EuroWire November 2022

Corporate News

Roughing mill revamped for Gerdau Manitoba

AIC Capitanio Tailored Automation – a system integrator that designs, manufactures and commissions turnkey plants worldwide – has commissioned a complete automation system for the rougher stand in Gerdau Manitoba’s Rolling Mill No. 4. AIC provides advanced and tailored automation and mecha- tronics solutions for the steel industry, with the aim of continuously improving efficiency and safety of production processes. The company has experience in both greenfield and revamping projects, particularly in meltshops and long-product rolling mills. The Gerdau project focused on roughing mill automation using a new Allen Bradley ControlLogix PLC to achieve a fully automatic cycle, as well as adding main control desks for the rougher pulpit. The rougher stand, previously manually operated, is now running fully automatically without any human intervention.

New electrical panels

As part of the solution, strategic PLC panels and AC and DC drive panels were included. An HMI system added to the previously installed rolling mill control system in 2019 allows control and command from anywhere within the production site, using thin clients around the plant. Completing the package was the software for auxiliary machines from the reheating furnace exit side to the continuous mill entry side. This order follows the significant mill automation revamping carried out at the same site in 2019. The commissioning was finished on schedule, within the allotted time frame of just ten days. Production has been operating at maximum capacity since the first day. Gerdau AmeriSteel Manitoba, in Canada, operates two electric arc furnaces. One furnace – eccentric bottom tapped (EBT) – is used for the melting of scrap steel, and the other – a ladle furnace – for subsequent processing of the molten steel. Reheating furnace billets can be rolled on each mill, or roughed on one mill and then rolled on the other. AIC Group www.aicnet.it

Main control desks in the rougher pulpit

Ajex & Turner Wire Technologies Ajex & Turner has developed an automatic in-house natural diamond and polycrystalline (PCD) die polishing and grinding machine.

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next die can be worked immediately with the same or a modified program. The machine operates at very high speed and can recondition dies in a short time, with accurate and precise angles on re-cut dies. A mirror polish can be achieved using Ajex diamond powder and steel pins with compressed air pressure. Needle changes are simple, and up to 20 dies can be worked with a single needle. The 150V ultrasonic generator operates at a very high speed. The machine is suitable for die hole sizes from 0.1 to 4mm. It is 220/240V and air cooled, with a European design, developed in India. Ajex &TurnerWireTechnologies Pvt Ltd www.ajexturner.com

The company says that the SAU-150 is useful for polishing multi-wire and RBD drawing dies; it includes sensors and performs grinding and polishing of angles and bearing in one operation, saving time and energy. In automatic operation the machine will repeat a drill and machining sequence as many times as required. The operator can pre-set parameters for the drill angle to be ground; the duration of the ultrasonic machining; and the number of working cycles. At the completion of the program, the sensors make the drill head rise and the

SAU-150 ultrasonic PCD die polishing machine

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November 2022

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