Strip processing lines for steel service center
Heinrich Georg Maschinenfabrik has recently commissioned a slitting line and a cut-to-length line for high-strength steel strips at the steel service center of Schütz GmbH & Co. KGaA based in Selters/Westerwald in Germany. The exceptionally high productivity of the new lines results from the smart process control system, the comprehensive integration into the facilities“ process chain and various innovative design details.
The new slitting line – a replacement of an older one and a key asset of the facility – slits high-grade strips which have to comply with extremely exacting surface quality specifications. The line is also used to produce slit strip that is processed into protective sheets and boxes for packaging solutions manufactured by Schütz, for intermediate bulk containers (IBC), for example.
A central element of the line is GEORG“s software solution which integrates the new slitting line into the higher-level production planning system. The order preparation and scheduling system sends the job-related data directly to the line. Based on the received data, the process control system of the line automatically performs two essential functions: It adjusts the line settings to the requirements of the specific customer order, and it controls the logistics management system in the fully automatic coil store. In addition, GEORG has implemented an augmented logistics system for the packaging lines, which also operate fully automatically. Pallet handling, for example, is now robotized. And the finished slit coils can be transported from the turnstile either to the packaging lines or placed on a coil lifting car for loading on railway wagons.
The new line can produce a maximum of 40 slit coils from up to 1,840 mm wide and up to 4 mm thick strip. It can process strips with strengths of up to 1,400 N/mm².
The scrap chopper features GEORG“s Shimless Tooling technology, which dispenses with the necessity to insert shims while the knives are being reground. The high-precision circular knife shear with automatic knife-set change and the automatic CNC-based knife positioning system, a GEORG patent, guarantees minimum set-up times.
Another high priority for the GEORG engineers was energy efficiency. The pay-off reel, for example, runs in generator mode when the line is in operation. The thus generated energy is stored in an intermediate circuit, from where it is fed back into the system as an additional energy source.
Axel Sturm, Manager Sales for Strip Processing Lines at GEORG, points out another important aspect: „Also our smart safety system contributes largely to the excellent efficiency of the entire facility. By establishing several safety zones which are intelligently linked with one another, we optimize the production processes throughout the facility. It is no longer necessary to stop the whole production, when operators have to intervene or be active in certain areas of the facility. This has a greater effect on the overall production of the facility than achieving decimal-place improvements in the efficiency of single, isolated components.“
The cut-to-length line is likewise designed for top performance. It features a high-capacity leveler with automatic cartridge change system and an eccentric shear which cuts continuously, i.e. without a looping pit. Also here the scrap chopper employs the innovative cutting blade geometry and the GEORG Shimless Tooling technology.
The magnetic stacker of the cut-to-length line is equipped with a system for „flying“ switch-over between the two stacking positions at full line speed, minimizing non-productive times. While a finished stack is being removed from one stacking position, stacking on the other position starts seamlessly.
The new cut-to-length line is designed to cut sheets between 500 and 6,000 mm length from strip between 0.4 and 3.0 mm thickness and between 400 and 1,650 mm width at a line speed of up to 80 m/min in automatic mode. It can handle strip strengths of up to 800 N/mm².
Keywords:cut-to-length line, high-strength steel strips, steel service center, slit strip, production planning
