Product category:
Rolling mills and equipment
News Release from: Converteam | Subject: Rolled steel plate gauge
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 March 2007
Rolled steel plate gauge measures
economically
A measuring gauge for steel plate production measures steel plate in the range 6mm to 150mm with an accuracy of less than +/-160 micron, which is within the tolerance range required by the user mill.
A cost effective measuring gauge for steel plate production has been developed in the UK by Converteam (formerly Alstom) and successfully installed at Spartan UK's Gateshead mill Spartan UK produces carbon steel plates rolled to specific customer requirements within very short lead times
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Converteam's service division has been working on the project with Spartan UK over a 12-month period.
The aim was to produce a gauging system that could meet the needs of the mill in terms of its ability to measure accurately to the required tolerances for the plate production process, but which would also be designed for economic application.
Sophisticated and expensive gauges are readily available, but they can be over-specified for many industrial tasks.
Spartan UK's application called for a system that could measure to their specific steel plate tolerances but avoid the need to acquire expensive equipment that would technically provide excessively more than necessary.
Converteam's solution was a gauge that measures steel plate in the range 6mm to 150mm with an accuracy of less than +/-160 micron, which is within the tolerance range required by the mill.
A motorised stainless steel 'C' frame with two Moduloc built-in triangulation lasers forms the core of the design.
One laser is located in the bottom angled upwards and the second is located in the top angled downwards.
The 'C' frame is cooled internally with 'clean' air and externally via airways with 'dirty' air.
The gauge is designed to move in across the roller tables at the end of each last pass.
When the material is stationary a measurement takes place.
Prior to each measurement the gauge goes through a calibration procedure that negates errors introduced into the system due to changes in the operating environment, such as temperature.
The measurements from the lasers are first processed by the system's computer, which then produces an actual thickness calculation.
These signals are further processed within Converteam's Advanced Micro Controller where the thickness is adjusted to allow for variances in temperature.
According to Spartan the gauge has been a successful acquisition, with a designed-for-purpose solution that has also delivered a significant saving.
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