| | 
Corus Northern Engineering Services recently completed an important rolling mill replacement project at Spartan UK’s steel mill in Gateshead, including new roller tables, base and side guide frames.
TheItalian-owned steelmaker Spartan employs more than 100 people at its Gateshead site and produces around 140,000 tonnes of quarto carbon steel plate per year. The company specialises in producing steel plate upto 2.1m wide, between 3m and 25m in length and with thicknesses between 8mm and 150mm. The plates are used in a diverse range of applications, including wind turbine towers, bridges, shipbuilding, cranes, offshore oil rigs, construction vehicles, pipes and tubes.
Plate production at the site is carried out using a universal reversing mill. Steel slabs are flame cut to the required dimensions to produce the desired final plate size. Slabs are rolled in a reversing mill to the required width, length and thickness. Rate of reduction, temperature andspeed are managed to achieve the required physical and mechanical properties.
CNES was contracted to design, manufacture, install andcommission new ingoing and outgoing roll tables that would improve availability despite the rigorous working conditions.
The Gateshead plant employs back up and two works rolls (four high mill). CNES was asked to replace ingoing and outgoing roller tables that feed the four high reversing roller mill. This work included replacing or refurbishing the side guides, shafts, drives, gearboxes and roll motors.
The problem was centred on the ingoing and outgoing roller tables,which were becoming loose and breaking, causing unplanned productiondowntime. CNES replaced the design side guides and ingoing roller tables, as well as the re-sizing of drives, gearboxes, couplings and bearings.
As with all improvement programmes, minor teething problems were experienced on start up. However, these have now been eliminated through minimal design modification. The tables are now working wellwith the expected availability improvements being realised.
Prior to installing the new roller tables, the existing runout table frame had to be cut back, the first existing runout roller had to be repositioned; and the existing crossover bridge on the runout side had tobe modified. Other work included removal of pipework; moving of drivesystems; removal of existing roller tables; cut back existing pulpit base steelwork; removal of existing side guides and foundations; descaling and moving of pipework; re-route mill water feed pipe and existingflush down pipe; and the installation of new civil/structural work. CNES completed the 10-month refurbishment project in August 2007.
| |
