core sector communique

SMS SIEMAG

China Steel orders new 270-t twin ladle furnace

China Steel Corporation (CSC), located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, has commissioned SMS Mevac, Germany to supply a 270-twin ladle furnace. The scope comprises engineering, supply, supervision of installation and commissioning as well training. This twin ladel furnace with an annual capacity of 1,94 million t is intended for the No. 2 BOF steelmaking plant. The total capacity of BOF steelmaking plants Nos. 1 and 2 amounts to some 10 million tpy.

CSC is currently operating five RH plants (plus one currently being delivered by SMS Mevac) as well as one ladel furnace for liquid steel treatment. All units were supplied and/or revamped by SMS Mevac.

Commissioning is scheduled for March 2013.

SMS Logistiksysteme GmbH starts up fully automated coil logistics system at Asia Alum

SMS Logistiksysteme, Germany, has successfully started up a comprehensive logistics system for hot-and cold-rolled aluminum coils at the rolled- products facilities of Asia Alum in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, China, in the past months.

The hot coils, delivered to the inspection line by rail-bound coil transport cars, are inspected there and then taken to the high bay storage system. Integrated into the transport line is a strapping machine, which binds the coils at their circumference to ensure safety during transport and storage.

The heart of the coil logistics system is the two-aisle high-bay store, which can hold a total of 1,972 aluminum coils weighing up to 21.5 t and with a maximum temperature of 450 C on eleven storage levels. Three stacker cranes are provided for handling in the storage aisles. The high-bay store is designed to enable the storage and retrieval of an average of 57 coils (maximum 76 coils) an hour.

The temperature inside the storage facility is regulated by a ventilation cooling system that enables hot coils to be rapidly cooled to the required temperature before further processing in the cold rolling mills.

Linkage of the high-bay storage facility to the cold rolling complex is likewise achieved by means of rail-bound coil transport cars and two bay cranes. With the aid of these transport systems material can be taken  from the storage facility to the next production stage or temporarily stored in the storage facility.

Besides the hardware, SMS Logistiksysteme also supplied level- 1 automation for the incoming and outgoing transport equipment and for the stacker cranes. A warehouse management system (WMS-level 2) to ensure optimum distribution of the coils inside the storage facility and guarantee optimum production flow was designed for the storage facility itself. The WMS also continuously monitors the cooling-down behavior of the hot coils and releases them for the next production step. The WMS independently develops alternatives for maintaining the production process and dynamically selects the appropriate transport combinations. The WMS and the level-1 systems of the various means of coil transport are linked to the customer’s production control system and exchange all the relevant data with it.

Following a successful start-up, the fully automated logistics system was handed over to the customer in June 2011.

Shandong Weiqiao orders high-bay store and coil transport system from SMS Logistiksyteme GmbH

The world’s largest textile producer, the Chinese Weiqiao Textile Group, is expanding its field of business and investing in a production facility for aluminum at Shandong Weiqiao Aluminium & Electricity Company in Zouping, located in the province of Shan of Shandong in eastern China.

To ensure the secure transport and storage of the coils produced in the hot rolling mill and subjected to further processing lines, the customer has ordered a high-bay store and coil conveyor systems from SMS Logistiksysteme, Germany.

The order includes the complete system for the transport of the coils from the hot strip mill line to the store, transport to and from the cold rolling mills and in the finishing plant area, as well as the three stacker cranes for the high-bay store.

While the coils are moved by pallet transport systems in the rolling mills, two Automatic Coil Transporters (A.C.T) are used to take them from the store to the strip processing lines. These transport vehicles make use of a laser navigation system to travel along fixed routes within the plant.

In addition to the supply of the core equipment, the order also includes the supply of the core equipment, the order also includes the entire planning of the logistics systems, engineering of the high-bay storage system along with wall and roof structures, and a cooling system for cooling the coils in the store.

SMS Logistiksysteme has also been contracted to supply the ware house management system for material tracking and coordinating all coil transport operations from the hot rolling mill to the packaging line.

Although the less complex transport machinery is to b manufactured in China under SMS Logistiksysteme supervision, the customer has specified that the main components such as stacker cranes and A.C.T. Vehicles as well as the entire automation systems are to be delivered from Europe.

With an overall length of 290 m, the high-bay store has enough space for around 1,400 coils. All the storage locations and designed for the maximum coil diameter of 2,800 mm and a coil weight of 30t.

The start-up of the high-bay store and transport system is planned to be completed in April 2013.