance.” The hardening process is fully automatic, i.e., it is carried out in the same way as for smaller machines. The inductors are monitored by means of coding. “This ensures that expensive damage due to mixed-up clamping positions is prevented,” Schibisch adds.

The EloFlex™ series on the contrary is designed pre-dominantly for axle and gearbox components and many other workpieces. EloFlex™ Inline is characterized by fully automated operation with short cycle times and is seam-lessly integrated in the existing production lines. As the hardening system is provided with fully automated work-piece handling and the hardening process takes place in a program-controlled way, manpower requirement is re-duced and process reliability and yield are enhanced. Con-sequently, uninterruptable, profitable continuous duty of EloFlex™ is ensured by the fact that off-size parts are inde-pendently identified and discharged by a quality-monitoring system. With modular induction systems supplied by Elo-therm the automobile manufacturers and suppliers are ready for any requirement.

Crankshafts must always withstand increasingly higher loads.

39

SMS Elotherm

is part of the SMS

group. With its

solutions the compa-

ny sets standards in

induction technology.

As a system partner

of the automobile

and components

industry as well as

the steel, rolling and

tube industries, SMS

Elotherm has over

75 years of experi-

ence. Induction

hardening is also a

topic on the exhibi-

tion stand of the

SMS group at GIFA/

THERMPROCESS

(hall 10, booth

10H41).

i


40

To learn more about

strip processing

lines for automotive

grades as offered

by the SMS group

follow the link below

or the QR code.

www.sms-group.

com/strip-process-

ing-lines

From right to bottom:

The quality of the strip surface is

controlled in the inspection stand.

On average

60 percent of an automobile consists of steel. There is an increasing demand

for highest-strength steels ensuring

comfort, safety and environmental

compatibility.

41


Fast, fuel-efficient and safe – that is how consumers want their cars to be. Newly developed steel grades with opti-mized property combinations permit lightweight and also safe cars to be manufactured. Multiphase steels, for example, are easy to form and come with high strength, too. However, to pro-duce such steels, strip processing lines are needed that are designed for high material strengths and perfect sur-faces.

From mechanical and process tech-nological components to furnace and air-knife systems and further to elec-trical and automation equipment plus control and measuring systems – the SMS group bundles all required prod-ucts and services. Automotive lines from the SMS group convince by their flexibility, efficiency and innovative technologies – characteristics needed by steel producers to meet the high demands of the automotive industry. In addition to pure hot-dip galvanizing lines and continuous annealing lines, the portfolio comprises so-called mul-tipurpose lines such as the universal annealing line with gas and water cooling, the universal annealing and

STEEL – THE MATERIAL IN OUR VEHICLES

hot-dip galvanizing line and the all-purpose line. These lines feature in-creased flexibility, permitting the cus-tomer to adjust their production to the actual market demands with a view to the highest-possible degree of effi-ciency.

To attain excellent material strengths along with high elasticity, efficient an-nealing and cooling strategies are de-manded. Strip cooling can either be ac-complished by the efficient method of injecting hydrogen in the ultrafast cool-ing system or by intensive cooling with de-mineralized water.

FLEXIBLE AND EFFICIENT

Fritz Brühl, Executive Vice President Strip Processing Lines and Furnace Technology, comments: “A flexible heat treatment offers the advantage of producing several steel grades with high strengths. We want to accompany our customers in their materials de-velopment and consider the resulting requirements in our line concepts. We link the IMPOC measurement system from EMG, which examines material tensile strength and yield point, to the automation system, for instance, to be

Steel continues to be one of the most important structural materials in automobiles. Competing with other materials, the share of high-strength steel grades keeps growing and so do the demands for producing robust and, at the

same time, lightweight steels. Cold strip processing lines from the SMS group meet these demands.

[email protected]

able to make adjustments online in the process.” Thanks to sophisticated air-knife systems it is possible to produce C-surface strips (highest surface qual-ity) used for car body shells. Moreover, this helps save zinc and reduce pro-duction costs.

Since the year 2000, SMS has es-tablished a total of 36 cold strip lines for the production of automotive grades. “A good portion of the leading steel producers of automotive grades produces on facilities supplied by the SMS group,” supplements Michael Cottin, Executive Vice President Strip Processing Lines and Furnace Tech-nology. Generally, the lines produce high-strength grades up to DP980 or TRIP980. But owing to state-of-the-art cooling technologies the product range includes newly developed, high-strength dual- and complex-phase steels as well as martensitic grades with tensile strengths of over 1,500 MPa. These steels permit the car manufacturers to make fast, fuel-effi-cient and safe vehicles as requested by the customer.

42


High-speed railway networks will be heavily expanded over the next ten years.

43

Markets — Mobility

According to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the Euro-pean Union, 1,484 travelers use a train in Europe every minute, which is 7.8 billion Europeans per year making use of this means of transportation. Naturally, global pro-portion is many times higher. In Japan alone, the East Ja-pan Railway Company, as the largest railroad company worldwide, stated that it transports 5.8 billion passengers per year. Meanwhile, many of them are also traveling in so-called high-speed trains. These trains are able to run at speeds of at least 250 km/h on specially built rail net-works. Since the 60s, high-speed networks have been constantly expanded. Until 2025, the International Union of Railways (UIC) expects an expansion of high-speed net-works of more than 40,000 kilometers worldwide.

HIGH-TECH FOR HIGH-SPEED

The SMS group provides companies from the steel indus-try with special plants used to produce forged wheels for high-speed trains. It is a high-tech product, where very special steels are employed. Otherwise, speeds at which an ICE, a TGV, the Chinese CRH or the Japanese Shinkan-sen is driving would not be possible without taking a risk. Highly customized machines and plants of the company allow for cost-efficient and faultless manufacture of nec-essary components on different routes worldwide.

Wheel rolling lines from the SMS group are used for the production of solid wheels and wheel discs from pressed blanks. The wheels are installed, for example, in locomo-tives, railway wagons, trams or underground railways, and

GETTING DRIVING FORCES SAFELY ONTO

RAIL TRACKS

have to withstand enormous stresses. Wheel rolling lines from SMS produce precisely and economically. The ma-chines are designed in a highly rigid manner such that the blank is rolled in a vertical position. Two web rolls pro-cess the wheel web and the inside of the wheel tread simultaneously. In this way, the machines function precisely and achieve a long service life. They produce a wheel profile that already comes very close to the desired final contour, saving time and reducing costs in further processing.

The necessary forming forces are exerted as close as possible to the shaping tools. Each web roll has its own variable-speed drive. Tool

Trains are an old form of transport – they already exist for some 200 years. At the same time, they are ultramodern. In fact,

always new variations are developed, design and comfort is improved. And in terms of speed (almost) no limits are set for travelers.

40,000km, that’s how long the high-speed railway networks are intended to be in the next ten years worldwide, says the UIC.

For further informa-

tion on wheel rolling

lines of the SMS

group please also go

to www.sms-group.

com/news-media/

publications

Pho

to le

ft: R

obin

Mac

Dou

gall/

gett

yim

ages

44

changing cassettes permit very short tool-changing times. Specialized presses for manufacturing the neces-sary wheel blanks and for dishing and piercing the wheels after rolling com-plete the offer from SMS. Thanks to the advanced automation with its own control panel, the process parameters can be set quickly.

Since 1920, the SMS group has gained experience in the production of wheel rolling machines. On wheel rolling machines and plants from SMS, radi-al as well as axial wheel profiles are possible – even wheels with webs off-set to the hub or the wheel flange. The railway wheels produced corre-spond to international and customer-

After rolling, the wheels cool down before they are further processed.

The wheel rolling machine from SMS produces highly sensitive wheels.

Here, a railway wheel is produced for a high-speed train. These wheels are able to roll at speeds of at least 250 km/h.


specific standards and are measured with laser measuring devices.

By using special retooling and up-grading possibilities of the machines, even older models may be adapted cost-efficiently to current require-ments to create measurable benefits for the customers in their demanding markets.

www.sms-group.com/forging-plants

45


Martin J. Kunz, Vice President and General Manager Sales at Forging Plants Product Unit, explains which challenges manufacturers of wheel rolling machines are facing.

Mr. Kunz, what requirements must be met by your plants to ensure that the high quality standards of the wheels demanded in a high-speed train are achieved? When rolling the wheels it is a question of reaching a long-lasting stable quality in the shortest possible time with the number of wheel rejects kept to a minimum. That our plants have been world leaders in this sector for many years is not least illustrated by the fact that all wheel rolling plants that have been taken into operation over the last 20 years come from our company.

How and where does the SMS group benefit from the ex-pansion of high-speed networks? In China, an enormous network for high-speed connections was created in recent years and SMS supplied the rolling mills required for the wheels, but also for drive shafts and rails as well as the presses for the external aluminum skin of the trains. In Russia, network setup is in full swing and in India initial efforts are beginning to take effect. In this con-text, the worldwide annual demand in forged wheels is ap-prox. five million units. We are currently developing new economically interesting plant solutions for setting fresh impulses in the market.

That is to say? The trend is definitely towards niche products with special requirements – for example the production of smaller quantities for special applications. Otherwise, wheel rolling plants need again and again technical upgrading and mod-ernizations to be able to exist economically over the long term in the harsh competition. In this regard, too, we are the number one to contact.

Number one to contact

Interview

Martin J. Kunz vice President and

General Manager

Sales, Forging

Plants Product Unit

Martin J. [email protected]

iForging plants

Specialized presses

for manufacturing

wheel blanks as

well as for dish-

ing and piercing

of wheels after

rolling complete

the competence of

SMS. The result:

Fully automatically

operating complete

systems with all ma-

chine components

synchronized with

each other.

46

WEIGHTYAll around the globe, the SMS group is implementing numerous big

projects including a new metallurgical plant and rolling mill for Siderúrgica Nacional, in Venezuela. The mill housing weighing 303 tons

(see photo) was manufactured in the Hilchenbach workshop.

PROJECTS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

46

Paul Wurth 50Metallurgical technology 52Steel refining 56Continuous casting plants 61Hot rolling mills 64Cold rolling mills 67Aluminum plants 76Strip processing lines 80Furnace technology 86Tube & pipe plants 89Long products plants 98Forging plants 99NF metals 103Heat treatment technology 103

OVERVIEW

PROJECTS

� sms group�newsletter 02�/�2015

48

Fuxin Special Steel Co. Ltd., Taiwan, has issued to SMS the final accep-tance certificate for the supplied steelworks. Built at the Zhangzhou site in the Chinese province of Fujian, the steelworks is used for the produc-tion of special steel slabs. It is the first special steel plant in the world to exploit the waste heat from the AOD converter and the electric arc fur-nace. Fuxin Special Steel benefits from this solution in the form of a 60,000 tons per year reduction of CO2 emissions. Dr. Erich Hovestädt, SMS group, hands over

a copper plate bearing the commissioning date to K. H. Wu., President of Fujian Fuxin Special Steel Corporation.

Fuxin Special Steel, Taiwan

FAC received

Following the construc-tion and commission-ing of coke oven battery 1E at Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal (NSSMC) in Japan in 2011, the Paul Wurth group has now received the order to design and supply all mechanical components for the new coke oven battery 1F of NSSMC in Kashima. The battery, based on Paul Wurth technology, will consist of 33 ovens and be designed for an annual production ca-pacity of 405,000 tons.

Aleris, Germany

SMS to supply cold mill

www.sms-group.com

NSSMC, Japan

Follow-up order secured

Aleris, a world-leading aluminum coil manufacturer, has placed an order with SMS for the supply of a single-

www.aleris.com www.paulwurth.com

stand six-high aluminum cold rolling mill as key equipment for a major ex-pansion of the facilities at its U.S. site in Lewisport, Kentucky. The new mill will be designed to produce up to 2,350-millimeter-wide prime-quality coil, enabling Aleris to cater to the ex-pected growing demand of the North American automotive industry for car body sheet made of aluminum. All

major components of the cutting-edge CVC® plus six-high cold mill will be manufactured in the modern workshops of the

SMS group.

in brief

49

Coilers are pre-assembled in the manufac-turing shop of SMS.

IN BRIEF

The objective of the revamp was to ex-tend the range of products of Shou-gang Iron & Steel in the field of high-strength and pipe steel grades. After the modification of the No. 3 coiler, pipe grades of the strength category X100 with a thickness of up to 22 mil-limeters can be coiled today.

“We are very satisfied with the new UNI plus-coiler performance and the wider production range will help us to strengthen our market position in China,” says the project manager in charge at Jingtang, Wang Wenzhong.

Shougang Iron & Steel, China

First coil

www.parkegate.co.uk

Esmech Equipment Pvt. Ltd., the In-dian joint venture partner of the SMS group, supplied a single-stand Re-versing Cold Mill (RCM) to its Viet-namese customer Hoa Sen Group. The six-high RCM with CVC® plus re-

Mahle Engine Systems, United Kingdom

Scrap marker for inspection line Following a previous order, Parkegate, a company of the SMS group, was again selected by Mahle Engine Systems to supply a new scrap marker for an inspec-tion line. With its custom-tailored Parke-

Hoa Sen Group, vietnam

Hoa Sen rolls first stripcently rolled its first strip. The strip had a width of 930 millimeters and a starting thickness of 2.0 millime-ters and was rolled down to a final thickness of 0.63 millimeters in four passes.

EVRAZ ZSMK in Novokuznetsk, Russia, has issued the Final Acceptance Cer-tificate to Paul Wurth for the pulverized coal injection plant designed and supplied by the Luxembourg-based plant builder. Two coal grinding and dry-ing plants of identical design, with a capacity of 88 tons per hour each, feed pulverized coal to the individual injection plants of the three blast furnaces

at the“Zapsib” site. The furnaces have a total hot metal capacity of 18,700 tons per day. As early as in 2012/13, EVRAZ NTMK at Nizhnij Tagil started up the first industrial-scale PCI plant in Russia – also in cooperation with Paul Wurth.

EvRAZ ZSMK, Novokuznetsk, Russia

FAC in Western Siberia

Ralf [email protected]

www.paulwurth.com

gate design, the marker is able to mark five individual zones over the entire strip width and will replace the existing single-zone system. As soon as the marker will have been installed behind the inspection

unit, the marking zones can be activated manually or automatically upon feed-back by the inspection unit.

Projects sms groupnewsletter 02/2015

50

A RELIABLE PARTNER

Effective January 1, 2015, Georges Rassel assumed the position of CEO at Paul Wurth S.A. In his previous po-sition as Chief Operations Officer of the company, he had been closely linked with the operative business. In his new function, he continues to give highest priority to close customer contacts. He sees potentials above all in the fields of plant modernization and services. An especially great number of projects are presently un-derway at plants of ArcelorMittal.

Most of the new orders and the com-missionings in business year 2014 were for modernization projects. Is this trend likely to continue?Georges Rassel: In view of the diffi-cult market environment and the global overcapacities, I don’t expect much building of new production plants in the near future, maybe with the exception of India and southeast

Interview

Asia. Nevertheless, steelmakers will have to continue to foster invest-ments in the revamping of existing facilities. In Western Europe, where the works are already state of the art, efforts will be dedicated to keeping the plants fit with as little repair work as possible. However, further east, there is a real need for modernization in the existing works, especially with a view to productivity and compliance with environmental standards. Paul Wurth’s business area is technology for ironmaking. In the production chain, this is far away from the final product. Therefore, our customers do not see the need to build new plants that can make new types of products. In other areas of the SMS group, this is different.

A strikingly great number of projects are currently being implemented with companies of the ArcelorMittal

In this interview, Georges Rassel gives insights into current projects.

group. It seems that customer confi-dence is exceptionally high here?The relationship between ArcelorMittal and Paul Wurth is characterized by many years of trustful cooperation. We have jointly drawn up concepts about how to modernize a blast furnace with minimum production loss and maxi-mum efficiency, for example in 2003 the relining of blast furnace “A” at Sid-mar in Belgium. We naturally utilize this know-how in our current projects at ArcelorMittal Poland, Galati, Temir-tau, Kryviy Rih, Ostrava and, last but not least, in Newcastle, South Africa. We usually support the customer in the first phase of a project with an engi-neering concept. In a second phase, this engineering concept is elaborated, especially regarding the supply of key components by Paul Wurth, for which we may offer services in the long run.

Which are the biggest projects Paul Wurth is currently handling for Arce-lorMittal?After the relining of ArcelorMittal’s blast furnace No. 2 in Temirtau, Ka-zakhstan, also blast furnace No. 3 was brought back into operation in 2012 after a comprehensive revamp by Paul Wurth. After these two reference proj-ects, in 2014 we received the order to modernize blast furnace No. 4. The or-der encompasses the engineering, the supply of key components and con-struction site services. At Temirtau, Paul Wurth is without doubt valued as a reliable partner for modernization projects. The order awarded to Paul Wurth by ArcelorMittal Algeria in An-naba for relining its blast furnace No. 2

Projects — Paul Wurth

51

Georges Rassel, is the new CEO of Paul Wurth S.A.

has a similar scope. Under discussion is also a contract for the repair of the Annaba sinter plant. Both projects, the one in Kazakhstan and the one in Al-geria, are extremely challenging in terms of logistics and considering the conditions on-site.

Which added value does the customer draw from modernization projects implemented by Paul Wurth?The measures that we adopt to recon-dition the plants are not limited to mere repairs. If requested by the customer, our modernization concepts also in-clude solutions to improve energy effi-ciency, reduce the environmental foot-print and optimize the process control by means of automation and expert systems. These projects may range from small-scale revamps to obtain functional improvements in certain ar-eas, through to complete relinings. Thanks to our long-standing experi-ence, we equally bear in mind the costs and ways to minimize downtimes. We also break fresh ground, as for exam-ple by performing hot repairs on coke oven batteries.

We are committed to serving our customers as life cycle partners. In the follow-up of plant revamps, we there-fore offer a full range of services – cus-tomized to local requirements, on call and of the highest quality.

»Our modernization concepts include solutions to improve energy efficiency, reduce the environmental footprint and optimize the process

control by means of automation and expert systems.«

Georges Rassel, CEO of Paul Wurth S.A

Georges [email protected]

5252


The BOF shop at IISCO Steel Plant has been designed for 2.6 million tons per year of liquid steel.

CLEAN STEELWORKS

At IISCO Steel Plant (ISP), India, SMS has successfully commissioned an X-Melt® BOF steelmaking shop for the production of quality steels.

The new steelmaking shop has been designed for an an-nual production of 2.6 million tons of liquid steel. It cur-rently comprises two 150-ton converters, two stirring sta-tions, two ladle furnaces and the primary and secondary gas cleaning systems.

The SMS’s supply scope included the basic and detail engineering for the mechanical core components, the com-plete X-Pact® electrical and automation systems, delivery, installation, commissioning, supervision of commissioning and training for the operation personnel. The BOFs are equipped with the maintenance-free lamella-type vessel

suspension system developed by SMS, bottom stirring sys-tems for combined blowing and converter tilt drives manu-factured in the SMS workshop in Hilchenbach, Germany. Also included in the supply package were the oxygen blow-ing lance equipment, the additives handling system and the systems for ladle lining repair, as well as the rail-bound ladle transfer cars. The primary gas collecting system uses the proven SMS adjustable skirts for recovering the energy-rich CO gas. SMS supplied the off-gas cooling plant, the wet-type scrubbers, the gas switching and export stations as well as a gas holder for a volume of 50,000 Nm3 of con-verter gas.

CONvERTER GAS AS ENERGy SOURCE

Thanks to this technology, a total amount of 200 million Nm3 of converter gas will be available every year to replace other fossil fuels in energy generation. This dramatically reduces energy costs and CO2 emissions.

The secondary gas is cleaned by low-maintenance dry-type electro-static precipitators (“ESP”), which are de-signed for a capacity of more than 1,870,000 Nm3 per hour. In addition to the technological control systems (level 1), the X-Pact® electrical and automation systems encompass the metallurgical process models (level 2) to guarantee both an economic production and a high steel quality. An RH-TOP vacuum recirculation degasser from SMS Mevac and the converter-gas recovery plant will be commissioned shortly.

Jan [email protected]

Projects — metallurgical technology

The most powerful converter tilt gear ever manufactured in the workshop of SMS.

Each of the converters will be equipped with a tilt drive, water-cooled trunnion rings and the lamella-type vessel sus-pension system developed by SMS, a maintenance-free solution that allows the converter vessel to be suspended in the trunnion ring in an unrestricted manner. Commissioning is planned to take place in the middle of 2016.

HIGH-CAPACITy CONvERTERS

Featuring a tilting torque of 7,500 kNm, the new tilt drives will be the most powerful converter drives ever built by SMS in their Hilchenbach workshop in Germany. The spur gears, which will have a diameter of approximately 4.40 meters, will re-ceive a gearing made of case-hard-ened steel. The same type of tilt gear had been installed in converter No. 23. The supply scope will comprise two new converter vessels with cool-ing systems for the upper cone, slag skirts and bottom purging systems with piping, as well as the tilt drives with disc brakes and torque support. The electrical part of the supply pack-age will include the electric drives and the control system complete with the operator panels.

The SMS group will also provide the structural steelwork and foundations and disassemble the existing and in-stall the new converters. As during the project for converter No. 23, also this time the project managers will be able

Powerful tilt drives

Tata Steel IJmuiden B.V., the Netherlands, has placed an order with SMS for the modernization of the two 350-ton

converters Nos. 21 and 22 in their IJmuiden works.

to examine the modernization measures and the new com-ponents in a three-dimensional planning model, allowing for detailed planning of the equipment design and the re-construction situation well in advance. Tata Steel IJmuiden B.V. operates three SMS converters at its oxygen steel plant. The upgrade of converter No. 23 was completed in 2014.


53

iInnovative

The lamella system

is a tried-and-tested

solution ensuring

that the converter

vessel is suspended

in the trunnion ring

in an unrestricted

manner.


First tapping in November 2014.

The first slag tapping from the furnace in South Korea took place in Novem-ber 2014, the first metal tapping in January 2015. Ramp-up of the furnace to full capacity is planned for the sec-ond half of 2015. With the new furnace, POSCO SNNC will boost its annual production capacity from currently 30,000 to 54,000 tons of nickel. The furnace was supplied by SMS.

OPTIMIZED AIR COOLING

The power rating of the rectangular FeNi smelter is 135 MVA, the nominal power input 100 MW. To implement these performance values, furnace di-mensions of 40 by 15 meters are re-quired, making this new SAF currently the largest of its kind in the world. The order scope comprised the complete engineering and all supervisory ser-vices, the supply of the furnace and the X-Pact® electrical and automation sys-tems. “This project is a new milestone in large-scale FeNi production. The new SAF features numerous techno-logical innovations,” says Dr. Rolf Degel, Senior Divisional Specialist at SMS. The design of the SAF includes a special sidewall cooling system for the slag line level. Here, the required cool-ing rate is moderate, which improves both the thermal efficiency and the productivity of the furnace. The SAF is equipped with thyristors, allowing for flexible furnace operation and maxi-

TYPICAL GERMAN STYLEProfessional, reliable and on time: These words

characterize the cooperation between POSCO SNNC and the SMS group during the commissioning of the world’s

largest submerged arc furnace for ferronickel production.

mum productivity. The project was implemented in less than two years. “I would characterize the work with SMS as being typical German style: professional, on time and reli-able,” says G.Y. Lim, Deputy Managing Director of POSCO SNNC. “The furnace control system works very well.”

Rolf [email protected]

54

55

PROJECTS — METALLURGICAL TECHNOLOGY

Mario Kratz, CEO of SAB GmbH, and Georges Rassel, CEO of Paul Wurth (in front from left).

SMS Mevac has received an order for four new TOP lances from Shougang.

Center of competence

New TOP lances

Paul Wurth and SAB join forces.

Order from Shougang Jingtang.

On November 21, 2014, Paul Wurth S.A. and SAB GmbH signed an agree-ment for setting up an equally owned joint venture company called VCL Valve Competence Luxembourg. Paul Wurth, as a leading technology provider for the primary stage of in-tegrated steelmaking, and SAB, an engineering and manufacturing company particularly specialized in mechanical components for blast furnaces, decided to join forces by creating a Luxembourg-based com-petence center for all types of valves related to the blast furnace, such as stoves valves, goggle valves, equaliz-ing valves and bleeder valves. The activities will be limited to the Euro-pean market and cover engineering, manufacturing, assembly and com-missioning, as well as after-sales and repair services.

China Shougang International Trade and Eng. Corp., located in Beijing, awarded SMS Mevac a contract for the supply of four TOP lances for two existing Duplex-RH-TOP fast vessel exchange units operated by Shou-gang Jingtang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. at its Caofeidian steel plant in the province of Hebei. The two RH units were originally supplied by a Chinese competitor. The TOP lances will be designed for oxygen blowing under vacuum conditions during metallur-gical treatment as well as for heating the refractory lining of the RH vessel by the gas/oxygen burner function. A special feature is the TOP lance camera system, which allows the ob-servation of the metallurgical pro-cesses during treatment as well as vessel refractory inspection in be-tween treatments.

www.paulwurth.com www.sms-mevac.com

Blast furnaces “H” and “I” at Tata Steel are among the largest blast furnaces in India.

Spare parts for Tata SteelMaster contract with Paul Wurth.

In February 2015, Paul Wurth S.A. and Tata Steel signed a master spare parts supply agreement covering all blast furnaces (‘A’ - ‘F’, ‘G’,’H’,’I’) at the Jamshedpur works in India, where Tata Steel currently produces 9.7 million tons of crude steel per year.

This agreement will further strengthen the longstanding and trustful cooperation between Paul Wurth and the Indian steelmaker al-so in the service and spare parts business. For Tata Steel, this agree-ment will provide the benefit of a re-duced administrative effort. In Jam-shedpur, India, Tata Steel operates an integrated iron and steelworks with a total annual capacity of more than ten million tons of high-grade flat and long steel products.

www.paulwurth.com

56


MORE STAINLESS STEEL FOR CHINA

For the Chinese flat steel producer Fujian Fuxin Special Steel, SMS Mevac has supplied a new twin tank VOD unit. The unit is an extension

to the existing stainless steel production line.

Graphic representation of the twin tank VOD unit at Fuxin, China.

Projects — steel refining

57

With the new VOD unit, Fujian Fuxin will be able to in-crease the production flexibility and expand their product portfolio to include super ferritic steel grades. The heat size for the new VOD unit is up to 150 tons depending on the required ladle freeboard for the respective metallurgi-cal treatment targets.

The plant at Fujian Fuxin underlines the Chinese strat-egy to consistently increase the stainless steel production capacity in mainland China. While China has increased its stainless steel production capacity from 2008 to 2013 by around 150 percent, from 7 million tons p.a. to 18 million tons p.a., other steel producers did not exhibit any signifi-cant changes in this period. Worldwide, the stainless steel production capacity is approaching to nearly 40 Mt/a.

NEW TRIPLEX PROCESS ROUTE

The VOD process generally consists of the vacuum treat-ment steps, pump-down, oxygen blowing, boiling out, slag reduction and final trimming. At Fujian Fuxin, SMS Mevac has replaced the existing EAF-AOD plant with the new twin tank VOD unit to form a so-called Triplex process route, which combines the advantages and metallurgical capaci-ties of an AOD converter with those of a VOD unit. Consider-ing the increasing price of nickel during the last ten years, ferritic and also super ferritic stainless steels without nick-el are coming more and more in the focus of the stainless steel customers. With the Triplex process route, Fujian Fux-in is able to produce a considerable share of super ferritic

stainless steel grades. Furthermore, in this way production can be opti-mized by reducing the process time and the argon consumption of the AOD converter.

To be able to follow the tap-to-tap time of the AOD-L converter, the VOD unit was designed as a twin tank unit with two vacuum tanks. The tanks are equipped with two manual argon cou-plings to high-temperature-resistant hoses intended for supplying the in-serted ladle with bottom-stirring gas. Both tanks are connected to a vacuum pump system via a movable bend by means of which the connection can be changed from one tank to the other.

The facility is provided with two mo-bile vacuum covers with centrally po-sitioned oxygen lances as well as equipment for semiautomatic sam-pling and temperature measurement at atmospheric pressure.

The covers are lifted and lowered hydraulically. The covers are equipped with vacuum locks by means of which additives like ferro-alloys and slag formers can be fed also during vacu-um treatment. On each cover, there is one two-track wire-feeding system for the feeding of metallurgical wires af-ter the vacuum treatment. In addition to the two vacuum covers, there is a third movable atmospheric trimming cover, which mainly serves for the ad-dition of gaseous nitrogen via an im-mersion lance for steel grades with defined nitrogen content.

Conclusion: Fujian Fuxin Special Steel has extended the existing stain-less steel process line by a VOD unit and thus laid the foundations for the pro-duction of selected steel grades.

Dieter [email protected]

To learn more about

the twin tank vOD

plant from SMS

Mevac at Fujian Fuxin

Special Steel, please

follow this link or

use your phone to

scan the QR code.

www.sms-group.

com/qr/vod-

anlage-fuxin

1990–1997 1998–2005 2006–2014

Number of AOD installations 20 12 28

Number of VOD installations (extended to Triplex) 0 1 3

Number of VOD installations (Triplex planned) 6 3 6

Number of VOD installations for Triplex route from 1990 – 2014

25

20

15

10

5

0 1990–1997 1998–2005 2006–2014

Number of AOD installations Number of VOD installations (extended to Triplex) Number of VOD installations (Triplex planned)

58


CONFIDENCE IN SECONDARY METALLURGY PLANTS

China Steel Corporation (CSC) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, has been operating its first 270-ton twin-ladle furnace (LF No. 3) since 2014. The plant was supplied

and successfully commissioned by SMS Mevac.

The ladle metallurgy know-how of the SMS Mevac experts is highly appreciated. CSC operates six RH plants and two ladle furnaces for the treat-ment of liquid steel. All plants were supplied and/or modernized by SMS Mevac. In the picture: the commissioning team.

59

PROJECTS — STEEL REFINING

A special techno-logical feature

is the housing of the twin-ladle

furnace, which minimizes noise

and dust emis-sions in the

furnace area.

In addition to the engineering, installation and commissioning, SMS Mevac was re-sponsible for the electrical and automation systems and provided onsite training to the personnel. In the picture: the control room.

Heat weight 225 to 229 tons

Treatment time max. 40 min

Capacity 1.9 million tons/year

Heating rate >= 4,5 °C/min

Facts and figures

The electrodes of twin-ladle furnace No. 3. The combined annual capacity of CSC’s basic oxygen steelworks Nos. 1 (long products) and 2 (flat products) amounts to approxi-mately ten million tons.


60

SMS has successfully commissioned the continuous slab caster at Puyang Steel. As systems provider, SMS was also

responsible for the electrical and automation systems.

SMS Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, Chi-na, has successfully put a continuous caster for medium-sized slabs into op-eration at the Wuan City works of He-bei Puyang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (Puyang Steel).

Puyang Steel is extending its slab production to include above all high grades, such as peritectic micro-al-loyed and high-strength steels, high-carbon and boron-alloyed steels, high-quality steels and pipeline grades.

HIGH SURFACE QUALITy

The single-strand continuous slab caster is designed for a yearly produc-tion of 1.2 million tons of slabs with thicknesses between 150 and 180 mil-limeters and widths between 1,000 and 2,300 millimeters. The caster has been prepared for a future retrofit to twin-strand casting (two narrow slabs simultaneously in one strand). The supply package for the continuous

casting plant includes the complete plant and process equipment as well as the X-Pact® electrical and automa-tion systems complete with the tech-nological process models (level 2). The caster is equipped with the technologi-cal process models Mold Monitoring System (MMS), Hydraulic Mold Oscil-lator (HMO), Remote Adjustable Mold (RAM) and dynamic soft reduction. The technology packages make it possible to cast the large variety of steel grades and ensure the production of slabs with high surface and internal quality.

The caster was installed in an exist-ing building (brownfield), retaining the existing crane systems. Due to the building situation, SMS did not plan a ladle turret, but instead developed a tailor-made ladle car concept. The containment zone has a very small main radius of only 6.5 meters.

The good cooperation with the cus-tomer was characterized by straight-


forwardness, few interfaces and effi-cient communication. All this resulted in a steep start-up curve. Already on the fifth production day, 50 heats were cast in one sequence. “The coopera-tion with SMS was very positive. The technical know-how impressed us. This was a very good basis for imple-menting our wishes and demands - in a highly flexible and above all eco-nomical way,” says Dr. Cao Liguo, Vice President of Puyang Steel. Puyang Steel is one of China’s leading private steel producers.

FOCUSING ON MICRO-ALLOYED AND HIGH-STRENGTH STEELS

Projects — steel refining / cc technology (long Product mills)

61

At Hebei Puyang, SMS successfully commissioned a continuous casting plant.

The continuous caster at Hebei Puyang produces 1.2 million tons of slabs.

62

TimkenSteel’s new caster produces

rectangular blooms.


Caster elements at TimkenSteel:

Casting platform with ladle turret for 125-ton ladles, tundish car with stopper con-trol equipment for controlled flow of steel and tundish pre-heating stations

Roller apron with four-plate mold assem-bly, electromagnetic mold stirrer, hydrau-lic oscillation, segment 1 and segment 2 with internally cooled CONCOR rollers

Pinch roll units and modules for MSR (Mechanical Soft Reduction

Discharge area part 1 in vertical line with torch cutting machine, bloom elevator, inclined and dummy bar cars

Discharge area part 2 with longitudinal pusher, discharge roller tables, torch cutting machines for sample and end cutting, cross transfer and cooling bed with labeler

63

PROJECTS — STEEL REFINING / CC TECHNOLOGY (LONG PRODUCT MILLS)

After completion of the engineering by end of 2012 the equipment parts were gradually delivered to the site allow-ing the start of the installation of the machinery parallel to completing the building and infrastructure. In May 2014, the caster was ready for cold commissioning and on Octo-ber 21, 2014, the first heat was successfully performed.

The steel grades produced on this vertical continuous casting machine cover a wide range of different steel grades including normal and high-strength low-alloyed carbon steels, Mo-, Cr- and Ni-alloyed tool steels or high-demand-ing bearing steels.

The vertical caster is the heart of a quarter-billion-dollar investment of TimkenSteel in the existing Faircrest Steel Plant. The so-called “Jumbo” bloom vertical caster with an overall total height of 80 meters (top of ladle turret to the bottom of the equipment in the basement) is designed for the production of two bloom sizes: a “big one” with a di-mension of 460 x 610 millimeters and a weight of 2.2 tons per meter and a “small one” with a dimension of 280 x 430 millimeters and a weight of 0.95 tons per meter.

When casting big bloom sizes, the total weight that has to be vertically suspended respectively slowed down in the cooling chamber to a casting speed of 0.40 m/min. to 0.85 m/min. to make sure that dropping down into the base-ment, which is 25 meters below ground level, is prevented is approximately 40 tons. That is the weight of a fully load-ed truck.

The unique and extremely challenging design require-ments and process features demanded unprecedented and very close collaboration of the multicultural project teams of TimkenSteel and SMS Concast from the first project meeting throughout the overall project execution time.

TIMKEN STEELS ITSELF SUCCESSFULLY

During the joint worldwide inspection tours to the workshops for the purpose of assuring the quality of the equip-ment prior to arrival on-site a total of approx. 4,000 tons of equipment sup-plied by SMS Concast was inspected.

Hot commissioning is currently on-going in close collaboration with the technological teams of TimkenSteel and SMS Concast. The target is to gradually ramp up production to 60 percent by the end of 2015.

SMS Concast has designed, manufactured and delivered a three-(four-) strand vertical caster for the production of rectangular

blooms with an annual production capacity of one million tons of steel at TimkenSteel Corporation in Canton, Ohio/U.S.A.

www.sms-concast.com

iTimken Company

Timken provides

innovative products

and services in the

fields of friction man-

agement and power

transmission.

With a turnover of

US$ 5.2 billion in

2011 and almost

21,000 employees

in 30 countries,

TimkenSteel strives

for achieving a

better performance

of its customers.

64

Upgrade phase 1 – 2015/F3 and F4:

Adaptation of top pressure plate shifting unit

Mechanical screwdown

Axial thrust bearings/bellows

Hydraulic screwdown

Oil film bearings

New loopers F3–F6

Pipelines

Connecting pipes

Preparation of main modification phase in 2016

iMEASURES


The project continues the close partnership with Arcelor-Mittal Gent. From 2012 to 2014, the SMS group already up-graded the drive trains of mill stands F1 to F3. They were equipped with more powerful main and mill pinion gear units and SIEFLEX® HT (high-performance) spindles. In 2014, SMS also supplied a new profile, contour and flatness control system (PCFC) for the finishing mill. A major reason to continue the successful partnership and award the com-prehensive modernization project had been, apart from the

MODERN MILL STANDS FOR NEW STEEL GRADES

ArcelorMittal has awarded the SMS group an order to further upgrade its hot strip mill in Ghent, Belgium. The order comprises the

installation of new finishing stands F1 and F2 as well as modifications to increase the rolling force of mill stands F3 and F4.

already implemented improvements, the convincing re-vamp concept of the SMS group with just minor impacts on the running production and leaving adjacent equipment al-most unaffected. Additionally, the SMS group will support ArcelorMittal in optimizing the rolling process for its third-generation UHSS and AHSS.

With the new equipment, modern actuators and higher rolling forces, the customer can keep on improving product quality and expand its portfolio in the field of high-strength

F1

F2

Projects — hot rolling mills

65

minimum shutdown times and fast ramp-up, both new mill stands will be pre-assembled in the SMS workshop in Hilchenbach. Here, all functions of the equipment and the hydraulic system will be tested for smooth operation.

METICULOUSLy PLANNED FINAL INSTALLATION

During the shutdown, existing mill stands F1 and F2 will be dismounted and the new pre-assembled stands be shifted into the finishing mill to replace the old ones. They will be installed with the aim of keeping changes to the surround-ing equipment as little as possible and reusing many exist-ing components such as for instance the media systems. The new mill stands will be carried to their final position by means of a special slide system. “Installation work and in particular the short shutdown period will place high de-mands on the know-how and project competence of our engineers in all sectors,” says Markus Wagener, Project Manager of the SMS group.

Thanks to pre-assembly of the mill stands in the work-shop and on the customer’s site, it will be ensured that the final installation can be done without time-consuming remachining work within the short modification period. The first strip is scheduled to be rolled at the end of 2016.

Markus [email protected]

grades and multi-phase steels. At its location in Ghent, Ar-celorMittal is going to produce miscellaneous products of its newly developed Fortiform® series. It is a series of new steel grades for the automotive industry said to have a con-siderably lower weight and simultaneously providing im-proved safety. In addition, ArcelorMittal strives to attain higher flexibility in production to be able to increase its hot strip capacity at the Ghent site, if so required.

The upcoming modification work will be carried out in two steps. The first shutdown will take place this year and comprise mainly the activities at mill stands F3 and F4. They will increase the rolling force to 45 MN by means of new hydraulic and mechanical screwdown systems. An-other aim is to install new loopers from finishing stand F3 to F6 already at that time.

The main modernization phase is scheduled for the end of 2016 when the work at mill stands F3 and F4 will be fin-ished. However, the focus will be on the installation of the two new mill stands F1 and F2 including the new interstand area. The new mill stands come with efficient actuators like hydraulic screwdowns and a CVC® plus system with work roll shifting and bending systems. These actuators can be integrated into the existing PCFC® model and permit the strip parameters to be influenced right from the first finish-ing stand. Due to the high rolling force of 50 MN per mill stand it will be possible, even when rolling high-strength steels, to achieve the high reductions that are so important for the process in the first mill stands. In order to ensure

Improved product quality and expanded product portfolio thanks to new finishing stands.

66


EFFICIENT COMPONENTS

The new main gear unit for F1 had been completely pre-assembled and preset in the SMS workshop in Hilchenbach.

The targeted modernization of decisive components enhances efficiency, improves product quality and reduces operating and maintenance costs of the CSP® plant of SDI in Columbus, U.S.A.

In October 2014, the SMS group mod-ernized the CSP® plant at SDI in Co-lumbus, state of Mississippi, U.S.A. (formerly Severstal Columbus). Due to the revamp, the facility is now able to

Installation of the new wheel set.

standby and can be refitted with min-imum effort.

NEW CONTROL CONCEPT

In the entry section, SMS installed an additional newly developed slab cen-tering system. The existing and the new entry guide system can be set even more precisely thanks to a new control concept, thus ensuring opti-mized entry of the thin slab into the finishing mill and improved strip trav-el. This, in turn, results in higher pro-cess stability. Additionally, the side guides in the first rolling mill stands were modified, which leads to better product guidance during the rolling process and finally to improved prod-uct quality as wear at the guides and material abrasion are distinctly re-duced.

In the laminar cooling system, SMS replaced the first four cooling groups and installed a new X-Pact® cooling model. Operating results show that SDI can now achieve higher strength values for nearly all grades thanks to the higher cooling rates in the first four of totally ten cooling groups.

attain better product quality and can be operated at lower production and maintenance costs. The moderniza-tion covered the entry section of the CSP® mill, the drive of mill stand F1 and the laminar cooling system.

In mill stand F1 SMS renewed the drive train. Thanks to the new main gear drive with improved transmis-sion, SDI will be able to increase the rolling torque and to roll new grades and sizes. The old single-stage main gear unit was replaced by a two-stage unit. As the input and output axles re-mained unchanged it was not neces-sary to adjust the motor. This solution permitted the revamp to be imple-mented within a period of merely ten days. The old gear unit is kept for

www.sms-group.com/hot-rolling-mills

67

PROJECTS — HOT ROLLING MILLS AND COLD ROLLING MILLS

3D presentation of the SQM unit that Parke-gate will supply to Alcoa, U.S.A.

Cold plate leveler No. 1 in the 4.2-m mill. Starcore’s combined reducing and skin-pass-ing mill with CVC® plus.

Clear view

Leveler number 10

Additional capacity

Surface inspection unit for cold rolling mill.

New order from Baosteel.

Skin-passing mill for Starcore.

For the new cold rolling mill of Alcoa, Tennessee, which was supplied by the SMS group, Parkegate will pro-vide housings, pneumatic controls and a cooling system for a Surface Quality Measurement (SQM) system.

The SQM system will be integrat-ed in the deflector roll unit. For maintenance purposes the group can be retracted from the line. The equipment includes several features specifically designed to cope with the difficult ambient conditions of the system. The top and bottom hous-ings, accommodating cameras and light sources, are made from stain-less steel to ensure the ambience is cooled and impervious to fluids. Pneumatically controlled wipers keep the windows made of hardened glass clean to permit the cameras a “clear view” to the strip.

Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., China, again selected the SMS group to supply a cold plate leveler with pertaining X-Pact® automation. The cold plate leveler comes with high leveling force and a big roll di-ameter, and is designed for thicker plates with high strengths. The ma-chine is capable of leveling plates be-tween 8 and 50 millimeters gage, up to 4,100 millimeters width and strengths of maximum 1,400 N/mm². In addition to the hydraulic main screwdown, the machine is equipped with separate hydraulic single-roll adjustment and single-roll drive. In co-action with the X-Pact® electrical and automation system, it is thus possible to set the correct curvature for each individual plate.

In 2014, the Thai company Starcore Co. Ltd. awarded an order to Esmech Equipment Pvt. Ltd. to supply a four-high skin-passing mill for wet opera-tion. Again, Starcore relies on the competence of the Indian joint ven-ture partner of SMS. Esmech had al-ready supplied a reversing cold mill to Starcore, which has been operat-ing since 2012.

Starcore needs the additional skin-passing capacity of about 260,000 tons to boost the capacity of the existing rolling and skin-passing facility. The mill stand will roll strips with widths of up to 1,250 millime-ters and gauges between 0.25 and 1.6 millimeters at a maximum elon-gation of up to three percent. The new equipment includes entry- and exit-side tension rolls, devices for quick roll change, semiautomatic coil feed and coil removal systems.

www.sms-group.com/cold-rolling-mills www.sms-group.com/hot-rolling-millswww.parkegate.co.uk

68


To make their operational processes fit for competition, an increasing number of stainless steel producers rely on continuous operating modes with highly productive tandem mills of 18-high design. About ten years ago, the SMS group launched this mill stand concept in the market and until now has established a number of fa-cilities of that type, including the tan-dem mills of POSCO in South Korea and TISCO in China.

ROLL SET OF 18-HIGH DESIGN

The 18-high mill stand design emerged from a technology combination of six-high and 20-roll mill stands. Equipped with thin work rolls the new type of mill is predestined to roll high-strength material grades down to thin final thicknesses. To withstand the high load during the rolling operation, the

BRILLIANT RESULTS WITH NEW

TANDEM MILLS

thin work rolls are stabilized by a later-ally arranged supporting mechanism. Another advantage of the 18-high de-sign is its proven technological equip-ment comprising, for example, CVC® plus, intermediate roll bending or strip-edge-oriented intermediate roll shifting systems. These technologies

Future-proof are the SMS group solutions for stainless steel rolling mills. A particularly innovative feature is the efficient 18-high design.

TECHNICAL FEATURE CTCM POSCO CTCM TISCO

Material AISI 200–400 AISI 300–400

Mill stands 4x 18-high 5x 18-high

Strip width max. 1,350 mm max. 1,650 mm

Strip thickness max. 4.0 mm (entry side) max. 6.0 mm (entry side) min. 0.4 mm (exit side) min. 0.6 mm (exit side)

Rolling speed max. 400 m/min. max. 370 m/min.

FACTS + FIGURESi

ensure the quality of the finished prod-uct will meet all requirements of the processing industry. Easy and fast work roll changes support the high productivity of the facility.

Since 2009, the South Korean steel producer Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., (POSCO) has been operating a

Projects — cold rolling mills

69

www.sms-group.com/cold-rolling-mills

showed that off-gage lengths are ex-tremely short. The surface quality of the rolled strips is excellent and en-sures the material can be processed without any problems.

four-stand Continuous Tandem Cold Mill (CTCM) equipped with 18-high mill stands from the SMS group. It is the first plant of this type, worldwide, that has been used to exclusively roll stain-less steel strip.

Another tandem mill was put on stream at the Chinese company Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Corporation (TISCO) in 2014. Comprising five mill stands of 18-high design, it is a world novelty, too, and the heart of a contin-

uous production line that combines rolling, annealing and pickling. An an-nual capacity of more than half a mil-lion tons of stainless-steel cold strip is now available to both plant operators. Continuous tandem mills with 18-high mill stands are able to roll a wide range of products in terms of strip width and final thicknesses in a par-ticularly efficient manner.

Moreover, operating results of both facilities during the ramp-up phase

POSCO operates the first tandem mill with 18-high mill stands worldwide that is used to exclu-sively roll stainless steel grades.

Set-up of a continuous 18-high tandem cold mill.

70


IMPROVED QUALITY IN STRIP THICKNESS AND FLATNESS

Aiming at improved quality in strip thickness and flatness.

In 2014, Tinplate Company awarded SMS an order covering the modernization of a reversing cold mill that is now 20 years old.

The RCM that had been supplied and commissioned by SMS in 1995, is located on the site of TCIL close to Jam-shedpur, India. The old plant, originally designed for 120,000 tons, is of six-high design including CVC and stands out due to its very high availability and productivity. But af-ter this long period of continuous operation, TCIL decided to subject the RCM to a fundamental overhaul. The top pri-ority of the modernization is to improve strip thickness and flatness tolerances and hence the strip quality.

COMPREHENSIvE MODERNIZATION

The SMS group will supply all required mechanical and electrical equipment including the X-Pact® automation sys-tem. SMS India is also involved in the contract with partial deliveries. The mechanical scope of supplies focuses on the renewal of those mill stand components that have a crucial influence on strip quality, such as hydraulic screw-down, wedge adjustment and the roll bending system. For top flatness results, one multi-zone cooling system each

will be installed in the entry and exit sections. The emulsion system will be modernized, too, and equipped with backwash filters. The emulsion tank will be fitted with a disc-type skimmer. These measures will increase the quality and purity of the emulsion and thus improve product quality.

The supply package will further-more comprise a level-1 automation system, control platform equipment and systems for process data acquisi-tion. Markus Gümpel, Manager Product Area Reversing Mills (RCM and CCM®), says: “The new equipment will be in-stalled in the course of two plant shut-downs of totally 21 days. The modern-ized RCM is scheduled to start production at the beginning of 2016, and its performance will definitely bear comparison with a new plant.”

iTinplate Company

The Tinplate Com-

pany of India Ltd.

(TCIL) is an Indian

enterprise with a

market share of

about 50 percent in

the field of tinplate

products. TCIL was

founded in 1920, with

70 percent now being

owned by Tata Steel.

Markus Gü[email protected]

Material Strip width

Strip width 650–1,270 mm

Strip thickness 1.60–3.00 mm (entry section) 0.17–1.20 mm (exit section)

Annual production 200,000 tons

Facts + figures


71

From left: Ho Minh Quang, Chairman of Nam Kim Steel, and Vijay Joshi, Managing Director of Esmech, on signing the contract.

Esmech has received an order cover-ing a hot-dip galvanizing line for zinc and aluminum/zinc coatings from Nam Kim Steel Joint Stock Company, Vietnam.

The line is configured to produce 300,000 t.p.a. of coated steel for the European and American markets. Ho Minh Quang, Chairman of Nam Kim Steel, said: “Nam Kim is poised to become the most significant steel company in Vietnam, and is now looking at serving the international market. The new line will be a first step in this direction. In Esmech, we have found a reliable technology partner able to deliver a line which fulfills all our high requirements.”

Vijay Joshi, Managing Director of Esmech, stated: “We are grateful to Nam Kim Steel for the confidence they have placed in us. Esmech shall supply a line with efficient tech-nology, equipped with modern features. By consistently pro-ducing flawless products with high availability, the line will meet the high expectations that Nam Kim has on Esmech, an SMS group company.”

HIGHER FURNACE EFFICIENCy

The highlights of the line are a furnace with a capacity of 52 tons per hour, which will be supplied by SMS India, with technology by Drever International, a direct-fired non-ox section for higher furnace efficiency and an induction-heat-ed two-zinc-pot system (one for zinc and one for aluminum/zinc coating). The scope of supplies furthermore comprises a V-Jet air-knife system with slewing automatic positioning,

Reliable tech nology partner

lip cleaning, special knife lip coating and a magnetic stabilization system (EMG eMASS®) to ensure smooth strip running in the air-knife area.

Additionally, Esmech will supply skin-passing mill and tension leveling sections, separate coaters for chrome and anti-fingerprint coatings, an in-duction oven for curing the anti-finger-print coat, fully automatic coil loading and unloading equipment in the entry and exit sections, the electrical control systems with state-of-the-art data ac-quisition and storage systems, as well as a mash seam welding machine with planishing rolls for coil joining. The line is scheduled to start operation in April 2016.

www.esmech.com

72

PROJECTS

350,000tons is the annual production capacity avail-able to the Turkish steel company in Karasu to produce cold strip.

From top to left: The strips are finished on a

skin-passing mill supplied by the SMS

group.

The pickling line concept with two small horizontal

loopers makes sure the process can permanently be

operated at minimum speed.

Gazi Metal’s new cold strip mill.


73

At the Karasu site, an annual production capacity of 350,000 tons of cold strip is available to the Turkish steel producer. The SMS group supplied all crucial production facilities, including mechanical equipment, electrical and automa-tion systems with model-based pass schedule calculation and visualization, as well as auxiliary equipment and me-dia systems, and provided for a future extension of the pro-duction site right from the start. The equipment consists of a semi-continuous pickling line, an acid regeneration sys-

COLD ROLLING MILLS FROM ONE SOURCE

The new cold rolling mill of Gazi Metal Mamülleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. (Gazi Metal), Turkey, recently rolled the first strip. The Reversing Cold Mill (RCM)

plays a key role in Gazi Metal’s new production complex in Karasu. A pickling line had already been commissioned in the middle of 2014.

Annual capacity 350,000 t

Strip width 600–1,550 mm

Strip thickness 1.5–6.0 mm

Automation X-Pact® level 0–level 2

Process speed 100 m/min.

Products CQ, DQ, DDQ, EDDQ, HSLA, low-carbon steel grades, T1-T4, NGO silicon steel

Stand type Six-high CVC® plus Further technological Hydraulic screwdown actuators Wedge adjustment Positive and negative work and

intermediate roll bending

EDC® preparation

Multi-zone cooling

DS system

Automation X-Pact® level 0–level 2 Rolling force max. 18 MN

Rolling speed 1,200 m/min.

Facts and figures semi-continuous pickling line and RCM

tem, a single-stand reversing cold mill and a skin-passing mill. With this project, Gazi Metal relied on the long-standing experience of the SMS group in the field of rolling silicon steels.

SEMI-CONTINUOUS PICKLING LINE

Gazi Metal decided in favor of a semi-continuous pickling line, a concept permitting the present line to be refit-ted to a continuous pickling line of dou-ble capacity by just a few measures to meet future production increase.

iCold rolling mills

Since the year 2000,

the SMS group has

installed 29 revers-

ing cold mills. The

number of pickling

lines commissioned

by the equipment

manufacturer totals

48. Steel producers

get the know-how

from one source.

Thorsten Noffke, Site Manager SMS group, and Gokhan Cetin, Gaazi Metal.

Henner [email protected]


Mehmet Gazioglu, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Gazi Metal Mamülleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. commenting on the company.

Mr. Gazioglu, considering that a few years ago these new production facilities only existed as an idea, are you proud of what you created? Well, the idea had matured quite some time ago, but there is no doubt that we take pride in the implementation of the project. If you look at the cold mill complex as a whole you will see that a big job has been realized. Many employees, engineers, technicians and others are working to produce an important product for the industry.

What does this mean to your family-owned company?We are a very old player in the flat steel market and have been in the business for more than 50 years. But now, Gazi Metal has opened a new chapter in its history book. We have already a successful brand identity and are now plan-ning to create high-value-added jobs and products with the aim of expanding this to high in future.

Which industrial sectors are provided with cold strip pro-duced by Gazi Metal?We supply to producers of white goods and heating appli-ances, to the automotive sector and its sub-industries, to producers of radiators and HVAC equipment, pipe profiles, metal goods, electric appliances and machine manufactur-ers, to give you some examples.

What was crucial for your decision to select the SMS group as supplier of the core equipment of your new production facility? It is well known that SMS, as one of the biggest machine and plant manufacturer, is a reliable and experienced supplier.

Experienced in the flat steel market

Interview

Mehmet Gaziogluvice President & Chief Operating Officer of Gazi Metal

74

Projects — cold rolling millsPROJEKTE

The first strip is precisely coiled, supervised by the critical eye of Partha Velappa-naicken, Site Manager of both cold mills.

The new 20-roll cold mill of Ningbo Xingye Xintai New Metal Materials Co., Ltd.

iCold rolling mills

For perfect pass

schedule calcula-

tion, the 20-roll

stand of Ningbo

Xingye’s new cold

mill is equipped with

a physically based

level-2 offline model.

Mehmet [email protected]

FIRST COPPER STRIP PRODUCED

The new 20-roll cold mill of Ningbo Xingye, China, rolled its first strip. The reversing mill is of split block design and rolls

particularly thin copper strips.

Ningbo Xingye Xintai New Metal Materials Co., Ltd. is part of Xingye Copper International Group Ltd., a leading pro-ducer of high-quality copper strip and copper products in China. SMS supplied a 20-roll cold mill, type SB23-26", in-cluding X-Pact® electrical and automation systems to the Chinese copper producer. On January 29, 2015, the cold mill specializing in particularly thin strips was put on stream. It offers Ningbo Xingye an annual production ca-pacity of up to 55,000 tons.

ALL QUALITy DEMANDS SATISFIED

The company uses the mill to produce a very broad and, at the same time, specific product range of copper and copper alloys for applications in the field of electronics. The strips have a maximum width of 660 millimeters and are rolled down to final thicknesses of minimum 0.05 millimeters. Equipped with the actuators hydraulic screwdown, roll crown adjustment of axes A to D and intermediate roll shift-ing system, the mill is able to meet all demands on rolled product quality. The reversing reels in the entry and exit

sections are equipped with belt and paper wrappers to permit the sensitive finished strip to be gently coiled on sleeves.

Sophisticated technological con-trols and state-of-the-art drive con-cepts had to be installed to meet the high requirements on the strip grades to be produced. Since the Chinese company is attributing increasing im-portance to sustained and resource-saving production, SMS equipped the cold rolling mill with a Multi-Plate® filter, type MPF 1-19. Its micron mesh size ensures environmentally compat-ible cleaning of the rolling oil.

75

76

PROJECTS

Material Aluminum alloy AA3104

Strip width 1,860 mm

Strip thickness 2.20 mm (entry section)

1.80 mm (exit section)

Facts + figures 1st coil, cold mill

From top to bottom:The first coil rolled on Shandong Nan-shan’s new cold mill. Successful com-missioning of the finishing mill in the hot rolling line

77

PROJECTS — ALUMINUM PLANTS

SHANDONG NANSHAN STARTED PRODUCTION

ON SCHEDULE

The new aluminum hot rolling line of Shandong Nanshan Aluminium Co., Ltd. at the site of Longkou comprises a reversing plate stand and a five-stand finishing mill. After the first plate had been rolled with good results on De-cember 30, 2014, the finishing mill, too, was commissioned on February 12, 2015. The hot rolling line had been completely supplied by SMS. The prod-ucts cover a width range of up to max-imum 3,800 millimeters for plates and of maximum 2,800 millimeters for strips. The final gauges of the hot rolled strip are between 1.8 and 16 millimeters. The products are pre-dominantly used in the packaging, the automotive and aviation industries.

LATEST TECHNOLOGy

To be able to produce the quality re-quired for the demanding applications of the aluminum plates and strips, SMS equipped the hot rolling mill with CVC® plus as well as further actuators and technological control systems. “All quality-determining components were manufactured in our Hilchen-bach workshop. So, Shandong Nan-shan can be sure to operate equip-

ment of the high quality needed for so-phisticated rolled and final products,” says Matthias Pischel, Senior Depart-mental Specialist in the Design Alumi-num Rolling Mills Department. Jiang Wenjun, Project Manager Shandong Nanshan, supplements: “On both technologically advanced facilities, plate and roughing stands as well as the finishing mill, we made production tests ahead of schedule with good re-sults. This was possible thanks to the sustained effort, by day and night, of the project team, local and external experts and commissioning staff. I want to express my gratitude to all persons involved for their solidarity and cooperation. The first coil pro-duced on the 1+5 hot rolling line sym-bolizes the successful start of produc-tion at Nanshan and is an important milestone for our company.”

On December 18, 2014, the first coil was produced on the Chinese alumi-num producer’s new cold rolling mill ahead of schedule. This cold mill is al-ready the fourth one Shandong Nan-shan has purchased from the SMS group. It was supplied including all an-cillary equipment such as Multi-Plate®

Several aluminum rolling facilities supplied by the SMS group were recently put on stream at Shandong Nanshan Aluminum in China. The products

are mainly used in the automotive and aviation industries.

filter and Airwash™ waste-air cleaning system. Nevertheless, this plant is an absolute novelty on the Chinese market, as it incorporates rolling technologies specifically developed to roll aluminum plates for automotive applications. An-other consumer of the high-quality strips is the aviation industry.

WIDE STRIPS

The six-high cold mill is able to roll ex-tremely wide strips of up to 2,650 mil-limeters down to final thicknesses of 0.2 millimeters. It is equipped with high-class components such as CVC® plus, work and intermediate roll bend-ing, multi-zone cooling, HES (Hot Edge Spray) and DS (Dry Strip) systems. To meet special material demands, the last pass can be used for skin-passing. Frank Lettau, Project Manager of the SMS group, comments: “Thanks to our vast experience and the good coopera-tion, it was possible to implement the project very efficiently within the scheduled cost and time frame.”

Frank [email protected] [email protected]

78

PROJECTS

From top to left:The edger was

pre-assembled in the Hilchenbach

workshop.

The project leaders of both companies, ALU-

NORF and SMS, may take pride in their

common achievement (from left: Sebastian Böcking, Design De-

partment SMS group; Michael Grziwa, Proj-ect Team ALUNORF;

Karsten Gieseler, Design Department SMS group; Markus Neuhausen, Project Manager ALUNORF;

Guido Fick, Project Manager SMS group).

ALUNORF’s new

edger shortens the reversing distances in

the roughing mill.

Projects — Aluminum PlAnts

79

One year after the modernization of the roughing stand, which had been successfully completed at the begin-ning of 2014, the roughing mill edger was renewed in the second project stage. In autumn 2014, the new edger had been manufactured in the Hilchen-bach workshop of the SMS group and pre-assembled prior to shipment to Neuss.

NEW EDGER

The old edger was demounted within just four days, from December 18 to 22, 2014. Parallel to these activities, the SMS group adapted the founda-tions to receive the new edger. On De-cember 25, 2014, the extensive work was completed and the new pre-as-sembled edger could immediately be positioned in its new location at the roughing stand by means of a heavy-load lifting frame.

Guido Fick, Project Manager of SMS, comments: “The new edger is now di-rectly flanged to the roughing stand and hence much closer than its prede-cessor that had been positioned eleven meters away. This substantially short-ens the reversing distances and signifi-cantly boosts capacity.” The installation

NEW EDGER BOOSTS CAPACITY

work was carried out during the regu-lar downtime during the Christmas break to reduce impairment of ALU-NORF’s operational processes to a minimum. The supply package includ-ed the new edger with entry-side roller table and side guides, plus the exten-sion of the media systems.

Much to ALUNORF’s satisfaction, the new edger started production on the dot on January 8, 2015.

But this is not the end of the alumi-num producer’s challenging modern-ization project. In a third stage it is planned to increase the capacity and performance of the finishing mill. The comprehensive modernization mea-sures are scheduled to be completed at the beginning of 2016. The efficiency of ALUNORF’s 50-year-old hot rolling mill will then be able to bear every comparison with a new plant.

The world’s biggest integrated aluminum rolling and remelt plant, Aluminium Norf GmbH, is implementing a comprehensive

modernization project for Hot Mill 1 at its Neuss, Germany, location. Now, a further milestone has been reached.

iEdger

The edger serves to

control the rolling

stock width between

the individual passes

and to improve strip

edge quality. It is

particularly the high-

er strip edge quality

that boosts the out-

put of the entire roll-

ing line as hot strip

coils need less side

trimming.

Guido [email protected]

80


The line will be a key element of the new steelworks for the production of packaging materials to be construct-ed in Osmaniye, southern Turkey. From late 2016, 255,000 tons of very thin steel sheet per year will be coat-ed with a fine layer of tin. The high-quality tinplate will then be used as packaging material for foodstuffs or aerosols.

Tosyali Toyo decided in favor of SMS because the line, comprising numer-ous high-performance components including mechanical equipment and process technology as well as X-Pact®

TINNING LINE FROM ONE SOURCE

Tosyali Toyo Ltd., the Turkish-Japanese Joint Venture between Tosyali Holding and Toyo Kohan selected SMS to supply

an electrolytic tinning line.

electrical and automation systems, will be supplied from one single source. Ancillary units such as the evaporation system and anode caster will also be provided by the SMS group. Besides equipment design and manufacture, the scope of supply will include erection and commissioning assistance.

CONvINCING ECONOMIC EFFICIENCy

Tosyali Toyo will use soluble tin anodes in the line. Being the market leader in this technology, SMS has verified the economical, ecological and process technological advan-tages in a number of tinning lines established in the past. This technology ensures a reduction in tin consumption, stable conditions during the tinning process to attain top product quality and precise process control. At a process

iStaff training

To make sure the

staff is familiar with

the plant control

system by the time

of commissioning,

it is trained by SMS

within the frame of

plant simulation.

Tosyali Toyo decided in favor of a line with soluble anodes due to its economic, ecological and process technological benefits.

Projects — striP Processing lines

81

speed of up to 450 meters per minute, the T1 to T5 and DR6 to DR10 materi-als will be coated with tin layers rang-ing from 1.0 to 11.2 g/m². The strip widths will vary from 700 to 1,270 mil-limeters and the strip thicknesses from 0.12 to 0.6 millimeters.

The line features a great number of equipment units, which impress with their environmental compatibility and economic efficiency as well as their reliability in operation, flexibility and product quality. A trimming shear with edge-scrap wrapper is integrated in the entry section of the line. Prior to tinning, the strip is prepared in a cleaning section, a tension leveler and a pickling section. The tinning unit consists of one preparation and six tin-ning cells. After the tin layer has been applied, it is treated in a fully inductive heating system to improve the surface quality. Finally, the strip is passivated and dried.

ECO-FRIENDLy EvAPORATION SySTEM

A large number of measuring units is installed all over the tinning line to en-sure permanent process monitoring and control. In co-action with the tin layer measurement system, the best-possible results in terms of product quality and production efficiency can thus be attained. Rinsing water con-taminated in the tinning and passiv-ation processes is reconditioned in a state-of-the-art evaporation system. This helps save operating costs. The anodes are cast at constant tempera-ture in a separate anode caster with-out losing tin. Perfectly shaped and high-purity tin anodes are produced from the anode remnants and tin bars in a fully automatic casting process.

For the Plug & Work integration test, the complete control and auto-mation equipment is installed in a test field and subjected to a plant simula-tion prior to commissioning. In this procedure, the control and automation systems are tested and optimized un-

der true-to-life conditions. On that occasion, the future op-erating staff will be trained to make it familiar with the con-trol system and to achieve a steep ramp-up curve upon actual commissioning.

From top to bottom:The rinsing water contaminated in the tin-plating and pas-sivation processes will be reconditioned in an advanced evaporation system.

The anode caster will also be supplied by SMS.

Stefan [email protected]

82


From top to bottom:The new line will be used to pickle 1.3 million tons per year of hot strip as a preparation for its future application in the building sector. The turbulence pick-ling line achieves optimum descaling results with low consumption of energy and pickling fluid, while keeping maintenance and operating costs low.


83

Tezcan will install the line at its Kartepe location near Izmir, Turkey, to improve the economy of its hot strip pickling op-erations and achieve an increase in output. Especially the high efficiency of the equipment was reason for Tezcan to decide in favor of a continuous pickling line and the turbu-lence pickling process from SMS, complete with a connect-ed acid regeneration plant. Starting in the second half of 2015, the line will pickle a yearly throughput of 1.3 million tons of hot strip, as a preparatory treatment for the down-stream cold rolling and coating processes. Most of the ma-terial will be used in the construction industry as galvanized and/or color-coated cold strip.

SMS will supply the line and its numerous high-capacity components all from a single source, including the me-chanical equipment, the process technology as well as the electrical and automation systems. In addition to the design and manufacture of the plant equipment, the supply will also include support during installation and commission-ing. This comprehensive service package was a decisive reason for Tezcan to choose SMS as supplier.

LOWER ENERGy AND ACID CONSUMPTION

The turbulence pickling technology provides a high-quality descaling result without over-pickling. The process is char-acterized by low energy and acid consumption, low mainte-nance and operating costs, and long service life of the equip-ment. Hot-rolled low-carbon steel strips will be processed at speeds of up to 220 meters per minute. Strip thicknesses will range between 600 and 1,550 millimeters, strip widths be-tween 1.5 and 5.0 millimeters. The line will incorporate nu-merous high-capacity components with convincing perfor-mance features in terms of eco-friendliness, economic efficiency, process reliability, flexibility and product quality. A stretch leveler will prepare the strip for the pickling operation

EFFICIENT HOT STRIP PICKLING

The Turkish steel service center Tezcan has placed an order with SMS for the supply of a continuous pickling to boost

its productivity and economic efficiency.

in the three downstream pickling tanks. The tanks will be made of plastic mate-rials, facilitating a lightweight design. Each tank will have its own circulation system. A side trimmer with integrated scrap chopper will adjust the desired strip width and straighten the strip edg-es. In a DUMA-BANDZINK oiling ma-chine, an oil film will be applied to the strip surface in an electrostatic process. A total of two horizontal strip loopers will be integrated into the line in order to guarantee a continuous strip run.

CLOSED ACID CIRCUIT

The pickling acid will be directly pro-cessed in the fluidized-bed-type acid regeneration plant supplied by SMS. The plant will have a capacity to regen-erate 7,500 liters hydrochloric acid per hour, enough to cover the line’s com-plete turnover of pickling fluid. Within a closed circuit, the regenerated me-dium will be directly returned to the process and reused for pickling. Addi-tionally, iron oxide will arise as a valuable by-product. With these tech-nical solutions to Tezcan’s pickling line, the SMS group demonstrates that ecology and economy do not exclude each other.

iThe final product

Due to their high

corrosion protection,

galvanized steel

strips are frequently

used in the building

industry. Galvanized

steel strip is found,

for example, in sup-

porting elements

for constructing

industrial halls, in

snow guards, high-

bay structures and in

doors.


ProjeCts sms groupnewsletter 02/2015

At the Hungarian site of Gyor-Gönyu, the SMS group is es-tablishing a new hot strip galvanizing line for Wuppermann Group. The new strip processing line will be commissioned in 2016 and process about 500,000 tons of steel strip annu-ally, which is welded together in the entry section by an X-Pro® laser welder. Strips of one to six millimeters thick-ness are safely connected and prepared for continuous running through the various processing units such as scale breaker, turbulence pickling section, galvanizing section, skin-pass stand and tension leveler.

The X-Pro® laser welder for the new pickling line/tan-dem mill of Big River Steel in Osceola, in the state of Arkan-sas, will weld almost 1.5 million tons of steel strips as from 2016. Thereafter, the material including the welded joints will not only be pickled, but also rolled in a five-stand, four-high tandem mill. This means, the 1.4 to 5.0-millimeter-


Reliable connections

SMS was awarded two new orders for one X-Pro® laser welder each from Wuppermann Group in Hungary and Big River Steel in the U.S.A.

thick strip will be reduced to a final gage between 0.27 and 1.4 millime-ters. Even steels with high silicon con-tent can be reliably connected by the laser welder.

RELIABLy WELDED SILICON STEELS

An outstanding advantage of the X-Pro® laser welder is its ability to continuously join difficult-to-weld steel grades. In the pickling line / tan-dem mill of Hyundai Hysco in South Korea, for instance, martensitic steel grades such as MS-W1200 were suc-cessfully connected and rolled at 45 percent reduction. Also, strips with a silicon content of 1.2 percent were processed without problems, even higher silicon contents being possible. Since the welding source is freely se-lectable, the carbon dioxide laser used so far can be exchanged. A solid-state laser, for example, may save process gas (e.g., helium) and considerably re-duce maintenance.

iAdvantages

The X-Pro® laser

welder convinces by

its short cycle time

of less than 60 sec-

onds, inductive pre-

and post-treatment

of the weld seam,

automatic weld

seam inspection in-

tegrated in a closed-

loop system and au-

tomatic adaptation

of the welding pa-

rameters according

to a material melt

analysis.

The X-Pro® laser welder is particularly distinguished by its ability to connect difficult-to-weld steel grades (like those with high carbon or silicon contents).

84


85

On January 15, 2015, in the presence of more than 150 guests, Tata Steel’s so-called Jumbo Line was inaugurat-ed in the Feijen Service Center in Maastricht, Netherlands. In 1974 al-ready, Schloemann-Siemag (now SMS group) had established and commis-sioned the Jumbo Line in the Nether-lands. At that time, the heavy shear line was the first one able to pay off strips up to a thickness of 25 millime-ters, cut them into long plates and then level them to leave just little re-sidual stress. After the Service Center Namascor had been closed in March 2013, the line was re-established and put on stream at the new location. PRODUCTION OF JUMBO COILS

With an annual capacity of 250,000 tons, the line can cut hot-rolled jum-bo coils of different steel grades with thicknesses between six and 25 milli-meters and widths of up to 2,600 mil-limeters to plates of a maximum 18 meters in length. The key equipment of this shear line includes, in addition to two eleven-roll levelers, a trimming shear and a “flying” cross-cut shear dividing the strip into the respective plate lengths.

Ulf [email protected]

JUMBO LINE – 40 YEARS OF SERVICE

Heavy shear line inaugurated at Tata Steel’s new location, the Feijen Service Center in Maastricht.

Karl-Heinz Hagemann, Project Manager SMS group (left), and Alfred Philipi, member of the Managing Board of Tata Steel (right), on the occasion of handing over the present.

86

iBig River Steel

In the first stage, the

new complex of Big

River Steel in Osceo-

la, in the state of Ar-

kansas, U.S.A., will

produce 1.5 mil-

lion tons of hot strip.

Part thereof will be

refined in-house to

high-strength cold

strip for automotive

applications.

Top down: Drever furnace with

horizontal and vertical sections in a hot-dip

galvanizing line.

Glowing slab in front of a CSP® furnace.

PROJECTS

87

PROJECTS — FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

In the CSP® plant, the roller hearth furnace is the kinematic and techno-logical link between continuous caster and rolling mill. The first zone of the more than 1,000 degrees Celsius hot furnace serves to set the thin slab temperature required for the rolling process. This is achieved by using en-vironmentally friendly ultra-low NOx burners. In order to save energy, the combustion air is preheated by waste heat from the furnace via recupera-tors. The downstream homogenizing zone keeps the temperature at a con-stant level and harmonizes it over the cross-section and length of the slab to achieve a homogenous temperature distribution. This promotes the rolling process and makes sure the finished product is of high quality.

INCREASED ENERGy EFFICIENCy

To transport the thin slabs through the furnace, special water-cooled rollers are used. They ensure little heat is dissipated and thus increase the energy efficiency of the furnace. A newly developed calculation module minimizes the contact pressure be-tween roller support rings and slab to satisfy the high demands on the final product surface quality.

Fritz Brü[email protected]

KEY FACTOR FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

The universal annealing and hot-dip galvanizing line is designed to permit flexible production of two different products: annealed and hot-dip gal-vanized cold strip. Due to a Drever furnace with high cooling rates, it is possible to produce high-strength dual-phase grades up to DP 800. At first, the strip is heated in the furnace in a vertical preheating zone. This is followed by a vertical direct-fired zone that heats the strip by naked flames in a reduced atmosphere and, at the same time, accomplishes ther-mo-chemical cleaning. Then, the strip is heated up to the required re-crystallization temperature in a hori-zontal radiant-tube furnace where the strip temperature is held over a defined period of time. A special fea-ture to be mentioned is the subse-quent fast cooling process in a verti-cal ultrafast cooling zone. There, the strip is cooled at extremely high cool-ing rates, thus enabling the produc-tion of high-strength grades for auto-motive applications. The preheating zone uses the hot emissions of the burners to heat the strip, while the energy of the exhaust air from burn-ers and radiant tubes is used to heat the combustion air. In addition, an in-

For the new steelworks of Big River Steel, U.S.A., the SMS group will supply all thermal processing equipment. Thus, the complete know-how for heating and cooling throughout the whole processing chain is supplied from

one source and ensures high material quality is attained.

tegrated special NOx treatment con-tributes to meeting the specified low emission values. LATEST BATCH ANNEALING FURNACES

Besides the annealing and hot-dip galvanizing line, the SMS group will establish batch annealing furnaces for cold strip treatment at Big River Steel’s mill complex. These furnaces serve to anneal and cool cold strip coils in the batch mode. They are able to process several coils simultane-ously with a maximum batch height of 6.4 meters, a maximum batch weight of 140 tons and a maximum coil outer diameter of 2,000 millimeters. The treatment takes between 42 and 55 hours. In total, 24 bases with 13 heat-ing hoods and 11 cooling hoods will be installed to achieve a throughput capacity of 413,000 tons of steel per annum.

Projects sms group newsletter 02 / 2015

8888

The heat treatment line, an AQTF (Advanced Quench and Temper Facility), will set new performance standards among existing comparable facilities. TimkenSteel and SMS have jointly developed the AQTF. The line combines induction preheaters and heating furnaces for both the austenitizing and tempering processes.

It will be capable of processing up to 10 tons per hour of tubes and bars, ranging from 4 to 13 inches in diameter and a variety of different steel grades of TimkenSteel’s portfolio. The heart of the AQTF line will be the brand new Quenching Shell, an advanced water spray system that can be used flexibly for different products and it is charac-terized by its adaptability to changing process conditions.

QUENCHING SHELL IS BECOMING THE STANDARD

SMS is continuously developing its products further through research and development projects and the Quenching Shell – although a concept for meeting the re-quirements of this special project – is the result of inten-sive research and development work promising to become

www.sms-group.com

1.4billion US$ turnover was achieved by Tim-kenSteel in 2013. The company manufac-tures customized steel products.

Advanced quench and temper facility

TimkenSteel has placed an order with SMS to design, construct and install a complete new heat treatment plant for TimkenSteel at the company’s Gam-brinus complex in Canton, Ohio, U.S.A.

the next generation’s standard for similar applications. SMS will take the plant into operation in Ohio in the second quarter of 2016.With a time period of one-and-a-half years from new construction to pro-duction, very tight targets are to be implemented. Erection and commis-sioning at TimkenSteel in the area of heat treatment are included in the order for the first time.

SMS and TimkenSteel have been engaged in a long-lasting coopera-tion. TimkenSteel manufactures cus-tomized steel products and provides services for demanding applications. The company is the leader in North America in large alloy steel bars (six inches plus) and seamless mechani-cal tubes made of special bar steel grades.

Model of the water spray system Quenching Shell which is the heart of the new facility at TimkenSteel.

89

PROJECTS — TUBE & PIPE PLANTS

The newly developed PERFECT® arc welding current sources are used for the welding machinery.

During pipe production, CARTA® records all quality-relevant data for each single shell and pipe.

Beisteel’s new JCO® pipe forming press is equipped with a variable-speed pump (VSP) control system.

Energy saving

Material saving

Convincing spiral pipe plant from PWS.

CARTA® technology is convincing.

Beisteel expands its product spectrum.

Zhejiang Kingland Pipe Industry, based in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Prov-ince, China, has successfully com-missioned a spiral pipe plant sup-plied by PWS. With its use of PERFECT® arc, the plant meets Eco-plants criteria in terms of sustain-ability and offers energy savings of up to 30 percent compared to competi-tor plants. What’s more, productivity is increased by up to 20 percent.

The plant comprises a spiral pipe forming and tack-welding machine for forming and pre-welding hot rolled steel strip as well as three downstream offline finish-welding stands. It has a capacity of 200,000 tons per year. Zhejiang Kingland is able to extend the spiral pipe welding plant by a fourth finish-welding stand and thus increase capacity to 260,000 tons per year.

Železiarne Podbrezová has commis-sioned the SMS group to upgrade the existing technology system of the stretch-reducing mill (SRM) at the Podbrezová location, Slovakia. SMS will replace the existing complete CARTA® system (computer-aided rolling technology application) by a new CARTA® SRM version. This will enable Železiarne to expand its analy-sis potential. The measured wall thickness eccentricity values of the shell are transmitted by the new CARTA® system and are then inte-grated into the calculations in terms of wall thickness control and length of the thickened ends. Process and pipe quality are examined and controlled automatically and online by compari-son between actual and target values. Quality problems may be identified and eliminated immediately. As a re-sult, the plant equipped with the CARTA® system saves more material.

Beisteel Group, China, has placed an order with SMS for the supply of a JCO® pipe forming press. With this machine, the company will be able to expand its product spectrum to in-clude longitudinally welded large-di-ameter pipes (LSAW) with a length of up to 18 meters. The annual capacity is approx. 250,000 tons.

The press produces the pipes in wall thicknesses up to 65 millimeters and steel grades up to X100. The pipe diameters range from 16 to 64 inches. The new machine offers the advan-tage that the JCO® forming process can be quickly changed to other pipe dimensions. This allows even small lot sizes to be produced cost-efficiently.

The new modular frame design will be used on this press for the first time, enabling overall height and foundation depth to be minimized and flexible press lengths to be created.

www.sms-group.com/pws www.sms-group.com/tube-pipe-plants www.sms-group.com/tube-pipe-plants

New press concept

90


STRATEGIC PARTNER OF TUBE PRODUCERS

Falling prices in the oil and gas sec-tor, overcapacities, a slowdown in growth in China, geopolitical tensions by the Ukrainian crisis and delays with major projects lead to a decreasing

Interview

Norbert Theelen, member of Management Tube & Pipe Plants Product Unit at the SMS group.

demand for pipeline and OCTG tubes. How should tube and pipe producers react to this? In the following inter-view, Norbert Theelen and Frank Lüth answer these and other questions.

In an interview, Norbert Theelen and Frank Lüth, Heads of Tube & Pipe Plants Product Unit at SMS, talk about current challenges in tube & pipe business.

The market for tubes and pipes is currently in a critical situation. How will the market evolve from your point of view?Lüth: OCTG and pipeline tubes are in demand as seamless and as welded tubes. But in both cases, the demand for tubes is always directly related to the oil and gas price and falling en-ergy prices will be a temporary stum-bling block in the demand for tubes. In the past, we have however experi-enced similar cycles and are con-vinced that oil and gas extraction will also be expanded in the medium and long term due to an increasing need for energy. We see other growth im-pulses for a demand in tubes addi-tionally in the fact that more and more and better and better tubes are required for exploration to ensure a constant extraction volume. The key-words are: deep sea, shale gas, sour gas, production sites in Arctic regions and the combination of vertical and horizontal exploitation of the fields. With these extreme exploration con-ditions, the demand for quality and safety standards of the tubes is ris-ing. This is where we see, today and above all in the future, the greatest opportunities for premium tubes. As a life cycle partner of our customers we offer economic production possi-bilities for higher tube grades and premium products.

91


Frank Lüth, Member of Management Tube & Pipe Plants Product Unit at the SMS group.

How does SMS support the tube man-ufacturers in the current difficult market environment?Theelen: Our motto is solutions for suc-cess. There are many examples of how this might look like in practice. Nowa-days, only a few major projects exist, which are, however, implemented from a purely strategic point of view. For tube and pipe producers, it is becoming in-creasingly important to establish de-centralized production opportunities for tube manufacture and/or tube finishing with smaller capacities directly in the markets. As a full-liner, we are able to accompany our customers comprehen-sively – from the entire metallurgical value-added chain via technological services and support up to after-sales services. In the tubes sector, we offer our customers a comprehensive range of products including all manufacturing processes and quality-determining fin-ishing lines. In a market with overca-pacities it is certainly no longer just es-sential to boost production, but product optimizations and improving quality are likewise important. In this respect, we are highly effective as life cycle partner for our customers, to increase their competitiveness even with existing plants sustainably. New technical con-cepts are developed by us in close coor-dination with our customers.

What do strategic partnerships mean to SMS and are there project examples?

Theelen: We see our customers as cooperation partners with whom good relations are fostered for the mutual benefit on a long-term basis. How this partnership works is dem-onstrated by Tenaris in the U.S.A. To satisfy the rising demand for high-strength precision tubes used for ex-tracting shale gas, an adequate plant solution was required. SMS supplies not only the plant equipment but also cooperates closely with Tenaris in technology. After contract conclusion at the end of 2013, an intense design phase began to configure the new technologies optimally also in terms of maintenance and service. All equipment is currently being built or assembled and the first parts have even already been delivered. Through close cooperation and coordination, the respective knowledge and expe-rience of tube producer and plant manufacturer is incorporated in the tube mill to be newly erected. I be-lieve that the future belongs to this trustful and open form of strategic partnerships.

On which major projects are you cur-rently working on?Lüth: At present we are working on a number of projects in the seamless tubes sector in southeast Asia where the above-described market develop-ment has led to serious investment projects. In addition to that, we are pursuing projects for seamless tube plants and large-diameter pipe mills on the Arabian Peninsula. Just a few days ago, we were awarded the con-tract for the supply of a twelve-meter JCO® pipe forming press. This will en-able our customer to manufacture tubes in diameters of 18 to 56 inches with wall thicknesses of up to 44.5 mil-limeters. The annual output of high-grade longitudinally welded tubes should be approx. 240,000 tons.

Norbert [email protected]

Frank Lü[email protected]

PROJECTS

92

Thanks to inline and offline quick-change systems, a roll change is realized much faster. The CSS Quicksetting® system (Com-puterized Setting System) allows for exactly automated roll positioning after changing.

93


HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY OF UP TO 30 PERCENT

Top: Strip edges of the calibrated open-seam tube are pre-cisely compressed in the welding scaffold and welded by means of the inductive HF process.

Bottom: All rolls are individually driven, saving com-plex gearboxes and increasing the flexibility of the rolling process at the same time.

With the tube welding line of the RD 140HF type, including finishing equipment, Arvedi commissioned the SMS group to supply

already the third welding facility.

After only 21 months, the 5 ½" line was put into service in Salto, Brazil. In 2012, Arvedi had deliberately opted for the SMS group as the full-range sup-plier of the entire line, which is de-signed for an annual capacity of 150,000 tons of tubes. The dimension-al range includes tube diameters from 33.4 to 139.7 millimeters with wall thicknesses from 1.5 to eight millime-ters. Tube lengths may be between 5.0 and 12.6 meters.

150,000tons of tubes per year is the capacity of the line which SMS has installed for Arvedi in Salto, Brazil, as the full-range supplier.


94

Top: To make sure that the line is permanently replenished, a rotating double coiler is em-ployed. The new coil is already opened and prepositioned during on-going production, thus minimizing downtimes in strip preparation.

Bottom: SMS supplied the complete finishing line. This includes also all longitudinal and cross transportation ensuring automated logistics between the individual processing stations.

With the new welding line, Arvedi Metalfer do Brasil is now able to pro-duce premium-quality, thick-walled tubes with round, square and rectan-gular cross-sections. The tubes meet the demanding standards, such as EN 10219, API 5L, EN 10208, API 5CT, ASTM A513, EN 10305.

www.sms-group.com/tube-pipe-plants

95


The traveling tube cut-off machine: The cut-off unit may be converted from friction to cold cut-ting by means of an exchangeable cut-ting device. The saw blade diameter of 700 millimeters en-sures the high ser-vice life of the saw blades. Consequent-ly, downtimes for saw blade changes are reduced signifi-cantly.

The fully automated spiral strip accumulator ensures continuous operation of the line.


96

By investing in a new L-SAW pipe mill, Corinth Pipeworks is expanding its product range to satisfy growing global demand for high-strength pipes for the exploitation and transportation of oil and gas. In the following interview, Athanasios Tazedakis, Deputy Plant Director at Corinth Pipeworks, explains the company’s motives to invest in the new JCOE large-diameter pipe mill and why he relies on the plants of SMS group.

Mr. Tazedakis – in your professional career, have you al-ways worked in the field of steel? Most of the time, certainly for the last 16 years I have had the honor of holding several positions in our company, Corinth Pipeworks. As quality director, as mill director and now as deputy plant director responsible for the engi-neering and technology aspects of our company. Addition-ally, for the last two years I had the honor of participating in the Board of our Joint Venture with TMK in Seversky, Russia.

So what is it about steel that fascinates you?It is part of my life now (laughs). There are many things that fascinate me, although it is hardly surprising that steel holds such a fascination. If you consider it histori-cally, we are still living in the steel age. Despite the intro-duction of other more modern materials, the one that is still most widely used in most applications is steel. And although it might not have been expected, you can see that the use of steel is continuing to expand. The steel industry is evolving. Steel, as one of the most ancient materials, is becoming better and better, serving even more critical applications. So this development of an an-cient material with a very long history is really very chal-lenging.

WIDELY USED IN MOST APPLICATIONS: STEEL

Interview

How has your company developed in recent years?Despite the problems the Greek state has faced in recent years, the company has developed remarkably well, even extremely well in some cases. The reason for that is that we have a very strong financial and technical back-ground as well as very good relations with major clients who showed their trust in our capabilities even in difficult times. Corinth has therefore managed to make really good progress in recent years with the continuous support of our mother company, VIOHALCO, which is the major Greek industrial group. Nevertheless, we still have to plan for the future on this sound basis, and that is one of the reasons why we are continuing to expand, creating new innovative products and making fur-ther investments.

What plants does Corinth Pipeworks have from SMS?Actually all our pipe production facili-ties come from SMS. Additionally, we are nowadays making a very big in-vestment with a brand new 56-inch JCO® large-diameter pipe plant. We believe that it will be one of the most productive and efficient large-diame-ter pipe plants in the world, if not the most efficient one – especially, when it

An interview with Athanasios Tazedakis, Deputy Plant Director at Corinth.

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Projects — tube & PiPe Plants

comes to difficult thickness, grade and diameter combinations. This mill will be capable of producing 16-inch and 18-inch heavy-wall high-grade pipes that not many other mills can produce. So this big investment is currently tak-ing place in our works, and in addition we are further investing in a 24-meter hydrostatic pipe tester that will enable us to expand the product range of our HFI facilities to 24 meters as well – again in cooperation with SMS.

What would you say is special about your cooperation with SMS?The fact that the whole Thisvi infra-structure is being built by SMS is a clear indication of our cooperation level. SMS is our main supplier. We have a long-standing relationship that has always been based on part-nership. That makes us feel really comfortable, makes us feel that we have a real friend who will always be there to support us in any difficulty and to contribute to our success. At the same time, we also feel that from our perspective we can pass our ex-pertise on certain small areas to SMS, so that together we can further expand into the pipe industry.

In any friendship there are things that can be improved. What is it with SMS?

Although we aim at one, there is never a perfect relationship, that’s true (laughs). Living in a very, very competitive and challenging world, we would like SMS to adapt to lower price levels – without compromising its efficiency and quality. In view of the engineering and cooperation excellence, howev-er, SMS certainly deserves to get a premium for what they are doing and the way they are doing it.

»SMS is our main supplier. We have a long-standing relationship that has always been based on partnership. That makes us feel really comfortable, makes us feel that we have a real friend who will always be there to support

us in any difficulty and to contribute to our success.«

Athanasios Tazedakis of Corinth Pipeworks

Athanasios Tazedakis of Corinth Pipeworks during the interview

www.cpw.gr


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The rolling mill consists of a pusher-type furnace with a capacity of 62 tons per hour, twelve housingless stands in horizontal and vertical configuration, an 8-stand finishing block in V-configuration, a thermoprocessing system, HSD® system (High-Speed Delivery), cooling bed and finishing end. The water treatment plant is also a part of the supply.

Straight bars are produced by the HSD® system of SMS, which ensures that bar steel safely arrives on the cooling bed even at high speeds. The HSD® system offers several advantages compared to the slitting process, like higher metallic yield, higher mill utilization, reduction of losses and better quality of products.

EFFICIENT PLANT CONCEPT

The rolling mill will be installed in the Rabigh industrial area. Commissioning is scheduled for the first quarter of 2016. This plant concept enables high efficiency, reducing the cost of the initial investment.

RABIGH STEEL ORDERS REBAR ROLLING MILLRabigh steel from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ordered a rolling mill from the SMS group, with diame-ters from 10 to 36 millimeters.

www.sms-group.com/long-products-plants

From 2016, the rebar rolling mill supplied by SMS will be producing 300,000 tons of rebars per year at Rabigh Steel.

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PROJECTS — LONG PRODUCTS PLANTS AND FORGING PLANTS

The team of Kardemir and SMS when signing the contract.

R. Düser, Sales Ring and Wheel Rolling Ma-chines at SMS, (left) and G. Bonvicini, President of Forgia del Frignano.

SMS supplied a ring rolling machine to UMZ in Yekaterinburg.

Quick cutting

Compact dimensions

Diameters up to 3,000 mm

Kardemir orders shear for rolling mill.

Forgia del Frignano or-ders ring rolling plant.

Ring rolling machine at UMZ in operation.

For the wire rod outlet of its new wire rod and bar mill Kardemir A.S., Tur-key, has ordered a high-speed shear. The scope of supply includes a pinch roll unit, the high-speed shear with control, engineering for scrap re-moval, motors and converters, inte-gration into electrics and automation as well as supervision of erection and commissioning. In 2008, a rail and section mill from the SMS group had already been successfully put on stream, and in 2013, Kardemir A.S. ordered a wire rod and bar mill for 700,000 tons of quality steel per year. “We are convinced that the high-speed shear from SMS is the best solution for cutting safely and re-peatably even at the highest rolling speeds,” says Ragip Parlak, Contin-uous Rolling Mill Manager of Kar-demir A.S.

Forgia del Frignano from Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena Province, Italy, has placed an order with SMS for the supply of a radial-axial ring rolling machine, type RAW 40(50)/32(40)-1000/210 EM. The machine produces rings with a rectangular cross-sec-tion and profile rings up to an exter-nal diameter of 1,000 millimeters and a height of 210 millimeters.

Instead of using complex power hydraulics for this machine type, SMS employs electromechanical drives for the rolling and motion ax-es. The machine convinces with compact dimensions and low costs. Forgia del Frignano uses the radial-axial ring rolling machine as part of an automatic production line with a mechanical closed-die forging press and industrial robots. It will be put on stream in the second quarter of 2015.

Metallurgical Plant “Electrostal” from Elektrostal (Moscow Region), has successfully commissioned a radial-axial ring rolling machine, a ring expander and a radial forging machine from the SMS group.

This enables Electrostal to pro-duce rings and stepped shafts. The commissioned radial-axial ring rolling machine of the RAW 400 (500)/200(250)-3000/600 “DM” type is also able to roll stainless steel rings and nickel-base and titanium alloys which are difficult to form. The new radial-axial ring rolling machine, type RAW 160(200)/160(200)-3000/630, in-cluding ring swivel-out manipulator and pawl-type skid were put into ser-vice at Ural Metallurgical Plant in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The machine produces finished rings up to 3,000 millimeters in diameter, 630 milli-meters in height and 4,000 kilograms in weight.

www.sms-group.com/long-products-plants www.sms-group.com/forging-plants www.sms-group.com/forging-plants


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SAARSTAHL RELIES ON SMS TECHNOLOGY

For its Völklingen, Burbach and Neunkirchen plants, Saarstahl AG, Germany, has placed three upgrading orders with the SMS group in recent months.

The aim of all these measures is to be able to react to the needs of Saarstahl customers more quickly and flexibly.

Model of con-tinuous wire rod mill with seven stands to be installed at the Völklingen site.

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PROJECTS — LONG PRODUCTS PLANTS

The Völklingen site is provided with a seven-stand continuous wire rod mill replacing an existing blooming stand. For the Burbach site, two stands, a shear, a four-strand switch and a four-strand pinch roll unit were ordered. In this way, the roughing train of the wire rod mill in Burbach is expanded. For the wire rod mill in Neunkirchen, a new wire rod outlet is supplied where the existing wire rod block will contin-ue to be used. The aim is to be able to offer various qualities, dimensions and tolerances in response to the demands when rolling wire rod and bars.

PRODUCTION CONTINUES

Construction work in Völklingen will take place in summer 2015 during on-going production. An additional roller table will be installed ensuring that production continues during the con-struction and commissioning phases. The continuous wire rod mill for the Völklingen site consists of seven mill stands in CS (Compact Stand) design and vertical/horizontal arrangement. This stand design is dimensioned for high loads and large formats and is characterized by compact construc-tion, and higher stand rigidity com-pared to conventional housingless stands. The last two stands are equipped with a quick-change device. The new continuous wire rod mill rolls different initial sections from several bloom sizes for the down-line intermediate train.

With the expansion of the one-strand roughing mill in Burbach, dif-

When the new facilities are put into service a guide trough will be placed into the location provided for the fin-ishing block for bridging. Commission-ing of the LOOP is scheduled for Janu-ary 2016. The remaining new facilities will go on stream in August 2016.

Hot wire rod in an outlet section of a wire rod mill.

ferent leading pass sections may be employed without conversion mea-sures. The final section from the roughing mill is the same for all input sections and will then be distributed to all four strands of the wire rod mill by means of the new switch. In this way, quality and plant availability of this al-ready high-performance train will be further improved. Commissioning is scheduled for the summer of 2016.

BETTER ROLLING TOLERANCES

The new wire rod outlet in Neunkirch-en will be installed downstream of the four CL (cantilever) stands parallel to the existing rolling line. The key objec-tives of this conversion are quality im-provements, better rolling tolerances and shorter construction times thanks to a MEERdrive®PLUS block with quick-change devices.

The existing ten-stand finishing block will be relocated after commis-sioning of the new installation and taken into operation in January 2017.

SERVICEEquipment to be installed in Neunkirchen

Loop cooling line and cooling line downstream of ten-stand finishing block

Shear upstream of four-stand MEERdrive®PLUS block

Four-stand MEERdrive®PLUS block with quick-change devices

Cooling line downstream of four-stand MEERDrive®PLUS block

Pinch roll units and loop laying head, loop cooling conveyor including three-fan system and coil station with dividing shear and pallet transport system

i

www.sms-group.com/long-product-plants


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SONA BLW Präzisionsschmiede GmbH has put its new closed-die forging press on stream at its Remscheid lo-cation. The eccentric forging press of the MT 630 type, delivered by SMS in 2014, is part of a fully automated forg-

CLOSED-DIE FORG-ING PRESS WITH MEERTORQUE®

SMS is increasingly turning to torque motors as drives for presses. Their advantage is their high torque at low speeds. In Remscheid, Germany, the first press started production with MEERtorque® drive.

plant has already produced more than one million parts.

The closed-die forging press by SMS is the first of its kind worldwide with a MEERtorque® drive. This sustainable concept has been developed to com-bine the advantages of advanced torque motor technology with the demand to shorten the pressure dwell times pre-vailing in massive forming as much as possible during the forming process and, at the same time, allow for the greatest-possible time window for tool transfer and die maintenance.

As a result, a longer plant lifetime through reduced die wear, higher pro-ductivity and savings on emissions, energy and media consumption can be achieved. For SONA, this means lower unit costs. Due to the elimina-tion of friction and compressed air for coupling brake energy is saved. The intention is that energy usage is re-duced in the double-digit percentage range.

30 STROKES PER MINUTE

The MEERtorque® concept for forging presses is based on the idea to sepa-rate the pure press movement from the provision of energy. The energy necessary for forming is stored in a flywheel rotating by up to 110 rotations per minute. Upon stroke installation, the eccentric shaft and the ram are ac-celerated to flywheel speed by means of a torque motor and are only then coupled to the flywheel in a slip-free manner without energy losses.

SONA received the first closed-die forging press with MEERtorque® drive allowing up to 30 strokes per minute. With other torque motors on an eccen-tric shaft and flywheel, rates of up to 40 strokes per minute and more may even be reached.

MT-630 with MEERtorque® during com-missioning in Mönchengladbach.

ing line on which precision gear parts for passenger cars are produced ready for installation. The line also includes an induction heating system for billets, EloForgeTM from SMS Elotherm. Since commissioning at the end of 2014 the

Klaus [email protected]

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PROJECTS — NF METALS AND THERMAL TECHNOLOGY

A similar batch homogenizing plant of Hert-wich Engineering

EloForgeTM L with emptying system and extract-ing tongs.

15 percent more capacity is generated by the ingot caster at TRIMET Aluminium, Germany.

Shorter heating time

Heated economically

15 percent more capacity

Order for a batch homogenizing plant.

Successful commis-sioning at STP.

TRIMET orders ingot caster.

Dubai Aluminium from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has ordered a batch homogenizing plant from Hertwich Engineering. This is the fourth plant of its kind that Hertwich is to supply to the company.

The batch homogenizing plant is designed for very short heating times. A reversing air concept and regulation by flaps accelerates the heating by an estimated 20 percent and achieves improved temperature uniformity. The plant is fully auto-mated, with heating being controlled by measurement of the air and metal temperatures. The furnace has a ca-pacity of 55 tons for billet diameters between 152 and 406 millimeters. Start of production is scheduled for the third quarter of 2015.

The automotive supplier Schmiede-technik Plettenberg (STP), Germany, has taken a new assembly line into operation for the production of ring-shaped components. The fully auto-mated line consists of an induction heating system, a 10,000-kN forging press, a ring rolling machine, a 6,300-kN sizing press and five robots. The multi-mandrel radial ring rolling ma-chine is from SMS. SMS Elotherm supplied the inductive billet heating machine, type EloForgeTM L. Special features here are the automatic emp-tying system and the extraction tongs with breaking and repulsion function. Frank Mandera, Plant Manager at STP: “The extracting tongs ensure that process disturbances or inter-ruptions due to adhering parts are prevented. We truly appreciate the appropriate advice and support by ex-pert staff from SMS.”

TRIMET Aluminium from Essen, Germany, has ordered a horizontal continuous caster (HCC) for ingots from Hertwich Engineering. In this way, the company is able to produce high-grade alloyed ingots. The an-nual capacity of the plant is approx. 60,000 tons. The HCC operates with an ingot format of approx. 2.0 x 3.5 inches and is therefore about 15 percent more efficient than the plants producing in the standard ingot format (2.0 x 3.0 inches). The casting capacity is approx. nine to 13 tons per hour depending on the casting alloy. Hertwich’s scope of supply includes the casting system consisting of cast-ing tundish and molds, a casting ma-chine as well as the cooling-water control system. Also included are a flying saw with chip extraction and an automatic packaging and stacking system. A weighing machine and a storage roller table for ingot stacks complement the supply package.

www.hertwich.com www.sms-group.com www.hertwich.com


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The two new lines are to be mounted this year at Goawei Copper plant in YingKou Municipality, Liaoning Prov-ince, and at Amer Gansu plant, Gan-su Province. At the Amer Tongling plant, the parent company Amer In-ternational has been operating a CONTIROD® CR 3500 already for many years. With the two new lines having a capacity of 35 tons per hour each, Amer plans to triple its production capacity and rise to be the number one in China’s wire rod production. The lines produce ETP copper

TWO MORE CONTIROD® LINES FOR AMER GROUP

wire rod (Electrolytic Tough Pitch) serving as semifinished products for the manufacture of electrical con-ductors.

EFFICIENCy IN THE FOCUS

The scope of supply of the two CON-TIROD® lines includes a shaft melting furnace, a twin-belt caster, a rolling mill, a deoxidation and cooling sec-tion, as well as a wire coiling station and an automatic strapping unit and a foil packaging line each. With its lambda control and improved cathode

The Amer International Group, China, commissioned the SMS group with the supply of two CONTIROD® lines CR 3500.

distribution, the shaft melting fur-nace is characterized by minimized consumption of natural gas and high product quality. The caster permits a symmetrical cast structure and a large casting cross-section of 6,300 mm². In the twelve mill stands with individ-ual drives, a fine-grained structure is generated in the wire rod by high cross-sectional reduction creating excellent preconditions for the draw-ing process. In this way, high-quality and sophisticated products such as enameled and multi-fine wire can be manufactured in the down-line pro-cesses. Through the final deoxidation and water cooling, the wire rod achieves top surface quality. After gentle winding in the coiling station, the coils are strapped automatically and protected against damage by the packaging film.

Thanks to high energy efficiency and resource-friendly material input, the CONTIROD® lines CR 3500 fulfill the strict sustainability criteria for Ecoplants of SMS.

SMS has installed more than 45 CONTIROD® lines worldwide.

www.sms-group.com/nf-metals

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PROJECTS

The contracting parties of Yasuda Metals and SMS after the sale of the HybrEx.

SMS Elotherm upgrades a heating system at ThyssenKrupp Gerlach in Homburg.

Heat treatment plant with billet manipulators and auxiliary equipment.

Supply to Japan

Lower unit costs

Flexible and efficient

HybrEx extrusion press for Yasuda Metal Industries.

Heating system upgraded.

New induction unit for Western Energy.

Yasuda Metal Industries, based in Osaka, Japan, has placed an order with the SMS group for an extrusion press of type HybrEx 14. Yasuda in-tends to use the press, which can at-tain a maximum force of 14.5 MN, to produce light-metal sections for windows and facades. It is capable of processing billets of up to 800 milli-meters in length and has a capacity of around 5,000 tons per year. Thanks to the drive technology used in the HybrEx 14, energy savings of up to 55 percent can be achieved compared to conventional presses.

The HybrEx press has been devel-oped by SMS. Compared to the drives used in conventional presses, its drive systems can reach twice the speed, i.e., 1,000 millimeters per second. A reduced non-productive time of just one second means pro-duction can be increased by up to 100 tons per year.

ThyssenKrupp Gerlach from Hom-burg, Germany, has placed an order with SMS Elotherm for the modern-ization of a heating installation. The equipment achieves an hourly output of 14 tons. The induction system or-dered by ThyssenKrupp Gerlach op-erates as a dual line, increases the energy efficiency thanks to iZone™ technology and minimizes CO2 emis-sions. Owing to this technology, unit manufacturing costs are also dimin-ished – particularly in the case of partial throughputs.

iZone™ enables the coil section to be adapted flexibly to the desired partial throughputs. For each heat-ing task an individual process is available with high energy efficiency. Loading and unloading of the instal-lation takes place by means of fully automated robot systems. The heat-ing system is scheduled to come on stream in the third quarter of 2015.

Western Energy Materials Technolo-gies Co. Ltd., China, has placed an order with IAS for the supply of a vertical induction system for heating billets from titanium, zirconium and special materials. The unit consists of two heating stations with state-of-the-art transistor technology offer-ing high flexibility regarding billet sizes and process temperatures. The scope of supply includes also the complete auxiliary equipment and materials handling system for the 45-MN extrusion press of SMS, on which the billets are processed. Electrical efficiency may be 82 per-cent depending on the billet size and alloy. Thermal efficiency and ho-mogenous heating quality for this application are considerably higher than with conventional systems.

www.sms-group.com/ forging-plants

www.sms-elotherm.com www.ias-induction.com

Service sms groupnewsletter 02/2015

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SERVICE – INNOVATIONS – ECOPLANTS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

SERVICE – INNOVATIONS – ECOPLANTS

60 locations worldwide make sure the SMS group is close to its customers. Their plants are kept competitive

with innovative solutions provided by the service experts.

Service

Service activities in Brazil 108Scoring with experience Service assignment in the U.S.A. 110Superior Tube puts its trust in SMS expertise Service assignment in Russia 112Service concepts offered by SMS group continue track record Service assignment in the Netherlands 116As good as new: SMS group overhauls forging machine at van Beest Modernization in the U.S.A. 118Centerpiece: Innovative 3-roll PSM®

OVERVIEW

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SERVICE

Close to the customer everywhere in the world: the SMS group service experts.

SMS overhauled gear units at ArcelorMittal.

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SERVICE

Many years of experience with damage symptoms, numerous cause studies and solutions result in a knowledge that cannot be bought for money. Arce-lorMittal Tubarão benefitted from that knowledge just recently when it was confronted with problems arising from the first finishing stand. A gear unit damage marked the starting point of a successful cooperation.

No part was replaced by a new one without SMS having considered alter-native solutions. Gear units were moved from one mill stand to another. Toothed components with generally long delivery times were shipped quickly. Selected transport means were scrutinized and changed wher-ever necessary. Pre-assembly work was carried out on-site. Further mea-sures included the use of dummies, short-term modification of pass schedules and adaptation of produc-tion planning. “Throughout the whole period, the economic efficiency of all measures was our top priority,” says Claus Wilk, Technical Service of the SMS group.

Besides the repair of the mill pinion and spur gear units, SMS investigated possible measures for damage pre-vention. ArcelorMittal Tubarão ap-

Claus [email protected]

SCORING WITHEXPERIENCE

proved the installation of a test unit monitoring the vibrations of mill stand F4. Compared to the existing measur-ing system from another producer, the Genius CM Condition Monitoring Sys-tem made by SMS showed clear de-flections indicating a tooth defect. A tooth breakout being four centimeters in size was discovered. Tailored to the requirements of the plant, SMS adapt-ed the tooth system contours of the mill pinion gear unit with the result of a 25-percent increase in torque and a longer service life.

HIGH TORQUE AMPLIFICATION FACTOR

Based on its production data and mea-sured values, ArcelorMittal Tubarão identified an extremely high Torque Amplification Factor (TAF). “The val-ues found surpassed anything mea-sured before,” says Wilk. “For that rea-son we recommended to examine the reliability of the data and initiate suit-able measures.” These are now being implemented.

In addition to the required rolling torque, there are further factors bur-dening the drive train. The torque am-plification factor (TAF) describes the relation of the maximum torque Tmax

to the static torque Tstat. When design-

Recent activities at ArcelorMittal Tubarão in Vitoria, Brazil, once again emphasize the importance of experience, know-how and organization in selecting

a service consultant. In addition to overhauling measures for its gear units, the customer benefits from valuable recommendations of the SMS group experts.

ing drive components, SMS considers them in the associated models accord-ing to the planned use. That includes influences from the rolling process.

An unplanned high TAF increases the wear of the mechanical drive com-ponents. The plant operator may con-trol such burdens by adapting the re-spective process conditions. Reliable lubrication as a preventive mainte-nance measure, for example, ensures symmetrical conditions at the rolls. Uniform cooling of strip top and bot-tom sides helps provide adequate edge temperatures. This includes sufficient slab heating in the furnace to prevent cold strip heads.

SMS supports its customers in determining the actual TAF by a cur-rent-state analysis based on tempo-rary measurements. Another useful tool is the ability to run simulations, helping the engineers of SMS identify potentials for improvement.

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SUPERIOR TUBE PUTS ITS TRUST IN SMS EXPERTISE

Superior Tube in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., placed an order for a mainte-nance audit and training course with the service experts from the SMS group.

Alongside an independent assessment of its processes, Superior Tube benefited from a customized training course for improving its maintenance strategy.

So that all speak the same language: The theory at SMS is also an integral part of the training measures.

Service

The experts from SMS first took a detailed look at the com-pany’s maintenance processes. The efficiency of existing processes in the maintenance and production departments was examined and evaluated. SMS staff members assessed areas including seamless tube production, welded pipe manufacturing, maintenance workshops and spare parts stores. SMS maintenance audits can be used so far to iden-tify any untapped potential, thereby enabling companies to increase both their efficiency and plant availability.

The auditors, Matthias Burrichter and Oleg Michael Vi-lents, are active in the MEERconsult® department where they are responsible for sales and marketing and the im-plementation of maintenance audits. Audits are part of the standard product portfolio of MEERconsult® and can last anything from three to ten days, depending on the size of the plant. The analysis and assessment of the core processes at Superior Tube lasted about three days. The company was able to benefit from the expertise as an OEM manufacturer with up-to-date maintenance systems and procedures and an independent opinion about company-internal core processes.

Superior Tube operates a cold pilger mill supplied in the 1970s by SMS, as well as several small welded tube plants and cold drawing machines. These are used to pro-duce both seamless and welded tubes with smaller diam-eters. With tubes like these the focus is predominantly on quality. Material costs are comparatively high, and their use – customers are among others the aerospace indus-try, in medicine, in the oil and gas industries as well as in chemical processes – only permits very close tolerances.

Matthias [email protected]

What’s more, Superior Tube is faced with the challenge of rapidly changing products, i.e., supplying tubes of vary-ing diameters and materials on time, every time.

INDIvIDUALLy TAILORED TRAINING

COURSES

In addition to examining and assessing maintenance processes, SMS also de-veloped a customized training course for Superior Tube. The MEERcoach® ME-RCM training course is aimed at adapting the company’s maintenance strategy to different circumstances and conditions. This includes, for ex-ample, evaluating the risks of failure of all machine components, and tailoring resources such as parts or tools to ac-tual requirements identified in ad-vance. The ME-RCM method for defin-ing critical components and associated maintenance measures is an approach developed specially by SMS. It is based on methods such as RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance) and FMECA (Failure Modes and Effects Criticality Analysis).

As part of the training course the SMS experts first explained the fun-damental principles to their col-leagues at Superior Tube, who were then able to apply them to the analy-sis of the maintenance quality of the cold pilger mill in the next step. Supe-rior Tube intends to use the knowl-edge it has gained and applied for a full analysis of its production site, with the aim of developing a mainte-nance strategy for the whole plant that is geared towards cost efficiency and plant availability.

Expertise of our local team: The experts of SMS know your plants and offer you sound advice.

iService

Just as important

as keeping machines

and equipment up

to date it is to pro-

viding the respec-

tive know-how to staff

members. SMS

renders services

of practical and

theoretical training

courses, startup

support and produc-

tion assistance.

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As a permanent partner, the Technical Service Division of the SMS group is thus assuming part of the responsibility for achieving the production target of 12.5 tons of steel per year envisaged by Novolipetsk Iron & Steel for the Lipetsk site. Starting in February 2015, an SMS team will be avail-able at the newly established Russian service workshop to support the maintenance processes with a service staff of up to 300.

Building on extensive technological know-how and com-prehensive expertise in all process chains of the steel in-dustry, the SMS group team is well qualified to sustainably optimize the customer’s maintenance processes. Success-ful references – for example, the services rendered to the continuous casting plant of MMK (Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works OJSC) – show that the SMS group not only re-lieves the operators of steelmaking plants from some of their workload, but may also give positive impetus to their plants’ development.

ONLINE AND OFFLINE MAINTENANCE

As early as in 2014, NLMK decided to benefit from the know-how of the SMS group’s service experts. The SMS group will, from now on, perform the maintenance activities on the SMS Mevac-supplied RH plants and ladle furnaces, both online and offline. A team of specialists will perform offline mainte-nance for the nine continuous casting plants in operation and overhaul critical components such as oscillation systems, molds and segments of the continuous casters. The team will have to cope with the challenge of having to deal with casters built during a period ranging from 1967 through 2012.

SERVICE CONCEPTS OFFERED BY SMS GROUP

CONTINUE TRACK RECORDThe Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Iron & Steel Corp (NLMK) has

entrusted the SMS group with the performance of active maintenance and repair services on key plant assets, starting in February 2015.

By transferring maintenance management tasks to the SMS group, plant operators benefit from increased planning secu-rity in addition to economic and organizational improvements. Personnel planning plays a key role in this context. In the present case, the SMS group experts will team up with cus-tomer’s core personnel to integrate their expertise in the maintenance activities. In the process, the operator’s staff will be trained by the SMS experts on a high technological level to enhance their skills in dealing with specialist mainte-nance processes. Efficient maintenance must be based on well-founded strategies and diligently planned measures.

MANAGEMENT OF THE SPARE PARTS

As part of the Integrated Maintenance Management System (IMMS®) concept, SMS carried out a detailed ME-RCM analy-sis (Maintenance Engineering-Reliability Centered Mainte-nance) at NLMK. The empirical data obtained from this anal-ysis will be integrated into the SAP system in place at NLMK.

NLMK also entrusted the SMS group with the manage-ment of the spare parts inventory of the continuous casting plants and the secondary-metallurgy facilities. The SMS group now stocks the daily requirements of parts in a ware-house on the works premises. Through outsourcing, the operator thus ensures access to spare parts whenever nec-essary, while reducing costs. Through the worldwide ser-vice network of the SMS group, NLMK benefits in various other respects from the cooperation with the systems sup-plier SMS, for example, through the state-of-the-art coat-ing facilities for mold plates and segment rollers in the SMS service workshop in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

SERVICE SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

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Sitting from left to right:Pino Tesè Executive Vice Presi-dent Technical Service Division, SMS group, S. Filatov Managing Director, NLMK Standing from left to right: Sergey Baladin Deputy Chief Engineer Maintenance, NLMK; Bogdan Ryskulov Project Director Maintenance Services, SMS; Alexey Vasilyevich Popov Director of Repair Complex, NLMK; David Jeffrey Regional Vice President – Russia & CIS; SMS.

A good cooperation isthe basis for success,also in maintenance.This is already shown at MMK.

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SERVICE SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

Oil film bearings from SMS are reliable, safe and efficient.

Four-stroke valves for combustion engines.WearComp® bearing bushes ensure perfect spindle true running.

Saving costs Press overhauled

Longer service life

Modern oil film bearings for Tata Steel.

Märkisches Werk com-missions SMS group.

WearComp® revolution-izes maintenance.

Since the installation of hot rolling mill 2 in 1968, there has been strong cooperation between Tata Steel Eu-rope, domiciled in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and SMS. Service ex-perts from SMS examined the more than 45-year-old bearing systems with the objective of making sure the bearings operate without trouble and of reducing operating expenses. Since 2012, the bearings have been revamped with the modifications in-cluding changes to the design of the bearing seals, the bearing and neck bushes as well as the axial position-ing elements. In addition, the backup roll chocks were repaired in the Hilchenbach workshops. These measures were supported by train-ing courses held by SMS experts. The result: Oil losses reduced by 70 percent, water penetration to a spec-ified volume and bearing damage minimized considerably.

MWH, Märkisches Werk Halver, Ger-many, has commissioned SMS to overhaul a purchased second-hand closed-die forging press completely. Beforehand, service experts from SMS had inspected the friction screw press together with the customer, defining the future capacity specifi-cation. On the basis of this compre-hensive status analysis, a general overhaul was performed at the SMS workshop in Mönchengladbach. The friction screw press from 1982 of the Hasenclever FRP N500 type with a pressing force of 2,500 MN was equipped with a new screw and screw nut including new hydraulic and electrical systems. The swivel frame was likewise renewed, en-abling loading and unloading of long valves. With the press, Märkisches Werk will produce valves for large engines.

WearComp® composites generate fantastic properties. They are self-lubricating and have superior strength and dimensional stability. By their longer service life as com-pared to conventional materials they revolutionize maintenance.

Constant lubrication is needed where steel moves on steel. Other-wise, the consequence will be per-manent damage influencing process accuracy. That happened to the roll changing system at Voestalpine, Austria. The spindle centering ring was in need of a 100-percent precise, wear-free and reliable bearing bush even under thermal expansion of the roll. The bearing bush developed by SMS and HyComp, U.S.A., comes with WearComp® fibers pressed in steel and offers stable centering and hence perfect spindle true running.

www.sms-group.com/ service-siemag-en

www.sms-group.com/ service-siemag-en

www.sms-group.com/ service-meer-en

115

Service

The availability of the spare parts at Hoesch Spundwand und Profil GmbH shall be improved.

Paul Wurth offers services to customers in India via its workshop at the SMS group’s facili-ties in Bhubaneswar.

After modernization Montbard achieves a higher extrusion force.

Less is more

Paul Wurth in India

Increased force

Availability of spare parts improved.

Opening of service workshop.

Order from Salzgitter Mannesmann.

For HSP Hoesch Spundwand und Profil GmbH, a Salzgitter AG compa-ny, SMS performed a process analy-sis for optimizing the availability of spare parts for the heavy section mill. After service experts of SMS had analyzed previous processes a plan of action was developed togeth-er with the customer for optimizing the stock of spare parts to make the procurement system more efficient and faster. In addition to that, alloca-tion and searchability were to be simplified. Based on this process analysis, the customer has now placed the order with SMS Service to render support in implementing this plan of action.

Concurrently with the inauguration of the SMS group’s manufacturing facilities in Bhubaneswar, in India, on November 27, 2014, the Paul Wurth group opened its new service workshop at the same location. Within the SMS facilities, Paul Wurth operates a workshop covering a space of 3,000 square meters and equipped with advanced high-perfor-mance machinery suitable to do re-pairs and overhauls on almost all Paul Wurth components. The strate-gic proximity to its key customers in India and the joint SMS/Paul Wurth workshop with its modern equip-ment will allow Paul Wurth to mark-edly expand its service business in India through repair, spare parts and other services performed at the new workshop.

The SMS group has been awarded a contract by Salzgitter Mannesmann Stainless Tubes to modernize an ex-trusion press in the Montbard plant, France. Owing to the upgrade, the extrusion force of the plant will be increased from 34 to 40 MN. The di-ameter of the billet container and the maximum billet length are also en-larged. The additional increase of the extrusion force to 40 MN enables SMST France to expand its product range. The old plant control system will be replaced by a new one, allow-ing for optimal control of individual process steps. By upgrading and partially modifying the construction of the components, the company achieves higher availability and maintenance is simplified. The plant will be put into operation in the fourth quarter of 2015.

www.paulwurth.com www.sms-group.com/service-meer-enwww.sms-group.com/ service-meer-enP

hoto

left

: HSP

Hoe

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Spun

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015

When ships are loaded or unloaded shackles of various sizes play a decisive role.

U-shaped shackles have to withstand enormous loads.

Convincing cooperation: Bas Schiereck, Project Manager of vAN BEEST, Gerard Prot, Production Manager at vAN BEEST, Siegfried Mindykowski and Filipe Martins Ferreira, SMS group (from left to right).

116

SERVICE

Service

117

They are small and inconspicuous, however, everything depends on their load capacity: shackles. U-shaped shackles are the connections between cable ropes or chains and fixed com-ponents or transported material car-rying enormous loads. One of the leading manufacturers worldwide of shackles and fittings for chain and cable rope suspensions is the Dutch VAN BEEST B.V., in Sliedrecht. Shack-les from VAN BEEST are employed on offshore oil and gas platforms, in ports, in the shipping industry or in materials handling technology.

The horizontal forging machine from 1978 with which VAN BEEST pro-duces shackles has caused a great number of rejects lately due to worn machinery parts. With the know-how as plant manufacturer, SMS has per-formed a general overhaul of the forg-ing machine of the Hasenclever WSHK 800 series in only three months. The result: The product quality of the shackles is now even higher and the number of rejects was reduced to al-most zero. The old forging machine has now been updated to a near-new installation. The general overhaul by SMS has a model character for the

AS GOOD AS NEW: SMS GROUP OVERHAULS FORGING MACHINE

AT VAN BEEST

conversion of an old horizontal forging machine to an efficient and future-proof installation.

COMPREHENSIvE GENERAL OvERHAUL

For modernizations and general over-hauls, downtimes are the number one priority for SMS, which is also true in the case of VAN BEEST. Based on an equipment check when components with high levels of wear and such in critical condition were localized by ex-pert staff from SMS, the specialists developed a comprehensive plan for the general overhaul of the horizontal forge focusing on the availability of special components of the Hasenclev-er WSHK 800 series. In addition to wear parts stored in the warehouse, such parts also had to be considered that are only available with long lead times. Some of those parts were made-to-measure by SMS manufac-turing staff, other parts were first manufactured as blanks with an al-lowance of five to ten millimeters and then adapted precisely to the machine during general overhaul. This proce-dure requires knowledge of all plant details. Before plant downtime, VAN BEEST had increased the stock of the

With its OEM knowledge, the SMS group has overhauled a Hasenclever WSHK 800 in Sliedrecht, in the Netherlands. The result is convincing.

shackles accordingly and was able to bridge the overhaul time in this way. Based on the precise preparations, disassembly, overhaul, reassembly and commissioning were concluded on time in only three months.

PRODUCTIvITy AND QUALITy

“We are highly satisfied with the gen-eral overhaul by SMS,” Bas Schiereck, the responsible project manager at VAN BEEST, summarizes. “The dead-line was met. We have enhanced prod-uct quality significantly and are now producing almost without any rejects. It is really amazing how the old hori-zontal forging machine is performing after the overhaul.”

www.sms-group.com/service-meer-en

118

INNOVATIONS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

SDI now has two production routes. The old line (16" mill) produces rounds with diameters ranging between one and nine inches (25.4–228.6 millimeters). The new line produces high-precision SBQ bars within the one to 3 ½ inches diameter range (25.4–88.9 millimeters). Together, their annual production ca-pacity is 850,000 tons, including 500,000 tons of SBQ bars. The SMS group’s scope of supply for the new bar mill in-cluded a descaler, a two-high reversing rougher, eight housingless roll stands in an H/V arrangement, a 90-degree roller table, PSM® precision sizing block, shearing lines, handling and bundling equipment, as well as the roll shop, technology system and measur-ing technology including MEERgauge®. The new equipment was integrated into the existing finishing train. The old fin-ishing stands can be incorporated into the process, depending on the desired cross-section of the bars.

3-ROLL PSM® PRECISION SIZING BLOCK

The quality-critical PSM® is the cen-terpiece of the new bar mill. PSM stands for Precision Sizing Mill. Prep-arations for its installation were made while production was still ongoing at Steel Dynamics. This meant that the

CENTERPIECE: INNOVATIVE 3-ROLL PSM®

required shutdown period was kept to a minimum. The rolling stock is en-closed in four cassettes comprising three rolls each. The PSM® is the key element in SBQ production. One out-standing feature is its ability to posi-tion each roll under load – fully auto-matically and in real time. The advanced design of the 3-roll cassette in conjunction with three hydraulic cylinders is what makes adjustment under load possible. This allows the bar to be optimized under load during the rolling process, while balancing out fluctuations in the temperature and size of the incoming bar. The hy-draulic cylinders are used for precise adjustment of all three rolls concen-trically or of each individual roll within fractions of a second. As a result, both symmetrical and asymmetrical adjustments to the position of the in-dividual rolls under load can be made. This fine adjustment during ongoing production guarantees high output with consistently high quality.

The MEERgauge® installed at the exit end of the PSM® is a laser mea-suring device used to measure the cross-section. Four sensors conduct non-contact measurements over the entire cross-section of the bar. And

The SMS group has successfully upgraded the existing bar mill at Steel Dynamics (SDI) in the USA. This modernization has enabled SDI to increase

its production capacity by 50 percent and expand its product portfolio – with high-quality bars of SBQ (Special Bar Quality) grade.

since the system operates without any moving or vibrating parts, it is vir-tually maintenance-free. The MEER-gauge® precision measuring device takes 500 scans per second of the hot bar and calculates the deviation from the ideal contour in real time. The val-ues taken from the individual mea-surements are transmitted via a di-rect process field bus link, also in real time, to the TCS (Technological Con-trol System) of the PSM®. Based on this data, the TCS levels out size fluc-tuations dynamically using closed-loop control circuits. The entire cross-section is captured during this process.

RELIABLE, MAINTENANCE-FRIENDLy

CASSETTE CHANGES

The roll shop set up by the SMS group enables the rolls in the cassettes to be replaced quickly and easily. Calibra-tion is assisted by optical measuring devices and fully automatic measure-ment of the roll positions on the moni-tor. The setting data are transmitted to the automation system, thereby creat-ing the ideal conditions for hydraulic roll gap adjustment directly after a cassette change.

119

ECOPLANTS

i3-roll PSM®

PSM® stands for

Precision Sizing Mill

and was further im-

proved by integrat-

ing the cross-section

measuring device

MEERgauge®. In

addition to greater

precision, material

and energy costs can

be significantly re-

duced, which means

saving up to ten eu-

ros per ton of steel.

120

INNOVATIONS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

www.sms-ecoplants.com

Operating errors are thus avoided. The fully automatic cassette changer is just as fast and easy. A mere five minutes after the new cassette is pushed in and the stands are closed, the plant is ready for operation again.

By operating the PSM® in combina-tion with the MEERgauge®, TCS and monitor control system, tolerance val-ues of up to DIN EN 10060 can be achieved. With its SQB bars, Steel Dy-namics has opened up new and lucra-tive sales markets, for example the aerospace industry, automotive indus-try as well as the transport and energy sectors. Since 2006, already eleven customers have decided in favor of the new PSM® with hydraulic roll gap ad-justment from the SMS group.

From top to bottom:The centerpiece of the plant – the 3-roll PSM®.

Good cooperation between SDI and SMS. The picture shows Tim Petti-grew, SDI, and Maxin Kruschinski, SMS group.

MEERgauge® – cross-section measurements on the hot bar.

Ecoplants

121

The SMS group is setting new standards in China with a filter system.

Shougang Qian’An Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. has placed an order with the SMS group to retrofit their steelworks with three hydro-hybrid filter systems. The steelworks is located in the city of Qian’An in the northeast of the Chinese Hebei Province. With this Ecoplants technology, Shougang will be able to significantly reduce dust emissions. This order from China is also the first to include the installation of the new-ly developed SMS filter system. Commissioning of the first unit is scheduled to take place before the end of this year.

Innovative dedusting system

China-based Shougang Qian’An will employ the SMS group’s new fine-dust extraction system at its steelworks. This will markedly reduce dust emissions.

The modernization of the primary de-dusting systems of the three BOF con-verters will include the installation of hydro-hybrid filter systems and their integration into the exhaust duct downstream of the existing wet scrub-bers. The scope of equipment to be supplied by SMS China covers the complete wet-type filter system (from inlet to outlet, including the steel structures), electrics and automation system as well as assembly. This con-cept minimizes the time required for the reconstruction work.

Thanks to the innovative solution of combining the existing wet scrubber and the electrostatic precipitators, clean-gas dust contents down to 10 mg/Nm3 can be achieved. While the main dust load will be separated in the existing wet scrubber, removal of the fine dust, which has not taken place in the past, will from now on be handled by the new unit. The separation of fine dust particles from the off-gas is based on the principle of electrostatic precipitation.

Compliance with what are probably the most stringent environmental standards in terms of clean-gas dust content will make Shougang a shining example for competitors all over the world.

According to the Ecoplants princi-ple, this technology is not only a solu-tion of how to cope with ecological challenges but will also provide an economic return. While reducing the pressure loss, the hydro-hybrid filter system provides the possibility of re-ducing electricity consumption by up to 45 percent.

iEcoplants

The Ecoplants

trademark charac-

terizes SMS group

technologies that

offer the customers

both ecological and

economic benefits.

In line with the SMS

group’s commitment

to environmental

responsibility, the

Ecoplants technolo-

gies fulfill or even

exceed current

environmental

regulations while

providing cost-

efficient sustain-

ability. With the

hydro-hybrid filter

system, a further

technology covered

by this trademark

has successfully

taken the step from

innovation to market

maturity.

www.sms-ecoplants.com

122

EVENTS SMS group newsletter 02 / 2015

Harald Rackel, member of the Managing Board SMS group, at the CIELFFA sympo-sium.

One highlight at the Aluminium China: the SMS group’s HybrEx.

Rüdiger Holz, SMS group, was one of the speakers in Mumbai.

European symposium

Trade fair in Shanghai

Technology Day Mumbai

Cold strip producers met in November.

Focus on HybrEx extrusion press.

Event premiered last year.

On the occasion of their annual meet-ing on November 27 and 28, 2014, the participants of the European Federa-tion of the National Associations of Cold Rolled Narrow Steel Strip Pro-ducers CIELFFA (Comité Internation-al d´ Etude du Laminage à Froid du Feuillard d´ Acier) learned more on how cold strip can be produced with particular economic efficiency. Harald Rackel, member of the Man-aging Board SMS group, welcomed the guests and informed them in his lecture titled “Cost efficient, flexible and advanced cold strip production – SMS group solution for the future market” on future-oriented, efficient technologies for cold strip produc-tion. The SMS group stands by cold strip producers all around the globe as a strategic partner and accompa-nies them in the advancement of their production facilities and tech-nologies. X-Roll® 2.0 rolling mills come with particular efficiency.

Aluminium China is Asia’s leading trade fair for the entire aluminum in-dustry. From July 8 to 10, 2015, 550 exhibitors from 30 countries will showcase their technologies and in-novations. The portfolio covers the complete production chain from alu-minum raw materials to semi-fin-ished and finished products. Also, producers of aluminum processing equipment will be represented there. The SMS group will again participate in the event and present, among oth-ers, equipment made by Hertwich Engineering and extrusion press HybrEx the new development by SMS. The hybrid drive concept of the HybrEx reduces energy consumption and, at the same time, boosts pro-ductivity. Visitors will find the stand of the SMS group in hall N1, booth 1C10.

On November 21, 2014, Steelgroup.co.in held its first Cold Rolling & Pro-cessing Technology Day in Mumbai. One of the participants there was the SMS group. Steelgroup.co.in is a net-work of delegates from the Indian steel industry representing steel producers as well as equipment and technology suppliers, and serves this trade as an information and compe-tence center. The Cold Rolling & Pro-cessing Technology Day was well at-tended counting 290 participants from 13 countries. The SMS group presented several lectures and ap-preciated the importance of the steel market on the Indian subcontinent. Due to the positive development of the automotive sector, plant con-cepts for the production of advanced automotive grades are increasingly sought after.

www.cielffa.org www.aluminiumchina.com www.steelgroup.co.in

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