core sector communique

SMS SIEMAG                                                                            

Coil GmbH orders anodizing line for aluminum strip with record dimensions

Coil Gmbh, Germany, awarded SMS Siemag with a contract to deliver an anodizing line for aluminum strips. This new line is the first one of its kind to process aluminum strips having a width of up to 2,000 mm and thicknesses of up to 3.5 mm. With these record dimensions, Coil GmbH is expanding its product and market range. A further highlight of the line is an electrolytic color bath that is being developed by SMS Siemag in cooperation with Coil GmbH. As early as in 2005, SMS Siemag commissioned the first anodizing plant at Coil. The new line, which is designed for an annual capacity of 15,000 t will be erected alongside the old one and go on stream in the middle of 2013. Besides the mechanical and processing equipment, SMS Siemag will  provide the electrics equipment. Supervision of erection and subsequent commissioning are also included in the scope of supplies.

The anodizing process ((also referred to as eloxing) generates a protective oxidic coating or film on the aluminum strip. This coating protects even deeper material layers against corrosion. Material were due to abrasion is reduced and lifetime increased. Furthermore, the color coating precipitated within the protection layer is UV-resistant and less susceptible. The major part of the anodized and colored aluminum strips is employed in the construction industry, e. g. for building facades. In view of its aesthetic appeal and durability, the material is also used to make suitcases and kitchen fronts.

The process section starts off with the alkaline cleaning section which frees the surface of dirt particles, abrasion debris and oil. After the removal of a defined surface layer in an alkaline pickling section, the neutralization takes place with acid. In the anodizing section, the aluminum strip is charged by means of an entry-side current  roll and discharged in an electrolytic bath. The result of this electrochemical  process is the formation of a transparent, coloriess- nevertheless defined- oxide layer on the strip surface that ensures an excellent surface hardness and resistance to corrosion Downstream  in the electrolytic color bath, the strip is given its desired color. The intensity  of the color can be precisely controlled. In a hot sealing bath with nickel content, a compaction process closes the pores and permanently stores the pigments.  The strip may finally be laminated with a foil.

In addition to the process equipment, the line comprises two payoff reels, a shear, an entry-and exit-looper, a shear and a tension reel.

SMS Siemag to modernize CSP  plant at Nucor Steel

Nucor Steel has awarded SMS Siemag a contract for the modernization of its CSP plant in Berkeley in the U.S. state of south Carolina. The revamp is designed to increase the finished-strip width from 1,680 to 1,880 mm and to allow the production of thinner –strip gages. The modernization will be completed in 2014.

‘’This wide, light product at Berkeley will enhance the ability of the entire Nucor Sheet Mill Group to continue to move up the value chain in flat-rolled markets,’’ says John J. Ferriola, President and Chief Operating Officer of Nucor to explain the motivation of the modernization project.

With the extension to 1,880 mm, Nucor Steel’s CSP facility will be one of the world’s widest CSP plants. To achieve this, SMS Siemag will enlarge the width of the first casting strand and of the rolling mill. In the area of the caster this means the installation of new molds, a new four-cylinder oscillator, wider segments plus a new bending and straightening unit. The strand guide system will be equipped with Liquid Core Reduction (LCR 3). This allows the thin-slab thickness to be infinitely adjusted between 48 and 63 mm.

To  produce strip with smaller final gage at Nucor Steel  Berkeley, inductive heaters will be installed between the CSP furnace and the entry into the rolling mill. With the induction heaters, Nucor Steel can increase the thin –slab temperature as required and thus achieve larger reductions in the millstands. In addition, SMS Siemag will install a seventh finishing stand. Like millstands F1 through F6, it will be equipped with the CVC plus technology. Moreover, the whole CSP rolling mill will receive a new level-2 automation system. With the installation of an induction heater upstream the CSP rolling mill at Nucor Steel, SMS Siemag is for the first time implementing an innovative modernization concept designed to further reduction energy consumption in CSP facilities. This will allow the soaking furnaces to be operated at a lower temperature level and the  temperature at which the thin slab enters the rolling  mill can be precisely set by the inductive heaters. The energy balance of the CSP plant can thus be improved even futher. As a result of the linking of casting and rolling, the CSP technology is already characterized by a much lower energy demand as compared to conventional hot rolling mills.