Kocks to Upgrade Georgsmarienhütte RSB with New Generation Technologies
06/30/2011 - Georgsmarienhütte GmbH has placed an order with Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG to extensively modernize and extend its 3-roll Reducing & Sizing Block, including the addition of newly developed 3-roll adjustable under load technology.
Georgsmarienhütte GmbH (GMH) has placed an order with Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG, Germany, to extensively modernize and extend its 3-roll Reducing & Sizing Block (RSB) that was originally commissioned in 2002.
With the upgrade, Georgsmarienhütte, one Europe’s leading producers of special bar quality (SBQ) steel for the automotive industry, intends to permanently improve the quality of their products according to market requirements.
For Kocks, the order comprises delivery and commissioning of a real-time closed-loop control system (SCS, or size control system) specifically developed for the RSB, which allows the block to reach the optimum operating state as quickly as possible, and keeps the quality of the rolled product on a continuously high, reproducible level.
As another part of the project, Kocks will extend the existing five-stand 3-roll Reducing & Sizing Block from five to six stands positions, and modify all stand positions to incorporate the newly developed 3-roll adjustable under load (AUL) stands. The SCS controls the roll gap of these stands continuously to optimize the already-tight finished size tolerances. The new stand AUL is based on the successful "Heavy Duty" stand with a nominal roll diameter of 370 mm and has identical external dimensions as well as drive couplings.
Georgsmarienhütte’s decision to upgrade to the new generation of 3-roll Reducing & Sizing Block is the result of many successful rolling tests conducted under real rolling conditions by Kocks in close cooperation and intensive support by Georgsmarienhütte. Prior to these rolling trials, Kocks had carried out extensive research and development in the mechanical field as well as in the automation sector.
According to Kocks, the combination of SCS and stand AUL will be the basis for the latest generation of the successful RSB. The design simplifies RSB operation while also delivering tightest tolerances over the entire length of each bar for the complete production range.
Georgsmarienhütte is the first mill worldwide to implement this change and will further improve its already tight control of SBQ tolerances. Commissioning is planned for summer 2012.
