Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present invention relates to a me*hod and an appara~us for
casting and rolling metals, especially steel, at high speeds. The continuously
produced casting strand solidifies completely~ and after passing through a
temperature equali~ation line, is fed to a roughing mill or train of rolls.
Suhsequen~ly, the casting strand is intermediate- and finish-rolled in several
rolling trains or rolling mills beore lt Is subjected to further treatment
or handling in rod, ~ar, or wire form.
During casting and rolling of steel to produce bar, rod, or wire
material, for economic reasons relatively small cross sections must be worked
at high.casting speeds. ~or example, a casting and rolling apparatus wlth a
theoretical capacity of 65 tons per hour should have a casting cross seckion
of appro~imately 16Q mm h~ 9Q mm, resulting in a casting speed of 10 meters per
minute. T~.e casting of larger cros5 sections, while maintaining the theoreti-
cal capacity~ necessarily leads to lower casting speeds. A casting speed
which. is too lo~, however, ~ th bar, rod,.or wire trains entails too low entry
speeds~i.n the first rolling stands~of t~e rolling mill, whi.ch is connected
subsequent to or do~nstream from the casting ~ach~ne w~ch produces the casting
line or strand. The rollers o~ tha associated roll~ng stands or frames are
consequently~ver~ ~ighly thermall~ stre$sed and ~ear disproportionately~rapidly.
Nor~ing with smaller casting crocs~ sections and high~r casting speeds
has the urther advantage ~hat the roug~Ing mill or train of rollers connected
after the casting machine requires a smaller number of rolling stands; this
leads to a considerable reduction of inves.tment cost and energy~requ~rement.
The increase of the casting speed, however, is disadvantageous inso-
far as the length of the metallurgical segment becomes very large, especially
during casting of s*eel. rn the eYent a temperature equalizaticn line is
connected after the casing machine and th.e associated primary cooling line, with
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the length of the temperature equalizing line increasing commens.urate with
the casting speed, such a casting and rolling apparatus has- a considerable space
requirement in the region between the casting machine and the first rolling
stand.
In additlon to the indicated di.fficulties caused by the operating
conditions, the combination of casting machine and rolling mill always leads
to a reduced or less advantageous output capacity. If the casting machine or
the rolling mill fails, then the other part of the apparatus is put out of
commission or can no longer operate economically.
Casting and rolling apparatus have previousl~ onl~ been successful
for pxQducing wire of non-ferrous metals. ~hXs. is primarily due to the fact
that the solidification length with non~ferrous metals is considerably less
than ~ith steel; the rolling mill conse~uently can be arranged just after the
casting ma.chine, ~hich.leads to an acceptable overall length of this non-ferrous
casting and rolling plant.
Casting and rolling plants $~r s*eel for casting relativel~ large
casting cross sect~ons have also ~een disclosed and have a roughing mill
arranged:directly after the secondary cooling line of the casting machine. B~
: way of this. a.~rangement, the solid~fication length sh.oul~ be shortencd,~ith
non-metallic inclusions and hollow spaces in the casting.strand being uniformly
distributed and closed. ~`owever, the too strong de~ormation of th.e molten
~trand core during the rough milling caused such h~gh tensions that gaps or
cracks resulted in the strand core, thus preventing further deforming or
working .
In ~iew of these disadvantages, most pTeviously\kno~n cas.~ing and
rolling plants for steel were again operated as separate units-, i.e. the casting
strand is~ cut to length after conlplete solidification~ and after a short
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rewarming, the casting strand i5 reduced in cross section by rolling to such
an extent that the casting strand is suitable as a rough or preliminary material
for a wire- or fine-steel mill or train.
It is an object of the present inventlon to provide a.method and
apparatus for casting and rolling, especially of steel~ uhich permits a high
output capacit~ at relati.vel~ low investment cost.
The method and apparatus should additionally be suitably so equipped
that the space requirement, especially that ~hich is made necessary at high
casting speeds, ls reduced.
The invention.provides an apparatus for casting and rolling metals at
high speeds, said apparatus comprlsing; two casting machines for respectively
continuously producing a casting strand~ said casting strands being independent
of one another; a secondar~ cooling line associ~ted with.each casting machine;
respective temperature equalization lines connected after each secondary
cooling line; respective cutters connected after each temperature equalization
line; a roughing mill connected after said cutters and movable transverse to
th.e casting directian, said roughing mill being selectively movable into the
region of the longitudinal axis of eith.er of said two casting.strands for
receiving the respectiye casting strand; and a plurali*y of roll~ng mills
connected after said roughi:ng mill for intermediate- and finish-rolling of said
one casting strand~
The invention also provides a ~ethod for casting and rollin~ metals
at high speeds, said.method ~omprising the stepS of. continuously producing a
casting strand; completely solidif~ing said casting strand; passing said casting
strand through a temperature equalizati.on line; feeding and passing said cast-
ing strand to and through a roughing.~ill; intermediate- and inish-rolling
said casting strand; reversing sa.id casting strand by 180 after it passes
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through said roughing mill but prior to said finish-rolling; maintaining the
chang~ in direction of movement, which ls now opposite to the casting
direction, during subsequent handling; and subjecting said casting strand to
further handling.
The concept for meeting the o~ject of the present invention basically
comprises equipping the casting and rolllng apparatus with two complete casting
lines, which are lndependent of each other, with a slngle roughing mill or
train being selectively associated therewith, and being movable transverse to
the casting direction. T~e second casting line is put into operation upon
failure of the other casting line, so that the subsequently connected rolllng
train or mill can continue to operate ater a short lnterruption. Aside from
the cost saving brought about by~the utilization of only one roughing mill,
the $hiftab1e arrangement of the roughing mill has the advantage that the cast-
ing strand can be introduced~ithout deflection into the rolling stands of the
roughing mill.
Each casting line can additionally be equipped With a driye or pull-
ing unit; this pulling unit is located ater the temperature equalization line,
advantageously in the region bet~een this temperature equalizati`on line and
the subsequent cutters.
The present invent~Ye apparatu~ is expediently~further e~uipped ln
such a manner that in the region be*ween the roughing mlli and the f~n~shlng
mill, which completes the rolling mill treatment, there is arranged a 180
reverslng unit w~ch determines the direction of movement o~ the castlng $trand
during the further handling steps or procedure.
The 180 re~ersing unit ls, in any~case, arranged In a region after
the roughing mill, i.e. in a region in ~hich the cross section o~ the rough
rolled casting strand particlpates in the deormation connected ~ith the
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reversal wi~hout an~ particular diffIculty. As a result of the reversal of
the casting strand, and its return within the rolling mill, the length of the
casting and rolling apparatus can in certain clrcumstances be shortened up to
50%; th.is leads not only to a reduction of the room or building length, but
also ~o a lowering of the installation costs for the oil-, water-~ air-,
hydraulic-, and electrical-supply of the casting and rolling apparatus.
If the inventive apparatus has two intermediate mills connected after
the roughing mill, the 180 reversing unit can be located ahead of the first
intermediate mill., but in any event is located before the seccnd intermediate
mill; in accordance ~ith the operating requirements, it may also be expedient
~o arrange the 180~ reversing unit between the two intermediate mills.
To reduce the cost for the shi:fting drive, the rolling stands of
the roughing mill are shi~table ~ith respect to the stationary roller drive
thereof.
With an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
rolling stands of the roughing mill are respectiyely arranged on individual
shift frames and are connected by~Cardan or universal~joint shaft means with
their roller drives.
If the casting and rolling appara~us is to serve for wire production,
the finishing mill is preferably followed by at least one cooling line as well
as a winding placement means and a collectIng station; a primar~ cooling line
may be connected before the ~inding placement means, and a secondary cooling
line may be connected after the ~inding placement means.
The casting strandl ~hich is selectively procluced by different
casting machines, is passed, by shifting th.e rolling stands of the roughing
mill transyerse to the casting direction, into the effectiye range thereof.
The advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly
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from the following specîfication in connection with the accompanying drawings,
in which:
~ igure 1 schematically shows the arrangement of a casting and rolling
apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
~ igure 2 schematically illustrates the arrangement of a rolling
stand, of the roughing mill or train illustrated in ~igure 1, which is shiftable
transverse to the casting direction.
Referring now to the drawings in detail, the inventive combined
casting and rolling apparatus of Figure 1 has two side-by-side casting lines 1
and la, which are independent of each other and respectivel~ comprise a
casting machine 2 or 2a, a secondary cooling line 3 or 3a subsequent to the
casting machine, a temperature equalization line 4 or ~a, a drive or pulling
unit S or 5a, and a cutting or separating cutter 6 or 6a.
~ single roughing mill or train 7, which is comn to both casting
lines 1 and la, is connected to t~e casting lines which are preferably built
up in this manner. The roughing mill 7 in the illustrated embodiment comprises
three rolling stands 8, 9 and 10, and is movable transverse to the cas~ting
direction ~arro~ in such a manner that the roughing mill lies either in the
region of the longitudinal axis 12 of the casting line 1, or in the region of
the longitudinal axis 12a o~ the casting line la. Both mentioned operating
posltions, in which the roughing mill 7 is associated with the casting line 1
or the casting line la, are designated in the drawing either by a full line
or by dot~dash lines; the transverse shiftability of the roughing mill 7 is
indicated by t~e double arrow 13.
By utilizing two casting lines 1 and la, which are independent of
each other and are arranged side-b~-side, maintenance of production of the
casting and rolling apparatus is assured even when one of the casting lines,
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and especially one of the casting machines, fails. The casting madhines 2 or
2a are embodied in a known manner, and in particular can comprise two casting
strands or pouring conveyors which delimit the casting cross section, or can
comprise a casting or mold disc which cooperates with a suitably embodied
casting strand or pouring conveyor.
The liquid or molten steel to be worked is cast into a casting strand
in one of the two casting machines, for example in the casting machine 2, where
it receives a strand shell which is approximately 10 to 20 mm thick. In the
adjoining secondar~ cooling line 3, the casting strand completely solidifies
under the influence of intensive water cooling before the temperature drop in
the temperature equaliæation line 4 decreases between the strand shell and
the strand core, and the casting strand, if necessary~ is again heated to the
rolling temperature.
The rolling mechanism adjoins the two casting lines 1 and la, and
comprises the already mentioned roughing mill 7, a first intermediate mill 14,
a 180=reversing unit 15, a second intermedi~te mill 16, a finishing mill or
train 17, a primar~ coollng line 18, a winding placement means 19, a secondary
cooling line 20, and a collecting station 21. The casting strand, w~ich is
pre-rolled or rough rolled in the roughing mill 7, and is reduced to a suitable
cross section, is further deformed in the intermediate mills 14 and 16 ~efore
it receives the desired wire cross section during passage through the finishing
mill 17. The casting strand passes through the 180 reversing unit lS in the
region between the roughing mill 7 and the finishing mill 17, and in particular,
in ~he illustrated embodiment, between the two intermediate mills 14 and 16.
The casting strand consequently receives a direction of movement 22 opposite
to the casting direction 11; this direction of movement 22 is maintained during
the subsequent handling or treatment processes.
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After the finishing rolling, the casting strand, for example in the
shape of a wire, passes through the primary cooling line 18 of the rolling
mechanism~ where it is placed into coils or windings by means of the winding
placement means 19. From there the casting strand is guided or passed through
the secondary cooling line 20 of the rolling mechanism before it is collected
in the form of wire coils in the collecting station 21.
The reversing of the casting strand, which, depending upon the cross
section, can be underta~en before, between, and after the two intermediate
mills 14 and 16, leads to a considerable reduction of the space req~lirement
and installation cost for the supply devices~ of the casti.ng and rolling
apparatus.
The s~iftable arrange~ment of the roughing mill 7 eliminates t~e need
to deflect the casting strand, ~hich.in this region stil~ has the full casting
cross section.
In the embodiment of F~gure 2, that rolling stand 8 of the roughing
mill 7 located in front, in the cas*ing direction, is shiftable back and forth
in the direction of the double arro~ 13. The schematically illustrated rollers
8' and 8" are connected by Cardan or universal-joint shafts 23 ~ith a gear
unit 24, and throug~ the interposition of a coupling 25, are connected ~ith a
motor 2~ which serves as a roller drive. The parts 24, 25, and 26 are
stationarily molmted on a foundation or base 27 in contrast to the rolling
stand 8, ~hich is shiftabla back and forth.
The rolling stand 8, as is also true for the additional not illu5-
trated ralling stands 9 and 10 of the roughing mill 7, is held or kept movable
on a shift frame 28 ~ithin a stationary guide 2~. The shift frame 28 is
pivotably connected with the piston rod 3Q.' of a cylinder-piston unit or
actuator 30 which serves as a shi$t dr~ve and in turn is held stationary on a
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bracket 31.
The shift frame 28 of the rolling stand 8 is equipped with a clamping
device 32 which clamps the shift frame 28 in the selected operating position
~i~h the guide 29, thus holding it stationary.
In the operating position illustrated in Figure 2, the rolling stand
8, and the subsequent rolling stands of the roughing mill, occupy a position
in which the roller middle 33 coincides with the longitudinal axis 12 indicated
in F~gure l; the second operating position of the rolling stand 8 is indicated
by dot-dash lines as in Figure 1.
~n a manner differing rom the aforementioned embodiment of the roll-
ing stands of the roughing mill 7, several of these rolling stands, under
suitable circumstances, can also be associated upon a common shi~t frame; for
example, it is possible to respectively arrange two directly sequential rolling
stands of the roughing mill on a common sh~ft frame.
Th~ carrangement of the roller drive and the shi:ft drive, ~hich is
stationary wlt~ respect to the roll~ng stands, has~the advantage t~at t~e in-
stallation of these drives is simplified and the size of the masses to be moved
is kept as small as yossi~le.
The casting and r~lling appara~us, and possi~ly the 180~reversing
Z0 unit, in a manner differing from the lllustrated embodiment of ~i`gure 1, which
includes a su~sequently connected rolled wire mill or train, can also cooperate
with a rolling mill for producing small section or fine steel.
The present inventiQn is, of course, in no wa~ restricted to the
specific di-sclosl1re of the specification and drawings, but also encompasses
any modifications wi*hin the scope of the appended claims.
