Leading partner

in the world of metals T H E S MS G R O U P MAGA Z I NE

I SS U E 01 / 2017

ISSU E 0 1  / 2 017

SMART STEEL PLANT

THE SMS GROUP MAGAZI NE

New digitalization strategies facilitate manufacturing
processes according to the principles of Industry 4.0.

Plug & Work: automation pretested by simulation

Plug & Work: That’s the tried-and-tested method we apply
to run your systems thoroughly through their paces and
optimize them even before commissioning.
What you gain: Installing pre-tested automation systems
ensures rapid run-up curves for new plants as well as
revamps. Even more, shorter assembly times give you a
faster return on investment.
SMS group is a global, leading partner for the metal
industry. As a family-owned business headquartered in
Germany, quality and innovation is in our DNA. We are
committed to the success of our customers and strive
to add value along the entire value chain of the global
metal industry.

SMS group GmbH

Eduard-Schloemann-Strasse 4 Phone: +49 211 881-0
40237 Düsseldorf, Germany Fax: +49 211 881-4902
automation@sms-group.com www.sms-group.com
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
Contents
10 New rolling mill for Shandong.
PROCESS CHAIN
60 IRONMAKING PLANTS
61 METALLURGY AND ENVIRON-
MENTAL TECHNOLOGY
73 FLAT ROLLING MILLS
88 STRIP PROCESSING LINES
AND FURNACE TECHNOLOGY
100 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS
120 FORGING TECHNOLOGY
128 TECHNICAL SERVICE
2
42 New digital solutions for the metal industry.
FOCUS MAIN TOPIC
04 ORDER 34 DIGITALIZATION
Demanded know-how Geared to implementable
MMPZ-group orders produc- and fast solutions
tion complex for high-quality SMS digital introduces itself.
tinplate.
36
 IGITALIZATION
D
10 ORDER Data Challenge
Continuous caster and New prediction models for
Steckel/plate mill continuous casting process-
Shandong Rizhao relies on es.
equipment and kow-how from
SMS group. 42 DIGITALIZATION
Big Data in steel plants
14 OPENING How steel plants can be au-
Big River Steel opens North tomated in line with Industry
America‘s latest steelworks 4.0 standards.
On March 1, 2017, the steel-
works was officially commis- 50 DIGITALIZATION
sioned. Virtualization in automation
technology
Growing trend of decoupling
hardware from its software.

68 Commissioning at Tata Steel.
PROJECTS
60 I RONMAKING PLANTS
New blast furnace secures the
use of steel capacities
EVRAZ counts on equipment
from Paul Wurth.
68 METALLURGY AND ENVIRON-
MENTAL TECHNOLOGY
S
 pecial steels for the aero-
space industry
The new VIM X-eed® unit from
SMS group meets all of Tata
Steel’s requirements at the
Stocksbridge location.
80 FLAT ROLLING MILLS
A strong set of teeth!
SMS group will supply three
spur-wheel mill-pinion gear
units to the U.S.A.
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
88 SSAB modernizes entry section. 114 VCC® for long products.
96 STRIP PROCESSING LINES 20 PHOTO HIGHLIGHT
AND FURNACE TECHNOLOGY
22 RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK
Festive mood in Jesenice
SIJ Acroni inaugurates heat 58 PERFORMANCE MODULES
treatment line with MultiFlex- 136 EVENTS
Quench®.
141 IMPRINT
108 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS
Exclusive key technology
In its manufacturing shop
SMS group produces exclusive
PQSC® tools.
132 TECHNICAL SERVICE
Service which attracts
In cooperation with Wuxi, SMS
group designed a new tool
holder.
3
 FOCUS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

TECHNOLOGY AND KNOW-HOW

FROM SMS GROUP IN DEMAND
IN BELARUS
REP UBL I C O F B E LA R U S . MMPZ-group orders production complex for
high-quality tinplate.

RCM

ECL

4
 FOCUS

DCR

BAF ETL

RCM:  Reversing Cold Mill

ECL: Electrolytic Cleaning Line
BAF: Batch Annealing Furnaces
DCR: DCR-Rolling Mill
ETL: Electrolytic Tinning Line

5
FOCUS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Group photo on occasion of contract signing on March 12, 2015. Participants (from left to right), sitting: Dieter Rosen-
thal (Member of the Managing Board SMS group), Aliaksei Kavalionak (Chairman of the Board of Directors MMPZ-
group). Standing: Falk Töpfer (Vice President SMS group), Helmut Lantzsch (Senior Specialist Financial Services East-
ern Europe SMS group), Reinhard Reddel (Head of Commercial Sales Europe, Russia, Americas SMS group), Marina
Keller (Senior Project Manager SMS group), Claas Sachteleben (Project Director SMS group), Dmitrij Slaunikau (Fi-
nancial Director MMPZ-group), Natalya Zavrenko (Co-Owner MMPZ-group), Dmitrij Brenko (Member of the Board of
Directors MMPZ-group), Aliaksei Shimukovich (Chairman of the Board of Directors MMPZ-group Moscow).

MMPZ-group (Miorskij Metalloprokatnyj Zavod) has se- CQ and DQ. A future capacity expan-
lected SMS group to supply a new industrial complex for sion up to 240,000 tons will be possi-
the production of tinplate in Miory, Republic of Belarus. As- ble. The first plants are scheduled to
sisted by SMS group, a financing concept was developed for start operation at the beginning of
this project. The supply contract became effective in Janu- September 2018. MMPZ’s focus will be
ary 2017. SMS group will provide all technological equip- on the production of tinplate to satisfy
ment, comprising rolling mill and strip processing lines, the demand of the packaging industry
including pertaining X-Pact® electrical and automation and on cold-rolled sheet. The major
systems. In addition to supplying the plants, SMS group will share of the products is planned to be
support MMPZ by providing user know-how for commis- exported, in the first place to Russia
sioning and production. and other GIS countries, but also to
the European Union.
GROWING WITH THE MARKET SMS group will supply all rolling
MMPZ-group was founded in 2015 with the aim to produce and strip processing equipment, in-
electrolytically coated tinplate and cold strip in the Repub- cluding X-Pact® electrical and auto-
lic of Belarus to provide the regional market with high- mation systems. The scope comprises
quality cold strip products. To make this come true, MMPZ- a reversing cold rolling mill, an elec-
group relies on state-of-the-art, efficient and eco-friendly trolytic cleaning line, a batch anneal-
plant technology offered by SMS group. The new production ing facility, a two-stand DCR (Double
site will be established in Miory, a city in the northwestern Cold Reduction) mill, an electrolytic
part of the country. This location has good transport con- tinning line plus one packaging line
nections to the envisaged purchasing and sales markets each for sheet packages and coils. An-
including the countries Latvia, Lithuania and Russia in the cillary systems will be constructed by
close neighborhood. the Russian company MetProm. After
In the first construction stage it is planned to establish commissioning, SMS group will con-
plants with an annual capacity of 150,000 tons, producing tinue to support MMPZ by providing
tinplate grades T1, T2, T3, DR7 and DR8 and sheet grades user know-how.

6

Miory
REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
PROCESS ROUTE
Priority here is on the production of starting stock for mak-
ing tinplate. To be able to respond to the market flexibly, the
plant concepts also permit non-coated sheet of material
grades CQ and DQ to be produced as an alternative. The
major part of the production, however, is planned to go
through the complete process to the final product tinplate.
The electrolytic strip cleaning section prepares the rolled
material for the annealing process in the batch annealing
facilities which set the required ductility. Thereafter, the
strips are skin-passed in the DCR mill or, depending on the
material grade, undergo a second reduction and are then
immediately skin-passed. This step is followed by tin coat-
ing in the electrolytic tinning line.
REVERSING COLD MILL
The Reversing Cold Mill (RCM) is equipped with one payoff
and two reversing reels. In addition to the option of produc-
ing CQ and DQ sheet, the six-high mill stand with CVCplus®
is able to roll tinplate grades, that are to be finished in the
tinning line, to a minimum final thickness of 0.15 millime-
ters. The rolling mill complies with the new high-perfor-
mance design SMS group developed for cold rolling mills
and will be operated using particularly slim work rolls suit-
ed to attain high pass reductions at comparatively low roll-
ing forces. This ensures the plant is running particularly
cost-effective. Work and intermediate roll bending, multi-
zone cooling and DS (Dry Strip) system in addition to
CVC®plus make strip thickness, flatness and surface meet
the customer’s quality requirements. A multitude of com-
ponents is identical to those of the DCR mill and contrib-
utes to an extremely economical operation of the plant.
FOCUS
Miory provides good
transport connec-
tions to the envis-
aged purchasing and
sales markets in the
EU and Russia.
ELECTROLYTIC CLEANING LINE
The cleaning line comprises vertical
process tanks for spray cleaning and
electrolytic cleaning, each being fol-
lowed by horizontal brush cleaners.
A four-fold cascade rinsing system
and a hot-air drying system complete
the process. In addition to giving the
cleaned strip an excellent surface
quality, the line is characterized by low
media and energy consumption. The
vertical, electrolytic cleaning method
ensures that even fine impurities are
removed.
BATCH ANNEALING FURNACES
To be used as packaging material, the
cold-rolled strip must be subjected to
a recrystallization annealing process
to set the required ductility. The batch
annealing furnaces serve to anneal
and cool the coils in batch mode. Thus,
several coils, piled up to a maximum
height of 4.8 meters with a maximum
weight of 125 tons, can be processed
simultaneously. The treatment per
hood takes one or two days subject to
the material and the volume of filling.
The coil batches on each basis are
covered by a protective hood. The at-
mosphere within the protective hood is
100 percent hydrogen to attain a
7
FOCUS
»The recipe for success: cutting-edge, efficient technology paired
with an innovative financing concept.«
Harald Rackel, Member of the Managing Board of SMS group, about the new MMPZ-group project.
high degree of heat transfer and to reliably protect the
surfaces from oxidation. Depending on the respective pro-
cess phase, heating or cooling hoods are then put over this
inner cover. The heating hoods heat the material up to 640
degrees Celsius. For the cooling process hoods with com-
bined air and water cooling are used.
DCR (DOUBLE COLD REDUCTION) ROLLING MILL
The DCR mill is a multi-talent. To attain the required mate-
rial and surface properties, the stock (SR) which has already
been reduced to final thickness, is skin-passed in the DCR
mill. To meet the respective material grade requirements,
however, the strips may be further reduced in the first mill
stand and skin-passed in the second one. This method
generates double-reduced (DR) material with a minimum
thickness of 0.10 millimeters used to produce specific tin-
plate products. The rolling mill may also be operated as
skin-pass mill for CQ and DQ sheet having a thickness be-
tween 0.35 and 1.00 millimeter.
The DCR mill is designed as four-high facility. The prov-
en CVCplus® technology combined with the new power
bending system increases the capacity of the intelligent ac-
tuator systems and creates the pre-condition for excellent
strip quality. The mill can be run in wet and dry skin-pass
mode depending on the required surface roughness.
ELECTROLYTIC TINNING LINE (ETL)
The purpose of the electrolytic tinning line is to provide the
very thin steel sheet with a fine layer of tin to protect it
against corrosion and thus to produce high-quality tinplate.
MMPZ decided in favor of a line using soluble tin anodes.
Being the market leader in this technology, SMS has dem-
onstrated the economic, environmental and process-tech-
nological benefits by means of several lines built so far.
These benefits include a reduction of tin consumption and
stable process conditions which, combined with precise
process control, result in a high-quality final product. The
line features numerous high-performance components
8
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
that impress by their environmental
compatibility, efficiency, operational
safety and flexibility. The entry section
integrates a side trimmer with edge
scrap wrapper. In preparation for the
tinning process, the strips run through
a cleaning section, a tension leveler
and a pickling section. The tinning unit
comprises six tinning cells. After the
tin layer has been applied, it is treated
in a fully inductive reflow heating sys-
tem to improve the surface quality. Fi-
nally, the strip is passivated, dried and
oiled.
Numerous measuring units are in-
stalled throughout the line to ensure
permanent process monitoring and
control in co-action with the layer
thickness measuring system. This
makes sure the end product has best
possible quality and the line operates
efficiently. The rinsing water from the
tinning process is conditioned in a
state-of-the-art evaporator system
thus saving further operating costs.
The line is designed with respect to
a future extension to increase capacity
and improve process quality. So, it will
be possible to subsequently integrate
a preparation cell, two additional tin-
ning cells and a height adjustment for
the reflow unit, among others.
USER KNOW-HOW
The process for producing high-grade
tinplate will be accompanied by MET/
Con Metallurgical Plant & Process
Consulting GmbH, an enterprise of
 FOCUS

150,000
tons annual capacity in the first phase.

SMS group. MET/Con has the experience and expertise to

deliver comprehensive know-how specifically tailored to a
customer’s needs, and may flexibly resort to a wealth of
knowledge and a broad product portfolio in the steel and
non-ferrous metal sector to develop a complete metallurgi-
cal concept, including specifications of steel grades suited
to produce high-quality tinplate. The services cover, in addi-
tion to assistance in technological issues, also superordi-
nate organizational topics. MET/Con’s consultancy services
include optimized production planning, establishing an ef-
fective organizational structure including staff planning, and
the development of an efficient quality assurance system
including necessary laboratory equipment and staff training
measures. Thus, MMPZ will enjoy full support on its road to
efficiently producing high-quality product grades and to fur-
ther strengthen its position on the market as a reputed pro-
ducer of tinplate products.

HOLISTIC SYSTEMS COMPETENCE

With its X-Pact® electrical and automation package, SMS
group offers holistic systems competence for the planned
tinplate complex. X-Pact® makes sure all plant components
will perfectly harmonize: As systems solution, technology,
mechanical and hydraulic equipment, electrics and auto-
mation form an efficient and powerful unit. In addition to
the automation scope, including technological controls and
process models, the X-Pact® scope of supplies will com-
prise all drive equipment, instrumentation and plant opera-
tion systems. As an integral part thereof, the tried and
tested X-Shape flatness measuring and control system will
make sure the high quality requirements are met.

Falk Töpfer
falk.toepfer@sms-group.com

Marina Keller
marina.keller@sms-group.com

9
FOCUS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Steckel/plate mill.

CONTINUOUS CASTER AND

STECKEL/ PLATE MILL
10

CHI N A. SMS group will supply to Shandong Iron & Steel Rizhao a continuous
caster and a Steckel/plate mill. The order covers the complete engineering
package, mechanical key equipment, all electrical and automation systems as
well as process know-how.
Shandong Iron & Steel Rizhao, China, has placed an order
with SMS group for the supply of a continuous caster for
ultra-wide slabs. The single-strand caster is designed for
an annual production of 1.5 million tons of steel slabs with
widths of up to 3,250 millimeters and 150 millimeters thick-
ness. On the caster, structural steel grades as well as mi-
cro- and low-alloy steel grades will be produced. Peritectic
grades will make up more than 45 percent of the overall
production. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of
2018.
HIGHER ACCURACY FOR BETTER QUALITY
In the future, Shandong Iron & Steel Rizhao will measure
and align molds and segments using the HD LASr assis-
tant system developed by SMS group. Perfect alignment
between molds and segments has a strong influence on
slab quality.
Due to its three-dimensional laser measuring system
and an intuitive operating concept, HD LASr ensures pre-
cise and reliable recording as well as a meaningful evalu-
ation of the measured objects.
The molds will be treated with UNIGUARDTM, a plasma-
ceramic coating which provides for a mold service life that
is four times longer than with conventional coatings.
For this caster, SMS group will supply an HD moldTC (TC
– thermo-couples). Furthermore, the narrow sides will be
equipped with HD moldFO (FO – Fiber Optical sensors) and
the Breakout Prevention Assist and Mold Temperature As-
sist systems.
Breakout Prevention Assist reliably prevents break-
outs resulting from stickers in the mold and in this way
ensures effective protection and high availability of the
plant. Mold Temperature Assist provides two- and three-
dimensional information on distribution of the heat dissi-
pation, alignment of the submerged entry nozzle, stirring
effect and the contact between strand shell and copper
plates.
Additionally, the mold will be equipped with HD moldFO
copper plates that detect signals by means of optical fi-
bers. More than 500 measuring points are distributed
across the entire height of the mold. Direct visualization of
FOCUS
the local strand shell thickness and the respective thick-
ness of the liquid and solid layers of mold powder is only
possible using HD moldFO. This provides for a deeper un-
derstanding of the solidification process.
SMS group will supply the entire X-Pact® electrical and
automation systems for the continuous caster, the tech-
nological control systems (Level 1) and the technological
process models (Level 2).
Furthermore, the plant will be equipped with Internet of
things (Industry 4.0) technologies newly developed by SMS
group providing for intelligent processing of plant data
and automation of processes. Based on the steel grades
to be produced, the X-Pact® TechAssist system automa­
tically selects the optimum technological parameter
­settings for the metallurgical process. X-Pact® Process
Guidance automatically provides all relevant process in-
formation, prompts and operator screens at the right
time. All plant control and maintenance functionalities
can be performed comfortably at an operator station.
X-Pact® Business Intelligence summarizes relevant data
from different systems and enables interaction with dy-
namic applications and dashboards.
The SMS group scope of supply furthermore comprises
training of the customer personnel, local manufacturing
supervision, installation and supervision of installation and
commissioning.
ROLLING MILL FOR 1.3 MILLION TONS OF HEAVY PLATE
In addition, Shandong Iron & Steel Rizhao has placed an
order with SMS group for the supply of a Steckel/plate mill.
The new plant is scheduled to go on stream in 2019. The
order comprises the complete engineering package, me-
chanical key equipment, all electrical and automation sys-
tems as well as process know-how.
The Steckel/plate mill will be designed for an annual
output of 1.3 million tons of heavy plate. It will be able to
produce plate between 4 and 50 millimeters thick and from
1,650 to 3,250 millimeters wide. The product range will in-
clude carbon steels, quality steels, low-alloy steels, grades
for shipbuilding, bridge and pressure vessel construction,
for weatherproof and wear-resistant plates as well as
11
FOCUS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Right: Reliable mea-

surement of continu-
ous caster segments
and molds using
the HD LASr plant
assistant system
from SMS group.

Below: With the

HD moldFO from SMS
group, among other
things, the strand
shell thickness can
be visualized.

Technical Data (Slab caster)

Commissioning: 2018
Annual prioduction: 1.5 million tons
Plate width: 2,000 – 3,250 mm
Plate thickness: 150 mm

Technical Data (Steckel / plate mill)

Commissioning: 2019
Annual prioduction: 1.3 million tons
Plate width: 1,650 – 3,250 mm
Plate thickness: 4 – 50 mm

12
 FOCUS

tube/pipe grades to API standard. These products can Prior to shipment, the X-Pact® electri-
either be attained by the normalizing or the thermo-­ cal and automation systems will be
mechanical rolling method. prepared in a Plug & Work integration
test to speed up the commissioning
EQUIPMENT AND KNOW-HOW FROM ONE SOURCE process on site. An international team
The slabs used as feedstock for the rolling mill will be pro- of experts will handle the implementa-
duced by the new continuous caster for ultra-wide slabs. tion, seeing to it that the plant will be
Owing to the high slab weight of 57 tons, the envisaged out- commissioned according to schedule.
put of 1.3 million tons per year can be achieved with only
one mill stand. The slab width of 3,250 millimeters corre- PRODUCT QUALITY ANALYZER
sponds to the maximum plate width. Therefore, no broad- The supply package furthermore in-
siding passes are needed. cludes a product quality analyzer
The rolling line will comprise a Steckel mill stand with a (PQA) to be provided by MET/Con Met-
connected edger at the entry side. The first passes are sim- allurgical Plant & Process Consulting
ple reversing flat passes. Rolling stock of a thickness of 25 GmbH, a company of SMS group. The i
millimeters or less will be coiled in the Steckel furnaces to PQA system collects and evaluates
keep the specified temperature. The mill stand will allow quality-relevant process parameters Steckel/plate mill
Shandong Iron & Steel Rizhao to roll strips up to a length of along the whole process chain from
600 meters, which will be divided to mother plate lengths of steelmaking to the final product. These Steckel/plate mills
maximum 50 meters by a “flying” cross-cut shear. process parameters may be measured combine Steckel
The four-high reversing stand will have a rolling force of values and incidents, or more complex technology and hea-
90 MN. To set the desired strip geometry, the mill stand will criteria which may also be used as a vy-plate rolling. In
be equipped with state-of-the-art actuators. These will in- basis for quality assessment. In addi- 1997, SMS group
clude, in addition to hydraulic roll adjustment, CVC®plus tion, MET/Con will support the cus- supplied the first fa-
equipment with integrated work roll bending. The vertical tomer Shandong Iron & Steel Rizhao cility of that kind to
edger will feature fully hydraulic roll adjustment with inte- with its extensive expertise and render SSAB North America
grated width control (AWC). During the coiling operation in production assistance for high-quality (former IPSCO).
the furnace, Steckel loopers will keep the strip tension con- and demanding plate grades.
stant, ensuring high process stability.
For plate cutting, the mill will be equipped with two
shear lines, each comprising one double-side trimming
shear and one cross-cut shear. One line will be designed to
cut plates up to 50 millimeters thick, the other one for
plates up to 25 millimeters thick.

X-PACT® ELECTRICS AND AUTOMATION

SMS group will also supply X-Pact® electrical and automa-
tion systems for the entire plant. At Level 0, this will com-
prise sensor technology, technological measuring devices
as well as converters for the main drives and process-rele-
vant auxiliary drives.
The Level-1 automation system will be completely based
on state-of-the-art X-Pact® technology. The operating con-
cept X-Pact® Vision will be implemented according to the
latest ergonomic findings. This will allow the operator to
use the system most intuitively and achieve best possible
process guidance.
The Level-2 process automation system covers all tech- Peter Schmitz
peter.schmitz@sms-group.com
nological process models from pass schedule calculation
(PSC®) to profile and flatness control (PFC) and further to www.sms-group.com/plants/all-plants/
the higher-level material tracking system (MTS). heavy-plate-mills-steel

13
FOCUS

BIG RIVER S
NORTH AME
STEEL C
14
 SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017 FOCUS

TEEL OPENS
RICA’S LATEST
OMPLEX
15
FOCUS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Big River Steel im-

presses with a
steep production
ramp-up curve.

16
 FOCUS

Numerous guests from the steel industry, politics and

economy attended the grand opening of Big River Steel’s
new steelworks, also present among them was Asa
Hutchinson, Governor of the State of Arkansas.
With the new plants supplied by SMS group, Big River
Steel will produce, at its Arkansas site, grades for pipe-
lines, silicon steels for electric steel and advanced high
strength grades for the automotive industry in the U.S. As a
systems provider, SMS group supplied all equipment and
process know-how required for the steel mill complex and
supported Big River Steel in the commissioning phase. The
company has seen a steep ramp-up curve in the production
of hot strip which is at record level.

AMBITIOUS PROJECT TARGETS ACHIEVED

During the grand opening, David Stickler, Chief Executive
Officer at Big River Steel, said: “We are very satisfied with
the progress of our new steel mill complex. Having SMS
group by our side we are sure to achieve our ambitious
project targets.”
Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman of the Managing Board of
SMS group, supplemented: “The good production start is
the result of a strong and trusting partnership. Since SMS
group is a supplier of the complete process chain, it was Middle: Asa Hutchinson, Governor of the State of Arkansas, on his
able to meet the challenge of providing this complex with all way to the grand opening.

required mechanical equipment as well as electrical and Bottom: CEOs getting together: David Stickler, Big River Steel (left),
automation systems. Harmonized process sequences and and Burkhard Dahmen, SMS group.
technologies are basis and proof of the good ramp-up
curve. For the first time, SMS group supplied the complete
know-how needed to produce the latest steel grades.”
Big River Steel is running North America’s most eco-
friendly steelworks on an area of 567 hectares. In the first
construction stage, the mill will produce 1.6 million tons of
steel per year. Increasing the annual output to nearly

17
FOCUS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Twin-ladle furnace
(LF) in operation.

18
 FOCUS

700
guests of honor attended the grand opening of North America’s latest
steelworks in Osceola.

four million tons of steel will be accomplished stepwise

through several planned expansions. All plants, comprising
mechanical equipment as well as electrical and automation
systems were supplied by SMS group. The steelworks was
commissioned throughout 2016 with the batch anneal facil-
ity and temper mill in March followed in December 2016 by
the CSP® plant while the RH-TOP facility is to follow in June
this year. Adding the second proposed construction phase
equipment, the steelworks will have two electric arc fur-
naces and two twin-ladle furnaces. The gas cleaning sys-
tem complies with the strict environmental standards.

NORTH AMERICA’S WIDEST CSP® PLANT

The CSP® plant comprises CSP® caster, tunnel furnace,
laminar cooling system and downcoiler. With a maximum
strip width of 1,930 millimeters, Big River Steel operates Project managers of SMS group in the steelworks of Big River Steel.
the widest of all CSP® plants in North America. The hot
strip leaving the CSP® plant will be processed to high-qual-
ity cold strip on the adjoining combined pickling line/tan-
dem cold mill that is currently being commissioned.
In combination with the two downstream strip process-
ing lines, the tandem cold mill supplies a wide range of
products. Hot-dip galvanized cold strip is produced on the
continuous process route via the annealing and galvanizing
line together with an inline skin-pass mill. The offline
skin-pass mill stand installed downstream the batch an-
nealing furnace impresses with its very high rolling force.
Big River Steel is able to produce sizes ranging from 914 to
1,880 millimeters in width and 1.4 to 0.28 millimeters in
thickness.
Watch the video of
the grand opening.

Axel Sprenger
axel.sprenger@sms-group.com

19
PHOTO HIGHLIGHT  SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

The advertising
film is document-
ed here

20
 PHOTO HIGHLIGHT

A PERFECT
INTERPLAY
of all instruments is as important for complex manufacturing processes as it is
for an orchestra. With this approach, the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’
Association) wants to promote the EMO 2017. For the production of an advertis-
ing film on the occasion of the world’s leading metalworking trade fair SMS
group welcomed the orchestra of the Music Academy Düsseldorf in its manu-
facturing workshop in Mönchengladbach. Judith Schmitt, Head of Mechanical
Manufacturing at SMS group: “The heavy-duty lathe Tacchi HD/4 1500 x 9000
series 230 L was selected as an appropriate shooting location where among
others main pistons for eccentric presses, cylinders for forging presses, ex-
pander tools for tube plants, main rolls for ring rolling plants as well as spin-
dles and spindle nuts for forging presses are manufactured by SMS group. The
heavy-duty lathe has now been in our stock for two years. It is the highlight of
our workshop on which a drive spindle for the world’s largest screw press is
currently being manufactured.“

Judith Schmitt
judith.schmitt@sms-group.com

21
RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Cloud Computing
IndustrY 4.0

digitalization Internet of things

DIGITALIZATION IN THE
STEEL INDUSTRY
Illustration: Style-Photography/fotolia

WO R LDW ID E . With new strategies, concepts and solutions,

SMS group facilitates the move towards manufacturing according to
the principles of Industry 4.0.

22

»The smart steelworks optimizes its production processes from the raw material
down to the final product in an auto-adaptive way employing physical and data-
based models as part of the integrated supply chain.«
Dr. Markus Reifferscheid, Vice President, R&D at SMS group, on digitalization in the steel industry.
Industry 4.0, digitalization, Internet of Things and cloud
computing are topics dominating current discussions and
strategies in industry. SMS group has developed strategies
to promote digitalization in the steel industry on the basis of
selected projects. This article also presents future-oriented
concepts and solutions currently under development.
Plant engineering companies and their customers have
to deal with very similar challenges:
Securing steel’s market position as a competitive mate-
rial with versatile properties and the ability to fulfill future
demands.
 Safeguarding competitiveness by lean processes and
cost structures while using resources sparingly.
Constant achievement of top product quality and high
yield.
i
THE AUTHOR
Dr. Markus Reifferscheid is
Vice President, R&D at SMS
group.
RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK
 aximizing plant performance combined with mini-
M
mized maintenance and low capital lock-up.
Flexible production planning with varying and some-
times small batch sizes, at the same time guaranteeing
timeliness of delivery.
All this has to be accomplished under ever-changing condi-
tions, such as varying costs of raw materials, energy and
human resources, and observing changing rules, such as
new environmental regulations or modified legal standards.
What does “Industry 4.0 – digitalization” mean in this con-
text? Digitalization is not an end in itself. The question is
rather: “Where can digitalization help us achieve the above
mentioned goals better – in a more sustainable and value-
adding way?”
Plant operators often first think of what is referred to as
the “smart steel factory”, which would be able to produce
steel intelligently and largely autonomously. The smart fac-
tory is characterized by the networking of activities per-
formed by man and machine in dynamic production pro-
cesses which will optimize themselves in real time taking
into account the complete value chain.
WHAT DOES INDUSTRY 4.0 MEAN?
Industry 4.0 means an ongoing process capturing the entire
network of value creation. It comprises the vertical (internal)
and the horizontal value creation chain (from the supplier
through to the customer) and will eventually lead to a funda-
mental transformation of both. Everyone taking part in the
value creation network will be feel the change.
23
AUSBLICK UND
RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK 
RÜCKBLICK
THE INDUSTRY 4.0 PROCESS DEFINES ITSELF BY
t he current trend towards digitalization and the open,
real-time exchange of data and the accessibility of data
by all involved (humans and machines) in the manufac-
turing processes of the value creation network. This in-
cludes techniques like the Internet of Things (IoT) or the
Internet of People (IoP);
the creation of digital twins of real plants as well as of
processes and products by converging actual and nom-
inal data of the mechanical equipment, functions and
processes via sensors, automation systems and soft-
ware;
the employment of networked sensors and mobile com-
puting capacities in embedded systems, which are
cloud networked with existing IT systems. This allows
relevant information to be processed in an individual-
ized way and in real time and be made available to hu-
mans and machines at any place and time;
the expansion and upgrading of automation and produc-
tion control systems by introducing data analytics (Big
Data analysis, artificial intelligence) which enhance func-
tionalities like self-optimization, self-configuration, self-
diagnosis, pattern recognition and intelligent support
systems for the staff in the works;
the capacity of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) able to
make autonomous decisions and collaborate on a par
with the staff. In this context, maximum attention will
have to be paid to the safety and protection of the needs
of employees, processes and machines.
DIGITALIZATION IS NOT NEW
When SMS group started to take an in-depth look into this
topic, it soon became clear that “Industry 4.0” was already
present in the companies in certain areas, without calling it
that way. This has also been confirmed by many of our cus-
tomers and can be illustrated by the following examples:
Already since 2000, SMS group has been engaged in the
development of “virtual techniques” (virtual reality and
augmented reality) as well as related basis technologies
such as interactive real-time visualization and multi-modal
interaction.
THE DIGITAL WORKSHOP
In this context, SMS group has recognized that the topic of
“multi-disciplinary collaboration” is an extremely important
working field. We have further developed it into what is
called the “digital workshop”. The digital workshop serves
as a working and communication platform for multidisci-
plinary collaboration when tackling tasks that involve vari-
24
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
ous different disciplines. By making use of the native data
and data exchange formats (IGES, JT, WRL) available in the
3D CAD systems used in the engineering departments, it
links simulation data with actuations of plant components
and movements of products. Today, virtual technologies are
used as a tool to back planning and designing. Proven fields
of application are, for example, interactive product presen-
tations used in sales departments, integration tests as part
of the project implementation process or virtual technolo-
gies used by service departments for training purposes.
Making the customer part of a virtual, multi-discipline
working environment shared by several users facilitates ef-
fective coordination and agreement processes that will min-
imize corrections at a later stage, saving project time and
costs.
PLUG & WORK - HARDWARE-IN-THE-LOOP SIMULATION
The growth of computing capacities and advances in simu-
lation techniques for multi-body systems (MBS) make it
possible today to simulate the kinematic and dynamic be-
havior of complex machines and plants in real time and to
operate them in a hardware-in-the-loop configuration with
real controls. This allows functional tests of the control sys-
tem and the programmed control functions to be performed
prior to commissioning on site (virtual commissioning). Be-
ing a functional verification of the automation solution, this
procedure takes place as part of the integration test of au-
tomation systems. All components are combined into one
digital product. The simulation test incorporates the hard-
ware assets of the automation system (operating stations,
PLC, process computers, etc.) and the customer-specific
operating concept. Interfaces are tested and pre-optimized
automation parameters validated.
Complex control functions are visualized with the sup-
port of CAD models and may serve as tools in customer
training. This approach guarantees short commissioning
times with steep ramp-ups, resulting in stable production
and high product quality from the very beginning. Today the
use of digital engineering techniques is widespread in prac-
tice. Virtual commissioning is even applied to complex plant
scenarios.
Hence, for the plant operators and for SMS group, digi-
talization is not an entirely new territory. However, there
has been a shift of emphasis. Today SMS group under-
stands Industry 4.0 as a holistic process aiming at the
­creation of new value. We will become networked and
­cooperate with our customers and suppliers much more
closely to achieve enhanced solutions in a concerted,
joint effort.
 RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK

IoP IoT

Real-time Access
HR networking to
& contents
cooperation
Cooperation Transparency
Safety man and of information Digital
twin
machine
Smart,
autonomous
steel
production
Decentralized, New
Con-
flicting autonomous information Integr.
goals decisions systems

Big
CPS Assistance Data
Definition of the Industry 4.0
systems AI
process.

Self- Process
optimiza- guiding
tion system

PRESSING QUESTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE CUSTOMERS
SMS group has been taking an open approach to digitaliza-
tion. Initially, within an Ideation Lab environment, numer-
ous interviews were conducted with in-house experts and
with customers and suppliers. The topic of digitalization
gives rise to questions and multiple concerns. The most
important questions refer to aspects like:
How will digitalization affect business models?
How is digitalization going to improve process effi-
ciency?
How can I make sure that know-how and process infor-
mation will not be disclosed when we open up to the In-
ternet of Things and how can we protect our operations
against vulnerable attacks?
How can I live digital processes and digital transparency
without the feeling that I am surveiling everything and
everybody?
What legal implications go along with digitalization?
How can I avoid loosing my independence? What would
it be like for plant suppliers and their customers when
they enter into a lifecycle partnership?
How will all this fit into my current automation and IT
structure? What standards will be applied?
  hat kind of new requirements will the employees be
W
presented with? Where do I get competent answers to
all these questions?
EXAMPLES
Digitalization also gives rise to expectations. This is illus-
trated below by examples representing various functional
areas of a company. The basic instrument of Supply Chain
Management, for example, is the consistent mapping of
the production and material flows and the complete order
handling process, including the customer order, the man-
ufacturing order and the suppliers. The employees rely on
digital simulation and optimization tools operating in real
time to be able to plan production more effectively and at
shorter notice and predict production processes or energy
consumption more reliably. They expect flexible, coopera-
tive logistics solutions implemented together with their
raw material, consumables and spare parts suppliers. By
handling the spare parts management for their customers
as a service, SMS group has already been active in this
field. Here, cost reduction potential is tapped from econo-
mies of scale resulting from the combination of several
spare part portfolios.

25
AUSBLICK UND
RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK 
RÜCKBLICK
The electronic spare parts catalogue is an eService module.
Sales departments request digital tools that facili-
tate pricing and provide for transparency in delivery date
setting as well as solutions enabling “digital shadowing” of
products and processes, serving as documentation for the
customer. Providers of IT and automation solutions as well
as the IT departments of the manufacturing companies are
presented with the challenge of having to capture all data
and information arising from the production activities
(plants, processes, products) in a consistent form, at all
process stages and – if applicable – at all locations and to
process and store the data and information in real time in
what is referred to as a “Unique Source of Truth”.
At the same time, the correct information has to be pro-
cessed in a way suitable for all involved (humans and ma-
chines), while being accessible at any place and time and
guaranteeing a maximum of data security. This is an ex-
tremely challenging task given the existing heterogeneous
structure of plant and automation solutions, the immense
number of “production islands” that have evolved in the
companies during the last two to four decades and the still
common practice of handling processes and procedures in
paper form. This will require quite some basic work to be
26
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
accomplished in many areas. In production, great empha-
sis will be placed on the use of artificial intelligence in Big
Data Analytics, as this will further improve the efficiency of
process monitoring and controlling via self-learning algo-
rithms. Purely physical modeling approaches in place to-
day may soon be expanded or even replaced by data-driven
models.
PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE
Also the trend towards solutions enabling predictive main-
tenance and service of production-critical core components
will pick up speed. Both plant operators and plant manu-
facturers will concentrate on retrofitting their plants with
the necessary sensor equipment. Also the possibility of re-
motely tracking and tracing products and equipment com-
ponents – and employees for safety reasons – will gain in
importance. In quality management, functionalities like the
assignment of functional and geometrical product informa-
tion to the products, reliable tracking within the entire
works in real time and the possibility of seamlessly relating
quality-relevant information to each product along the en-
tire production chain have been increasingly moving into

the focus of attention. They facilitate the move to largely
automated quality assessment processes and automated
product grading against customer specifications, including
a direct feedback to the production planning department.
Quality-critical decisions have to be taken at an early stage
in the process in order to ensure that the processing depth
in the event of potential deviations is as low as possible or
to be able to take remedial action against process devia-
tions at an early stage.
WHAT IS THE SMS GROUP APPROACH?
SMS group has been taking the approach of Design Think-
ing, a typical methodology used by digital start-ups. In the
initial phase, the focus is on identifying customer require-
ments, the so-called Pain Points, in interviews or by mere
observation. This is followed by an agile phase of Rapid Pro-
totyping: initial solution concepts are implemented in the
form of prototypes by specialists and validated and opti-
mized together with the customer. In this way, a so-called
Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a solution basically ready
to be launched, is created in a matter of weeks. Then, the
product will be further developed and sophisticated apply-
ing the proven procedure of testing, validating and improv-
ing. The guiding principle of all these activities is “sustain-
ability”. The objective is not to digitalize anything and
everything, but follow up on what will provide added value.
For SMS group as a plant engineering company one
thing will change though: in the future, cost-based busi-
ness models will have to be complemented or replaced by
business models based on value. In other words, the plant-
based business will remain, but will be much more closely
linked with innovative, digital services. This requires above
all trustful and reliable handling of the information and
data which we share with our customers and vice versa.
Therefore, the implementation of digital systems solutions
will lead to a much closer relationship between plant man-
ufacturers and plant operators, and the business processes
on both sides will have to become a lot more transparent.
Another major task, which SMS group sees in connec-
tion with digitalization, is to make the management of Big
Data more efficient, following the examples of the giant
digital Internet players. The challenge is to systematically
and continuously evaluate all data arising from production
plants and production control systems and use the thus ob-
tained knowledge as a basis for augmented decision-mak-
ing, achieving, for example, functional improvements.
Functional optimizations leverage reserves, quickly leading
to a measurable benefit for the customer. Also decisions
with respect to attractive investments and activities geared
RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK
towards the development of, for example, assistance sys-
tems or expansions of existing automation systems can be
derived from a high-quality database. The data and data
techniques form the basis on which new business models
for digital services, also outside one’s own sector of indus-
try, are developed.
EXAMPLES OF IMPLEMENTED DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
As a plant engineering company, SMS group expects that
advancing digitalization will first take shape in production,
maintenance and quality processes. SMS group has already
developed various marketable solutions that are in practi-
cal use in various production plants.
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
In the future, embedded systems will become a standard
feature of our plants and components. Embedded systems
document and analyze the behavior of components during
operation and will autonomously initiate appropriate ac-
tion, if necessary. An example is the system installed in a
smart spindle in a hot rolling mill operated by a customer
in China. The electronic component, including a CPU, has
about the size of a business card. It is fix mounted within
the spindle. An energy harvesting system, exploiting the
rotation of the spindle as energy source, guarantees ener-
gy supply for at least two years.
The system monitors the spindle’s vibrations and
torques. In addition to generating and evaluating the data
autonomously, the embedded system also initiates neces-
sary measures, such as service or maintenance activities.
Establishing a link to the existing IT and automation struc-
ture is possible, but not necessary. Therefore the solution
can be easily retrofit to existing plants. Systems data can be
accessed by external computer systems at any time to per-
form further analyses. An additional feature of the system
is that both current measuring values and information from
data evaluations can be displayed on mobile devices.
INTELLIGENT LADLE MANAGEMENT IN THE STEELWORKS
The primary objective of model-based ladle management is
to calculate the temperature contents of all ladles in the
steelworks in order to determine the optimal temperature
window for the casting operation, while taking into consid-
eration the planned process operations and the current
state of the ladles. Besides modeling the temperature
fields of the ladle bodies, the refractory lining and the steel
melt, the system is also expected to provide constant track-
ing of all the ladles in the steelworks by means of RFID,
beacon or IR image recognition techniques.
27
AUSBLICK UND
RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK 
RÜCKBLICK SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Listed in tabular form, the warehouse

inventory can be easily sorted, filtered
or processed. The user can personalize
the display to meet his specific needs
and store it for future use. Further
details can be called up and viewed,
and activities, such as transports, can
be triggered.

Interactive 3D visualization maps the

situation in the works true to scale and
in real time.

Measured data from temperature sensors, thermal im-
age cameras and information about lining types and re-
sidual wall thicknesses available in the ladle lining and
repair shops are implemented in the system in order to
back the modeling processes. Commissioning of such a
ladle management system is currently under way at one of
our customers in Germany.
VIRTUALLY SUPPORTED PLANT CONTROL –
AUGMENTED OPERATION
An example of Augmented Operation is the solution devel-
oped by the SMS group company Amova. The objective of
this solution is to optimize logistics control in a high-bay
coil store. A digital twin of the high-bay store is used to
control, monitor and optimize the process. The twin gener-
ates a 3D map of the complete high-bay warehouse includ-
ing the transport systems and finishing facilities as well as
the associated dynamic activities. Product and process-
relevant information from the automation systems is inte-
grated into the visualization in real time and retrievable as
required. The warehouse operator can observe all ware-
house activities both in reality and in the virtual set-up. The
digital twin additionally allows the operator to view infor-
mation such as the current temperature level of each coil.
Release signals and transport operations are initiated in
the digital twin via drag & drop functions and directly re-
layed to the autonomous cranes and forklift trucks, how-
ever, in a system-optimized sequence. Via its forecasting
functionality, the system can also project all processes and
operations into the future, ensuring maximal transparency
in logistics planning.
SMS GROUP PLATFORM SERVICES
Digital service platforms are the foundations of intelligent,
digital service competence. Via such platforms, compa-
nies can exchange information in digital form reliably and
securely. One of the first e-functions offered by SMS group
is an eService solution which allows its users to quickly

28

and reliably identify spare parts and have access to docu-
ments such as data sheets, service guidelines and operat-
ing manuals. The electronic spare parts catalogue pre-
sented in 2016 at the Tube & Wire trade show has already
been rolled out at one of our mini-mill customers in the
USA. Via an intuitive operating application designed to be
used directly at the plant, the correct spare part or spare
parts package can be identified and the procurement pro-
cess initiated with just a few clicks , either via the ordering
procedure in place at the customer’s or directly on the
SMS group platform.
BOTTOM LINE
Various selected examples of digital solutions have been
presented above. SMS group has been dealing with digitali-
zation not only under technological aspects, as it has con-
sequences on the integral processes of a company, with
fundamental effects on existing processes and business
models. To SMS group it is more an evolution than a revolu-
tion. Change is expected to take place in the areas of pro-
duction, maintenance and quality assurance first. The key
factors enabling this change are embedded systems, digital
service platforms, the successful implementation of real-
time data networks within the works and the ability to make
best use of the performance capabilities of Big Data Analyt-
ics and Cloud Computing in order to promote the employ-
ment of self-optimizing, autonomous process control sys-
tems. According to SMS group, digitalization will provide
entirely new opportunities for both steel producers and
plant manufacturers. This will lead to more intensive coop-
eration between the plant suppliers and their customers,
and to the implementation of digital solutions that are com-
mercially rewarding for both sides.
Dr. Markus Reifferscheid
markus.reifferscheid@sms-group.com
RETROSPECT – OUTLOOK
i
READ MORE
30 The vision of a smart steelworks
Optimized production processes in an intelli-
gent metallurgical plant.
34 Geared to implementable and fast solutions
SMS digital GmbH introduces itself.
36 P rediction models for continuous casting
processes
„ Data Challenge“ for the prediction of cracks in
continuous casting processes.
38 Pushing forward digitalization
SMS group and its partners are working on
new methods to improve the added value in
massive formation.
40 Managing floods of Data
X-Pact® Business Intelligence helps boost
response speed.
42 Digitalization of steel plants
How steel works can be automated in line with
Industry 4.0.
44 Next generation plant automation
New X-Pact® Process Guidance offers task-
specific HMI.
46 The mobile control station
Machine operation undergoes change.
48 L
 adle identification for the vacuum process
X-Pact® Ladle Ident identifies ladles by means
of patented infrared technology.
50 Virtualization in automation technology
Decoupling hardware from its software.
54 L2 automation for an efficient sintering process
Paul Wurth to supply sinter plant with Sinter­
XpertTM system to Bhushan.
29
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
The smart steel-
works is within
reach.
THE VISION OF A
“SMART STEELWORKS”
Everywhere in the world, steel producers are presented
with similar challenges: First comes the customer, for
whom everything possible has to be done to ensure that he
receives his product in the specified quality at the agreed
delivery date. At the same time, optimal use has to be
made of the existing capacities, while minimizing mainte-
nance activities and locked-up capital. With the number of
small batches and special orders increasing and time-
frames becoming ever tighter, future production planning
will have to be more flexible, precise and – ideally – real-
time-capable.
For all this, digitalization is an indispensible require-
ment. The “smart steelworks” relies on the assumption
that data and KPIs derived from such data are recognized
and accepted as a basis on which business and process-
30
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
relevant decisions are taken. Digitali-
zation primarily entails intelligent
merging of knowledge and data and
the systematic networking of the two.
Today, knowledge and data are still
very often unsystematically spread
over the company organization or
stored in data silos with strict rules of
access. What needs to be done is to
overcome exactly this way of thinking
and make information available in real
time - both internally, within the com-
pany, and partly also externally, across
company boundaries – and use the
data as a decision-making basis.
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

DIGITALIZATION Engineering Data

present vision
status Engineering Manufacturing
Data

Quality Data
Mainte-
nance

Production Data Service Data

Process
Service Shared data between all business units and
guidelines by central divisions.

OUR VISION FOR A SMART PLANT IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY

Potential orders KPI

Intelligent, autonomous • Output
• Delivery performance
steel production Production
• Product in stock
Planning
1 2 3 4 5 • Financials
The intelligent metallurgical plant op-
timizes auto-adaptively its production Customer orders
Real-time,
process from raw material to finished cross-linked, 2 1 4 5
product as part of an integrated supply unique data
source
chain with physical and data driven of truth
models. Plant Product
Condition Quality

KPI = Key Performance Indicator KPI KPI

• Plant availability • Product tolerances
• Minimum inventory • Material properties
• Maintenance stops • Yield

KPI-DRIVEN PRODUCTION PLANNING IN THE “SMART STEELWORKS”

Material
property
270965 Coils Finished products
by category
Productivity

weight for last 8 weeks Quality Yield

weight by month

Coil weight by location Order status Product in stock 31

MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

PRODUCT QUALITY

Main benefits:
• Process specific product certificate
• Advanced visual correlation over process chain
• New order assignment
• Stock explorer
• Yield prediction

PLANT CONDITION
Smart Maintenance
Main benefits:
Computerized Maintenance Preventive Plant
Management System merges: Monitoring
MARKET
• Process condition • Prices
Equipment Info Maintenance
• Machine condition LEVEL 3 • Availability
(BoM, drawings, Strategy
• Contract
• Maintenance actions documents etc.)
Status
• Use of Al LEVEL 2 • History
• Remote
Service
LEVEL 1 CMMS ERP

Digital Digital
Maintenance Maintenance
Action Documentation

Condition Monitoring

32

This may sound simple. But in actual life it may turn
out to be a real challenge. Quite often there is not a lack of
data, but a lack of data quality and data consistency. Often
also an appropriate data aggregation process or simply the
correlation of data to the product or its localization are
missing. In the “smart steelworks”, production and plan-
ning data as well as plant and product data have to be
made available in real time in a Unique Data Source of
Truth, which the central operative management systems
will use as the basis for production planning, product
quality and maintenance processes.
In the “smart steelworks of the future”, the still com-
mon centralistic, rigid and medium- to long-range produc-
tion planning practice will be replaced by real-time self-
optimizing production planning. Every incident (a new
order, a modification of the maintenance schedule, a qual-
ity deviation, etc) will lead to a review of the most recent
plan, i.e. the system will check in real time and in line with
clearly defined key performance indicators whether the
last planning result could possibly be replaced by a better
one. In doing so, the system will take into consideration - in
real time - the data content of the Unique Data Source of
Truth and adopt a structural production process model.
SOFTWARE FACILITATES WORK
The second challenge is to document and track the quality
of the products along the steelworks’ entire value creation
chain. Immense quantities of process and product data
arise at each one of the numerous production stages. All
the data has to be set in proper relation to the products.
Provision has to be made for the fact that slabs and strips
do not only change in length, but may also have to be side
trimmed and/or turned. Alone a software solution making
these data transparent and intuitively accessible in real
time would be a great support for the operating and quality
control staff. They are actually the ones responsible for
taking care that the process runs properly and the custom-
ers will not be displeased with the quality of the products
they receive.
Also quality decisions have to be taken in real time in
order for the operators to be able to take immediate action,
for example, by intervening in the process or assigning
products to another customer order. For this, modern soft-
ware solutions, such as the Product Quality Analyzer –
PQA, operate with sets of rules, checking the actual condi-
tion of every product within the process chain against the
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
specified product and customer re-
quirements.
A third challenging field of activities
is to capture and map the current con-
ditions of the plants and components
and keep track of the respective main-
tenance requirements within a Com-
puterized Maintenance Management
System (CMMS). Designed as an Asset
Management system, such system
first aggregates all relevant informa-
tion (item lists, drawings, documenta-
tion, data sheets, etc) and the corre-
sponding maintenance instructions.
Via a link with the ERP system and the
warehouse management systems, the
maintenance personnel can identify,
request or, if necessary, purchase any
required items or components. The
CMMS triggers the relevant mainte-
nance orders and documents their ac-
complishment in digital form. Addi-
tionally, data-based evaluation
routines provide maintenance-rele-
vant information or predictions about
the condition of plant components.
The data for such routines may
come directly from the automation
system or may be provided by preven-
tive maintenance systems, which of-
ten operate with artificial intelligence,
or by condition monitoring systems in
place at the individual components.
Especially the latter functions can
be expected to be increasingly per-
formed by the plant suppliers as a
service product in the future.
Dr. Markus Reifferscheid
markus.reifferscheid@sms-group.com
33
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION 
GEARED TO IMPLEMENTABLE
AND FAST SOLUTIONS
G E R MA N Y. SMS digital GmbH introduces itself.
The fourth industrial revolution is in full swing. Industry 4.0
has made it impossible to stop information and communi-
cation technology from occupying wide areas and from net-
working in internet of things, services and data. In the
i course of this development, particularly in times of reloca-
tion to low-wage countries, the plant construction and me-
chanical engineering sector must hold its ground through
flexibility, quality and reliability.
SMS digital
Initially, SMS group worked on the topics Digitalization
To learn more about and Industry 4.0 in an internal project team consisting of
the working and the representatives from several divisions and business units.
products of SMS dig- Interviews and discussions with customers helped identify
ital, please visit this first problems for the solution of which digitalization offers
website: www.sms- high potential. Exploiting this potential properly is now the
digital.com task of SMS digital. Founded in May 2016 as an independent
business unit, SMS digital is still under development – cre-
ating ideas, interviewing customers, recruiting further staff.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BY CUSTOMERS AND EXPERTS
SMS digital creates its products in direct contact with the
customers and in close cooperation with SMS group experts.
That way metallurgical know-how and technological exper-
tise are pooled together for developing digital products. This
results in best possible solutions tailored to the customers‘
needs.
The aim of SMS digital is to become a leading provider of
industrial IT services and digital solutions. Based on a user-
oriented and entrepreneurial approach, SMS digital detects
new product and business opportunities. According to Henry
Ford’s motto: “If I had asked my customers what they want-
ed, they would have said a faster horse.” It is essential in an
34
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
open and unbiased manner to recog-
nize crucial topics and identify issues
jointly with the customer. The ideas are
then generated by using modern inno-
vative methods.
IDENTIFYING KEY PROBLEMS
Through their feedback, the user of a
product has significant influence on the
development as he may actively partici-
pate in the product design at an early
stage. First prototypes then visualize,
test and validate the developed busi-
ness ideas as early as possible. This is
followed by an assessment of the mar-
ket development of the new solution as
to whether the approach will be pur-
sued or not. Continuous product opti-
mization and feedback from the market
finally lead to an innovative, digital
product meeting the requirements and
wishes of the customers and the mar-
ket.
“MYSMS GROUP” PLATFORM SERVING AS
INTERFACE
“mySMS group” is the platform and
the digital interface between SMS
group customers, SMS group and SMS
digital. It provides access to first prod-
ucts that can be tested in their respec-

Domiciled in Düsseldorf’s Schwanen-
höfe, the continuously growing, young
and dynamic team is tackling the chal-
lenge of developing digital products for
the steel industry.
tive development phases, for example with the aid of click
dummies. In later phases, the products can be intercon-
nected on the platform.
All of these products are first steps to make the vision
come true of an intelligent steelworks that takes full advan-
tage of the technology provided by the 21st century in order
to increase productivity and user friendliness.
Maximilian Wagner
mw@sms-digital.com
www.sms-digital.com
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
i PRODUCTS
 n intelligent Alarm Management
A
System (Smart Alarm), able to
prioritize and group the numerous
alarms of a system, to display them
in clear arrangement thus permit-
ting the causes to be rapidly recog-
nized and remedied.
 spare parts identification system
A
with efficient search and filter
function that helps quickly identify
and order the right spare parts of a
plant.
 n order platform for fully auto-
A
mated, digital exchange of informa-
tion on the order status.
35
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
PREDICTION MODELS
FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING
PROCESSES
G ER M A N Y. Data scientists from all over the world participated in the first Data
Challenge launched by SMS digital and SMS group. The task was to develop data-
based models to enhance the predictability of crack formation during continuous
slab casting.
The winners of the SMS Data Challenge: first prize winner Florian
Borchert from Germany (right) and second prize winner Thanish
Batcha from India.
Steelmaking is an engineering discipline of its own. Enor-
mous forces have to be dealt with, and extreme tempera-
tures and temperature gradients have to be controlled. Each
individual process step presents steel producers with the
challenge to keep the highly sensitive processes as stable as
possible under the influence of numerous adverse condi-
tions. One such process is continuous casting: at more than
1,500 degrees Celsius, the liquid steel flows through a sub-
merged nozzle into a mold where it starts to solidify. Then the
partly solidified strand is withdrawn downwards, supported
by the strand guide system. As the process continues, the
strand is first bent and then straightened. This technology is
to provide quality products capable of meeting most exacting
requirements such as those specified by the automotive in-
36
dustry. It is actually possible to repair defects in the continu-
ously cast slabs, however, at the expense of yield, time and
money.
Therefore a team of SMS group experts is constantly striv-
ing to develop new ideas and approaches to further improve
the technology of continuous casting. The team has lately
taken an entirely new approach to finding enhanced solu-
tions to avoid crack formation during continuous casting.
There is already much knowledge available about what may
cause such defects and what mechanisms apply. But the
SMS group engineers wanted to go deeper into this subject
and gather new knowledge that would make it possible to
develop even more refined prediction models and detect new
causes and mechanisms of crack formation. To this end,
they decided to launch the SMS Data Challenge and call on
experts in data processing to provide suggestions and new
ideas to tackle this problem. They addressed Data Scientists
active as specialists in data processing and data evaluation
targeted at the development of predictive models.
EXCITING TASKS FOR DATA EXPERTS
SMS digital formulated two tasks for the Data Scientists:
Developing an algorithm that would be able to predict the
initiation of longitudinal cracking of the strand in the mold
with greater precision and reliability.
A data-based analysis of the mechanisms triggering the
formation of edge cracking.
The contest was first announced at meet-ups in Berlin
and Cologne and on a microsite. From there the word was
spread in the social media. The first Data Challenge
launched by SMS digital and SMS group reached more
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

“We are highly pleased with the great response our Data Challenge found among
data experts. We met extremely interesting people who on their part found it exci-
ting to work with data from the steel industry. For many of them that was actually
the main reason to participate.”

Maximilian Wagner, CEO of SMS digital

than 100 data experts from all over the world. The partici-
pants represented very different disciplines. Those inter-
ested in the contest included engineers, statistics experts,
biologists and even medical doctors. None of them had
had no previous experience with or knowledge about
steelmaking.

PARTICIPANTS SUBMITTED CONVINCING PROPOSALS

For the SMS group engineers, this new approach worked out
very well: “The idea was to gather – in a short time – a maxi-
mum of new proposals for solutions which we had never
thought of before,” explains Dirk Lieftucht, Manager Compo-
nent Development within the R&D department. “The partici-
pants’ task was to reach clearly defined targets, namely to
develop a new algorithm that would be able to predict longi-
tudinal cracking better than the existing ones and to provide
new knowledge as to the mechanisms that initiate edge
cracking,” adds Esra Erdem-Hornauer, engineer working in
R&D in the field of process control in continuous casting.
Five participants/participating teams had been able to
provide substantial results by the end of the project period
of six weeks. After submitting their proposed solutions in
writing, they had to present the results to a jury and answer
questions asked by the jury members.
The most convincing solution was put forward by Flori-
an Borchert, aged 26, from Berlin. He won the first prize
not only for the technical sophistication of the Conditional
Random Fields (CRF) algorithm he applied, but also for
the practical usefulness of his proposed concept: “The
chances that this solution will find its way to practical im-
plementation are very high,” says Markus Reifferscheid,
The quality of steel slabs was the focus of the first SMS Data Chal-
lenge. The picture shows a slab after the torch-cutting machine in
the exit section of a continuous casting plant.
Head of R&D at SMS group. The winner of the second
prize was Thanish Batcha, aged 25, from Chennai in India.
For both of them, participating in the SMS Data Challenge
was a very exciting experience. Borchert found it ex-
tremely fascinating to work with real data. “I hope that
once my solution has been put into practical use it will
lead to a significant increase in the yield of continuous
casting plants,” he comments. Key motivation for Batcha
to participate in the contest had been the fact that it gave
him the chance to work in an entirely different industry. At
home in Chennai, he works in a business consulting and
IT services agency.
Maximilian Wagner
mw@sms-digital.com

37
 Marc Hübbers (left) and
Philipp Stüer searching
for new solutions within
the scope of EMuDig 4.0.

PUSHING FORWARD
DIGITALIZATION
GE RM AN Y. SMS group is cooperating with numerous partners on methods
to make value creation in massive forming more efficient. A focal point is
­optimizing plant maintenance by employing state-of the-art measurement
technology. The Federal Ministry of Economics is supporting this project.

With the funding program “PAiCE“ within the scope of the
Federal Government’s Digital Agenda, the Ministry wants
to advance the digitalization of the German economy. The
aim is to lead Germany to an international top player of the
leading market for ”Industry 4.0“ and to a provider of pre-
mium products. Scientific institutions are to be intercon-
nected with excellent companies to put creative ideas and
research results into practical application. Experts expect
increases in productivity of up to 30 percent through digita-
lization in the medium term. To select the funding pro-
grams, a technological competition for cooperations took
place between companies and research institutes. Of the
79 applications, the consortium led by SMS group and
twelve other consortiums received a commitment for fund-
ing from the Federal Government. The research project be-
ing funded since October 2016 known by the acronym
EMuDig 4.0 (Efficiency boost in Massive forming from de-
velopment and integration of digital technologies in the

38

engineering for the entire value chain) is set at three years.
The activities under the research project are subdivided
into the ­following subprojects with the below-mentioned
leading institutions:
Subproject 1: Generation of raw material
(Otto Fuchs/Hirschvogel)
Subproject 2: Forming process (University of
Stuttgart – IFU)
Subproject 3: Production plants (SMS group)
Subproject 4: Production tools
(South Westphalia University – LFM)
Subproject 5: Logistics process (University of
Stuttgart – IAS)
Subproject 6: Factory cloud & data analytics
(TU Dresden - ZIH)
The prototypical implementation shall be realized close to
practice in the environment of the project partners Otto
Fuchs and Hirschvogel and in a model approach at the re-
search institutes involved. In the course of this, the complete
process chain of massive forming for steel and aluminium is
incorporated, starting with the generation of raw material
up to the finished formed part, including the transfer inter-
face for machining. Smart data gained from sensors and IT
systems serve to adapt the manufacturing processes in real
time wherever possible and to predict the resulting product
properties. “By interconnecting single process steps digi-
tally, we hope to achieve an increase in efficiency of the en-
tire value chain. For massive forming as key sector of Ger-
man industry, this represents an important opportunity to
position oneself as a driver of innovation also in future,”
Rainer Herbertz, Professor and Head of Massive Forming
Laboratory at South Westphalia University of Applied Sci-
ences is sure.
INTER-DEPARTMENTAL COOPERATION
Several SMS Divisions – Technical Service, Research and
Development as well as Forging Technology – are working
together on the EMuDig 4.0 subproject production plants.
Together with the plant operators, SMS experts are search-
ing for new solutions substantially enhancing the effective-
ness of the entire process chain of the overall facility by
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
Subsidized by the Federal
Ministry for Economic
Affairs and Energy accord-
ing to a decision of the
German Parliament.
preventing unscheduled plant downtimes. The primary fo-
cus is on the most relevant causes of availability losses with
the objective to create a forecast model to support predic-
tive maintenance. To do this, the parties concerned make
use of the latest possibilities for condition data acquisition,
data analysis and interfaces for corporate IT. “We are
pleased to confront the challenges of Industry 4.0 on the
plant manufacturer and plant operator side within the
scope of EMuDig 4.0 together with our customers and sci-
entific partners,“ says Marc Hübbers, Head of Forging/Ring
Rolling Europe, Technical Service Division at SMS group.
KEEPING AN EYE ON NEXT PRODUCT GENERATION
With its Forging Technology Product Division SMS group is
an important player in massive forming. It has been paying
attention to the plant-specific side of the complete process
chain for a long time, ranging from generation of raw mate-
rial via toolmaking up to rough part manufacture through
the forming process with subsequent heat treatment and
mechanical processing and further refinement into a ready-
to-install component. The machines and plants supplied by
SMS for the manufacture of massive forming parts are al-
ready highly automated – nevertheless, the key to further
improvement lies in productivity and quality assurance and
predictive maintenance plays a particular role.
In practice, engineering has to meet many challenges,
for example the parameters of the manufactured products
or the timelag, enabling information from the forming and
heat treatment process to be used in the forecasts. The
complex interaction of many influencing variables makes it
more difficult to forecast, on the basis of status data, cause-
effect relationships in the process chain or causes for pro-
duction losses. “From the work within the scope of the re-
search project we expect insights for the development of
innovative predictive maintenance service products for the
machines of our customers in the massive forming sector,“
explains Philipp Stüer from Technical Service, SMS group.
Enormous potential lies in the avoidance of unscheduled
downtimes, rejects and necessary rework.
Philipp Stüer
philipp.stueer@sms-group.com
39
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
MANAGING FLOODS
OF DATA
WO R LDW ID E . X-Pact® Business Intelligence instead of
uncontrolled floods of data.
Example of a display of production and consumption values.
The term Business Intelligence (BI) means processes and
procedures for systematic analysis of production data
(gathering, evaluation and visualization) in electronic form.
The idea is to gain knowledge that can be used to optimize
operative and strategic decision-making with a view to the
achievement of corporate goals. The required knowledge is
gained by means of analytical concepts, dedicated software
and IT systems which evaluate data of the company, pro-
duction data and the market development. The thus ob-
tained information helps companies to make their business
40
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
processes, and customer-supplier relations more profit-
able, reduce costs, minimize risks and increase their added
value.
Today, Business Intelligence (BI) system with interactive
analysis functions and comprehensive web reporting fea-
tures is a core element of any modern planning system. It is
able to map the production including consumed resources
and use of equipment in great detail. This allows all rele-
vant and detailed data to be made available at one central
position for analysis purposes.
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AVAILABLE BY SELF SERVICE

As an element of X-Pact® MES 4.0 (Manufacturing Execu-
tion System), X-Pact® Business Intelligence provides the Interactive Enhanced Improved
data evaluation knowledge decision-making
user with all relevant data-based knowledge at any place
and time and within the correct context. Through this ca-
pacity of the system, performance can be increased and Improved business Cost reduction
decision-making improved in all areas. Implementing the processes
highly flexible Business Intelligence solution enhances the
reactivity within the company. The self service feature avail- The advantages of a Business Intelligence solution.
able to the end user keeps IT costs and necessary IT ca-
pacities low.
The clearly structured data dashboards and Apps, which
make it possible to grasp all relevant figures at a glance,
have enhanced the acceptance of BI systems among users.
User-friendly BI tools support the development of mobile,
interactive and role-based dashboards, which provide deci-
sion-makers with highly useful and reliable summaries of
data – at any place and time.

SELF-EXPLANATORY VISUALIZATION OF DATA

The BI solution developed by SMS group allows users with
different skills to improve their understanding of data. The
data can also be tailored to the needs of different target
groups by providing them with clearly structured and easily
comprehensible digests of information: X-PACT® MES 4.0 – All plants
compilation of data from different sources, such as PRODUCTION PLANNING
production and process databases Situation
4.0
visualization of data and analyses of trends uu Small batch size
uu Short delivery deadlines
exchange of informative graphs and data stories uu Updating on the basis of real-
provision of relevant information on mobile devices time information Performance checkbox
(display of web-based reports on tablets or smart Industry 4.0
Solution
phones) uu Capacity and production se- - Highest productivity
quence planning through optimized
uu Dynamic re-planning function utilization of the
ACTION-RELEVANT BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE REPORTS production plants
uu Generation of technical specifi-
Through the BI solution, users receive information relevant cations - Lower inventories in
to the production process in the form of perfectly designed, uu “Big Data“ analysis all areas
- Smart decision-mak-
instantly understandable and action-relevant data visual- ing
Technical advantages
izations. The result is a more effective reporting system ca- uu Flexibility of production while
pable of managing the Business Intelligence strategy and complying with deadlines
providing key knowledge that may bring a real commercial uu Urgent orders can be included in
planning
added value for employees, customers and partners. uu View of the overall process

Wilfried Runde
wilfried.runde@sms-group.com

41
MAIN
ELEKTRIK
TOPIC
UND AUTOMATION 
DIGITALIZATION SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

DIGITALIZATION OF STEEL
PLANTS
WORL DWI D E . Latest information technology paves the way for Industry 4.0
steel works automation.

Digitalization of a steel plant refers to the strategy of adopt-
ing recent information technologies like big data, data anal-
ysis, data mining, artificial intelligence to make the best of
the resources available in a steel plant, e.g. like input mate-
rial, energy, human capital etc.
So far steel plant automation has only been applicable at
machine level. Integration of controls loops and sequence
was implemented as desired by operators. By taking auto-
mation to a higher level as dictated by
current industrial standards like In-
dustry 4.0, big data, data analysis etc,
it would be possible to increase pro-
ductivity and production volumes at
lesser costs thereby optimizing OPEX.
How does SMS group go about digi-
talization in a steel plant?

All data come together in the control room.

42

FIELD LEVEL – DIGITALIZATION
Until now most of the field level instrumentation and de-
vices used to be in a steel plant designed to match the exist-
ing controls for operation/maintenance related sequences.
However, for proper digitalization, the following measures
need to be taken:
Critical devices need to be replaced with better ones.
Replacement of equipment with lower equipment or
lower maintenance costs without sacrificing any of the
necessary information levels.
Focus on measurements which were not done before
because they did not have direct influence on the pro-
duction but are now necessary in the overall context of
productivity e.g. asset management.
Most important, we are moving towards “Industry 4.0”.
This means that all devices in the field, both instruments and
actuators will become “smart”. They will be able to monitor
and control not just simple measurements and movements
but perform intelligent data collection and control activities,
and will also feature intelligence that allows them to process
information autonomously, information not limited to their
own life cycle.
INTERCONNECTING LEVEL
This huge amount of available data at field level needs to be
made available higher level applications. This requires a
platform for the exchange of data. It should be possible to
easily include additional devices like new PLCs, micro-con-
trollers or embedded systems and to add or remove data
consumers. Protocols necessary for the standardization in
the context of Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) are under
development by different bodies. SMS group complements
this standardization via a new automation approach based
on an open data source, which is called “DataCloud” and
part of the new modular X-Pact® Process Guidance archi-
tecture.
PROCESS LEVEL
At the process level, Level 2 systems have so far mainly fo-
cussed on metallurgical modelling and reporting. But met-
allurgical optimization is only one of many requirements for
a steel plant to operate efficiently. In the future, optimiza-
tions will be needed in many areas e.g. energy, emissions
and sustainability.
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
Areas where process level optimiza-
tion of steel plants is taking place in-
clude:
Ladle management
Energy advisors
Conditions monitoring i
BUSINESS LEVEL
Towards
Collection of all these data and the
digitalization
achievable optimizations must be sup-
ported by appropriate measures taken For SMS group, the
by management. While in logitistics digitalization of me-
and procurement the benefits of digi­ chanical engineering
talization are already being reaped, sector comprises
steelworks are often still not that far. everything from the
An easily imaginable scenario in a steel concept design, the
plant could be the handling of a the dif- entire value chain
ferent orders for different steel grades through to product
within a month. By means of an effi- shipment.
cient Decision Support System (DSS),
the user will be able to provide cost-
optimized production planning for the
orders. By taking into consideration the
materials in stock and the logistics
costs, the procurement department
can order the required material just in
time and at minimized costs. Decision
Support Systems working on the basis
of available data resources will become
indispensible for the business success
of steel plants.
Krishnan Premanand
krishnan.premanand@sms-group.com
43
 NEXT GENERATION PLANT
AUTOMATION
WORL DW ID E . With the new X-Pact® Process Guidance, SMS group is
offering a task-specific HMI.
Big Data, Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things are
just examples of key words that have driven innovations in
the mechanical and plant engineering sectors. They all call
for a complete rethinking in the design of software and au-
tomation architectures. In view of this, SMS group realized
the need to develop an new, future-proof software architec-
ture from scratch. The result is the new X-Pact® Process
Guidance system, a basic automation system for future
needs jointly developed by a team of experts.
The first step in developing X-Pact® Process Guidance
was to change the perspective. Previously, the focus had
been on individual systems, such as Level 1, Level 2, etc.,
primarily built on the existing software basis and the skills
of the developers. Since IT has been making its way into
plant automation, this is no longer the case. X-Pact® Pro-
cess Guidance primarily caters to the different require-
ments of data users and data consumers.
44
The central element is the HMI (X-Pact® Vision), a unique
interface designed to provide seamless interaction between
the user and X-Pact® Process Guidance. The display will
automatically adapt its content to the needs of each indi-
vidual process step. The operator interface follows the pro-
cess and switches to the relevant page. During operation,
the operator receives a display of the automatically execut-
ed process steps, previously set up by the responsible met-
allurgists using the same interface. The operator can
browse through the process – through past process steps,
the current status and future steps – with a process slider.
By moving the slider, the operator can move along the time
axis. X-Pact® Vision provides four different views:
Operator view
Maintenance view
Process specialist /Metallurgist view
Management view
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

This change in perspectives has also been transferred to

the new internal naming standard:

NAMING STANDARD

Hardware New
Level 2 – Model Process Optimization
System POS
Level 2 – Application
System chang- X-Pact® Process
Level 2 – HMI es for the user Guidance
incl. Common HMI
Level 1 – HMI

Level 1 – PLC Process Control System

The software architecture has been fundamentally mod-
ernized and the interfaces completely redesigned so as to
achieve uniform communication. The avoidance of data re-
dundancies achieves maximized data storage efficiency.
The data are stored in the Private Cloud with universal da-
tabase access. The architecture is component-oriented and
can be extended by addition further modules and applica-
tions. It is extremely easy to add data.
The first implementation step was to redesign the inter-
face between the process control system and X-Pact® Pro-
cess Guidance. The task was to develop a uniform image of
the process control system which was to be available within
the complete X-Pact® Process Guidance system. The
mechanisms had to be implemented in such a way that dif-
ferent interfaces (OPC or Database Connector) to the plant
components would be available for adding, changing or de-
leting variables. This process image is called the DataCloud
of the X-Pact® Process Guidance system.
as a Service) or IaaS (Infrastructure as
a Service). The modularity also allows
legacy systems to be integrated direct-
ly into the system. X-Pact® Process
Guidance sets new efficiency and reli-
ability standards for the automatic
control of complex plants. Operation is
process-oriented, ergonomic and sim-
ple. Last but not least, X-Pact® Pro-
cess Guidance owes its attractiveness
to its high transparency and scalability.
The modular architecture and univer-
sal interfaces make it future-proof. In
this context, Cloud computing and dig-
italization will play a crucial role.

EASILY SCALABLE
Each steel plant is unique, consisting of different facilities
and functionalities. As also new functions need to be added,
any future-proof system must be scalable. To ensure this,
each module of X-Pact® Process Guidance is designed sep-
arate from the other. Since the DataCloud provides isolation
between data providers and data consumers, modularity
and scalability is guaranteed. The X-Pact® Vision HMI com-
bines data clarity with ergonomic screen functionalities.
The X-Pact® Process Guidance provides for easy Industry
4.0 integration by allowing cyber physical devices to con-
nect to any type of devices. It provides a platform for cloud Krishnan Premanand
services like SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform krishnan.premanand@sms-group.com

45
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
MOBILE CONTROL STATION
WO R LDW ID E . Machine operation undergoes change.
Requirements imposed on the operation of production
plants continue to grow. A completely new market has de-
veloped over the past few years to meet the topic of User
Experience (UX). This concerns workplace ergonomics as
well as efficiency in operating plants of ever increasing
complexity, including their demanding automation solu-
tions. The aim is to operate plants effectively and hence to
reduce faulty operation and subsequent downtimes. SMS
group has been meeting these requirements for some
years now and, with its stationary operating units, made a
great leap towards the visualization solution X-Pact® Vision.
In the era of smartphones and tablets everyone is using
in his private sphere as a matter of course, plant users feel
a rising desire to employ such solutions also in the indus-
trial environment. At the beginning of 2007, the first iPhone
was presented which marked the start and establishment
of touch, multi-touch and gestures in the consumer sector.
First touch applications and systems provided by different
producers found their way into the mechanical engineering
sector. Meanwhile, machine control is no longer from con-
trol stations alone, but to an increasing extent also on site
where operations or actions are easy to watch. Compared
to private use, however, distinctly more marginal criteria
have to be observed and complied with that ensure a com-
petent and safe handling of these solutions.
SAFETY MECHANISM PREVENTS MALOPERATION
Some of the issues to be mentioned here are necessary
WLAN infrastructure, reliable identification of the devices
at certain locations and user-friendly surfaces for touch
operation. In the context of touch operation, SMS group has
developed a new basis for mobile operation. The new de-
sign perfectly integrates in the existing X-Pact® Vision con-
cept and appears like all-of-a-piece. Special attention has
been paid to aspects everyone knows from daily routine and
makes sure intuitive handling considerably facilitates use,
which in turn leads to a high degree of satisfaction and ac-
ceptance.
46
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
One of the crucial aspects in machine operation is to pre-
vent maloperation. This aspect has to be considered in the
mobile context, too. Therefore, a safety mechanism was de-
veloped that can be intuitively operated by the user.
The concept comprises an unambiguous gesture that
cannot be released accidentally to unlock the interaction. It
must be performed consciously and then be confirmed by
another clear gesture. Once the gesture has been per-
formed and the interaction released, a timer will be started.
Within this period, the user may fully focus on the interac-
tion and enter his data before the application automatically
locks.
MOBILE DEVICES IN PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT
A further challenge to the systems technology is the pro-
duction environment in which the device is used. WLAN
hotspots and repeaters must ensure reliable and consistent
reception irrespective of the interference sources. While
using mobile devices, local dependence is an issue when it
comes to the effective provision of production data, data
sheets, descriptions of function, P&I (Piping & Instrumenta-
tion) diagrams etc., or the operation of plant functions.
Operation via such mobile terminals continues to be a
great challenge. In this context, reliably working solutions
are demanded to ensure definite identification in a confined
space. Safety-related operations are subject to the high re-
quirements of international safety standards. Here, SMS
group draws on certified devices with discrete operating
elements that are either wired or have Profinet/Profisafe
connection.
USERS RECEIVE RELEVANT INFORMATION
In a mobile context it is important to give the user a clear
overview of the multitude of displayed information and op-
tions. Moreover, the application on a mobile device has a
guiding respectively accompanying function, contrary to the
desktop application in its full extent. The existing X-Pact®
Vision concept provides for the contents to be categorized

Examples of X-Pact® Vision terminals.
in several data classes. This structuring of the contents can
be easily transferred to the mobile context and helps oper-
ate the application. The focus is always on firstly presenting
the user the state of the machine before any settings can be
made.
MAIN INFORMATION IN CENTRAL FIELD OF VISION
Therefore, the crucial information is always presented in
the central viewing area of the application, whereas the
more complex settings are shown at the sides or in a re-
tractable area. This way it is possible to link the displayed
information density closely to the usage scenarios, and the
user will only see the amount of information he currently
needs. The input elements were designed in conformity
with the X-Pact® Vision application to offer the user a famil-
iar environment and to smoothly integrate the application
into the product family of SMS group.
In a mobile context one has always to think about re-
sponsivity, i.e. adaptation of the displayed content to the
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
available screen size. Here, SMS group can resort to the
data classes of the X-Pact® Vision concept and keep on
prioritizing the contents to the same principle. Particularly
when using smartphones it is indispensable to reduce to
the essentials the volume of content to be displayed and,
for compilation of the contents, always to have in mind the
respective application context. Complex settings or manip-
ulations on a smartphone should be waived. If this cannot
be avoided, however, the necessary settings will have to be
transferred to deeper application areas in order not to ob-
struct the presentation of the machine status.
Ulrich Ahrens
ulrich.ahrens@sms-group.com
47
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

LADLE IDENTIFICATION FOR

THE VACUUM PROCESS
WORL DW ID E . X-Pact® Ladle Ident identifies ladles by means of
patented infrared technology.

Steel plate and camera system of X-Pact® Ladle Ident.

48
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

Since ladles were introduced as means of transport for hot IR camera

metal and liquid steel, ladle management has become an Temperature
approx. 100 - 150 °C
important part in everyday steelworks operations. So far, it
has been common practice in many steelworks to track the
ladles manually. This includes not only the tracking of a Figure 1:
ladle’s position, but also all processes relevant for the la- Set-up for the
pilot tests
dles: for example, cyclic maintenance of the slide gate or
the porous plugs, lining repair or complete relining as well Result Steel plate with binary
pattern mounted to ladle
as the tracking of the weights of all ladles in circulation. Number of steel ladle
Temperature
An increasing number of steelworks has been success- > 300 °C
fully using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology
for automatic tracking functions. However, this technology
reaches its limits when being applied to VOD (Vacuum Oxy-
Figure 2: IR image
gen Decarburization) tanks. Typically, RFID transponders taken of steel plate
are semiconductors. Special designs can cope with tem- of No. 2 ladle.
peratures of up to 250 degrees Celcius, developments such
as SAW transponders work with temperatures as high as
400 degrees Celcius. As during a VOD treatment, the entire
tank reaches temperatures higher than the maximum tem-
peratures tolerable for that technology, an alternative had
to be found in order to be able to establish an automatic
tracking system for all ladles.

PATTERN RECOGNITION WITH X-PACT® LADLE IDENT

Based on the existing “pattern recognition” approach, the
idea was developed, to use a steel plate with a unique pat-
tern. The plate is mounted at a very close distance from the
ladle, allowing an infrared camera to read out an individual-
ized pattern.
The resulting image of the pattern is evaluated by computer
algorithms and converted into an object number. The figure wrong correlation between ladle number and ladle). The
on the right shows the basic layout of the X-Pact® Ladle automatic correction function was used in less than 10
Ident system developed and patented by SMS group. percent of the identified ladles.
X-Pact® Ladle Ident was used over a pilot phase of six The design of the steel plates proved reliable and du-
months in cooperation with Deutschen Edelstahlwerke rable. During the pilot phase, no plate had to be replaced
GmbH in Siegen, Germany. During that phase, especially due to excessive slag accumulations or deformations. The
the following features of the systems were tested: following pictures show the infrared images and the algo-
Accuracy of the evaluation algorithms rithmic evaluation for ladles 14, 11, 1 and 8 as examples.
Assessment of maintenance requirements and fail- At the customer’s site, a steelworks-proof version of the
safe performance of the system system was set up. All the system needs is a power-over-
Integration into existing IT systems ethernet connection. Once installed it is immediately
Sturdiness of the steel plates ready for use.
A total of eight ladles were equipped with the steel plates.
After mounting the steel plates, the camera system was set
up. Figure 1 shows the set-up for the pilot tests.
The examination of far more than 100 ladle movements
resulted in an identification rate of 100 percent, i.e. all la-
dles in the ladle car were recognized correctly. Additionally, Jörg Thomasberger
the error detection rate was zero percent (not a single joerg.thomasberger@sms-group.com

49
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

50
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

VIRTUALIZATION IN
AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY
WORL DW ID E . Growing trend of decoupling hardware from its software.

The constant growth of digitalization in all areas demands

from the IT infrastructures increasingly higher reliability
and availability. Added to this is the low life expectancy of
PC hardware resulting from the fact that innovation cycles 6 Year Expected Median Drive Life
have been becoming ever shorter. Hard drive manufactur-
ers, for example, define a 6-year design life of their prod- 100%

ucts (see figure). The expected life of an IT infrastructure

90%
clearly contrasts with that of the automation infrastructure,
which may reach 20 years or more.
80%
Moreover, according to the observation by Gordon Moore
(Moore’s law), in semiconductor development the complex- 70%
ity of components/transistors in an integrated circuit dou-
Survival Rate

bles every 18 to 24 months – while (purchase) costs are on 60%

a constant decline. As a consequence, the hardware we buy
today will be obsolete in about four to six years. 50%

50 %
HARDWARE OPERATION ENTAILS RISKS 40% drives live

The common practice to handle this problem has been to

30%
replace hardware components when they fail. The resulting

?
non-availability of the component has a number of negative
20%
consequences. In concrete terms: the new hardware com-
ponents have to be installed and a data backup needs to be
10%
run. This is a risky undertaking that should not be underes-
timated as it may last several hours.
A remedy is to decouple the hardware from its software, 1 2 3 4 5 6
Year Year Year Year Year Year
i.e. the application software such as the operating system
and the automation software. Today’s virtualization tech-
nologies come with the necessary features to implement
such solutions based on longstanding IT experience. Virtu- According to current knowledge, the expected median life of
hard drives is only six years.
alization involves establishing an additional systems level
between hardware and software. By decoupling in such a
way it is possible to introduce latest-generation com-

51
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Transfer of dif- Virtual Virtual Virtual

ferent legacy Communication machine machine machine
Databases Engineering
systems into vir- system
Communica-
tual machines. tion system Databases Engineering

Left: Standard
structure. Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows 7
Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows 7
Right: Virtual
level.

Virtual level
Hardware Hardware Hardware
Hardware

puter hardware without changing any proven and stable net with a thin-client or zero-client,

i applications.
The concept of virtualization is suitable for both existing
and newly built plants. In case of existing plants, it is impor-
which in turn link themselves via the
RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) with
the target system. Besides RDP, other
tant to plan the migration with due care. Migrating to mod- modern protocols are available. They
Decoupling of
ern computer systems with much higher capacities makes feature higher processing capacities
Hardware and
this move highly attractive, as it will become possible to run especially for graphics-intensive ap-
Software
various individual legacy systems in parallel on just one plications, such as PCoIP or Remote-
Virtualization pro- new server. FX.
vides the possibility A virtual system in no way means a
of decoupling hard- PROFESSIONAL OPERATION OF VIRTUAL MACHINES compromise on quality. The user will
ware and software. Virtualization can be implemented in two different ways. not notice any difference between
Such decoupling The less attractive one involves the operation of more than working on a virtual or a physical com-
markedly increases one “virtual machine” within an existing operating system, puter. It is no longer necessary to use
operating security. such as Windows. any KVM extenders because their
Instead, the optimal variant for a professional operating function has been taken over by the
environment is to use commercial virtualization solutions thin client.
such as Hyper-V from Microsoft or vSphere from VMware or
the freeware alternative Hypervisor ESXi from VMware. All
these solutions are based on a host software, which is run
directly on the computer hardware and not on Windows.
The host software allows almost any number of instances
of virtual machines to be run on a common computer hard-
ware. The resources, such as processing capacities, RAM
or harddrives can be distributed over the various virtual Karsten Heppner
computer units. The virtual machines are linked via Ether- karsten.heppner@sms-group.com

52

Eight good reasons to go virtual
1. Maximal exploitation of existing hardware resources
On average not even five percent of the capacities of mod-
ern server capacities are used in today’s applications. By
virtualizing a server or a client, the existing hardware re-
sources can be more efficiently used as more than just one
server or client can be assigned to a hardware unit: for ex-
ample, 15 clients and four servers on one redundant server
hardware.
2. Energy savings
Instead of buying ten servers, only two to four redundant
servers will be necessary. This saves on both investment
and running costs. Not forgetting the clients: for example,
a total of 30 clients could be transferred to the two to four
servers.
3. Improved disaster recovery
Virtual disaster recovery comprises measures that need to
be taken in case of failure of the operating system, such as
running a backup. It will no longer be necessary to replace
defective hardware with the same type of equipment. Sys-
tems like VMWare provide a comprehensive environment of
features to handle disasters – including simulations of such
incidents.
4. Higher availability
Almost all providers of virtualization solutions offer a wide
range of functions that improve the availability of the sys-
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
tems, including live migration, storage migration, fault tol-
erances, availability maximization, and many more.
5. Scalability
Whenever a new application requires an additional server, a
virtual server can be set up and will be fully available in a
matter of minutes.
6. Central administration and control
The virtual servers and clients are administered via a soft-
ware program that provides the user with all necessary
data and profiles. The hardware can be modified later on in
order to further enhance the capacity of the system.
7. Isolating applications
Also in a situation where more than one application needs
to run in separate operating systems, virtualization is a
convenient solution. In a virtual system it is also possible to
adjust IT privileges and network configuration as desired.
8. Independence from hardware
Legacy applications, which are no longer compatible with
state-of-the-art operating systems or would need special
hardware to make them compatible, can be virtualized with
reasonable effort. This minimizes the risk of need for pre-
mature replacement of such applications. And it has the
advantage of smaller hardware inventories.
53
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

L2 AUTOMATION FOR
AN EFFICIENT SINTERING
PROCESS
I N D I A. Bhushan Power & Steel Limited (BPSL) is building a new sinter
plant. Paul Wurth has been contracted to supply the basic engineering and key
equipment including the SinterXpert™ system.

Shortly, Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL) in Ren- The process off-gas produced by the
gali, Odisha will commission a new 450 m2 sinter plant with machine, about 1,400,000 Nm3/h at
a yearly capacity of 4.8 million tons. This plant is designed 140 °C, is treated in an ESP (electro-

i to feed BPSL’s new blast furnaces. Paul Wurth has been

contracted for the supply of the plant’s basic engineering
and key equipment such as the high intensive mixer and
static precipitator) to reduce the level
of dust released to the atmosphere.
Depending on local legislation, Paul
nodulizer, ignition hood, the sinter strand, the sinter cooler Wurth’s Enhanced Flow Absorber can
Did you know?
and the complete automation system. This article describes be added to the process flowsheet for
In the future Paul briefly the SinterXpertTM automation system, a Level-2 so- reducing the emission of SO2 and di-
Wurth customers lution newly developed by Paul Wurth. oxin.
will receive the latest
news through a cus- THE SINTERING PROCESS
tomized online por- For the sintering process, the iron ores are mixed with wa-
tal, which will keep ter, coke and fluxes to produce a sinter raw mix that is
them updated all the then sent to the sinter furnace. The sintering unit is a trav-
time about most re- eling grate (90 m x 5 m) consisting of a large number of
cent technologies, pallet cars rolling on rails. Air is being sucked through the
reference projects raw mix bed and reacts with the coke to increase the local
and innovations. temperature over a critical value. The iron ore particles
melt partially and form a solid sinter cake.
This sinter cake is discharged automatically by gravity at
the end of the machine, gets cooled down in a solid/air heat
exchanger (the sinter cooler) and is further crushed and
screened to generate a fractioned product (5-50 mm) that
can be used in a blast furnace.

54
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

AUTOMATION CONCEPT  perations with low coke con-

O
For the BPSL project, Paul Wurth supplied the entire con- sumption;
trol system. It consists of a level 1 basic automation, a level Operations at high productivity;
2 process solution and interfaces for customer’s level 3 in- Operations in compliance with
tegrated plant management and laboratory information strict environmental regulations.
management systems.
BPSL’s level 1, receiving information from about 900 sen- Paul Wurth’s SinterXpertTM level 2 is
sors, controls and manages 200 motors with power ranging there to assist the operator in the pro-
from 1.2 kW to 10 MW, 3 large fans, 2 large electrostatic cess decision making. It represents a
filters and a waste heat recovery boiler for steam genera- modular solution that consists of dif-
tion. ferent features within three main mod-
At level 2, the technological process control is supported ules, as shown in the figure below.
by SinterXpertTM. Blast furnaces, which are operated today Module 1: Sinter Plant Core Expert
at high capacities and high PCI rates, require the use of System
uniform sinter material of homogeneous properties. The Module 2: Special Instruments
operators are presented with the challenge to find the most Module 3: Computerized Mainte-
appropriate operating strategy under partly contradictory nance Management System
constraints. (CMMS)
Operations with changing raw material quality;
Operations with new type of iron ores;

View of the complete plant with

hopper systems, sintering ma-
chine, sinter cooler and waste gas
treatment facilities.

55
MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION
The task of the core system of the Paul Wurth’s Sinter-
XpertTM is to deliver a sophisticated automation control so-
lution for the entire plant operation. The system is com-
posed of:
System tools as the main HMI platform for operating
i the expert system; these system tools allow, amongst
other, to perform automated reports and advanced pro-
cess analysis.
Did you know? Configurable expert rules, the main platform for the
user, where he can implement any defined process con-
Shortly Paul Wurth trol rule, in addition to his L1-system.
will provide its spare Hard coded expert rules which consist of the process
parts catalogues of control models developed and owned by Paul Wurth.
the respective Paul Hard coded rules are encrypted for protecting the
Wurth products for company´s intellectual property rights.
customers online Complementary to the SinterXpertTM core system, the mod-
via a new customer ules 2 and 3 provide solutions to further deepen the insight
portal. into the plant operation and process conditions. These mod-
ules are also stand-alone solutions, which can be operated
and installed independent of the core Paul Wurth’s Sinter­
XpertTM system. The special instruments module is focused
on providing an online process insight of process variables
which have strong correlation to process stability and spe-
cific consumption. The added value of such special instru-
ment is a fast response of process variations, enabling the
operator or the automation system to take counter measures
resulting in considerable savings.
Module 3 (CMMS) has a strong focus on better insight to
the mechanical equipment condition of the plant compo-
nents. The solution provides a platform that allows the op-
erator to correlate the equipment condition with relevant
process data easily. This helps to quickly identify a critical
equipment condition, promoting more prioritized, selective
preventive maintenance.
For BPSL’s new sinter plant in Rengali, Paul Wurth will
implement, amongst others, four new process control
models which were developed during the last months and
which shall also be commissioned in 2017. A brief descrip-
tion of these individual process control modules is given
hereafter:
The Raw Mix Calculation Model ensures that the sinter
56
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
composition (basicity index CaO/
SiO2 and FeO content level are the
main criteria) is stable despite
fluctuations in the raw materials
quality. The model receives infor-
mation from Level 1 and from
customer´s Labs Information
Management System and calcu-
lates the set points for coke and
fluxes addition in the stockhouse.
For better accuracy and a faster
response time, the Raw Mix Calcu-
lation Model can optionally be
linked to an on-line chemical anal-
ysis system either using the LIBS
(Laser Induced Breakdown Spec-
troscopy) technology or with an on-
line FeO determination sensor.
Paul Wurth recommends the utili-
zation of the SuperMagnag™ sen-
sor since it has been proven in Eu-
ropean sinter plants that the
sinter´s mechanical properties are
in correlation with its FeO content.
The Online Mass Balance Model
forecasts the sinter chemistry
based on the raw mix composition.
The Burn-Through Point Monitor-
ing System (BTP) controls the fir-
ing of the raw mix on the sinter
strand. The BTP model uses the
temperatures and pressure mea-
sured beneath the sinter strand as
input values and gives advice for
variations of the speed of the sinter
strand to optimize the productivity
and reduce the coke consumption.
Finally, the Expert system assists the
operator in optimizing:
the water addition in raw materi-
als mixer and nodulizer;
 MAIN TOPIC DIGITALIZATION

Overall Paul Wurth SinterXpertTM System

Special Instruments* Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS)*

Online analysis
Sinter Car Monitoring
„
„PGNAA
„
„LIBS

Plant Monitoring

Online analyzers
„
„Humidity probes Sinter car online sealing
„
„Permeability probe assessment

*Comment: Special Instruments and the CMMS can always be delivered as an independent System, consisting with its own HMI interface
and hardcoded intelligence and L2-rules.

System Tools Hard Coded Expert Rules Configurable Expert Rules

Raw Mix Calculation L 2 – Rules for

HMI data acquisition Advanced Process
and storage Analysis Tools „
„Start up
Online Mass Balance „
„Stabilization
„
„Optimization
LIMS – Burnt Through Point
„
„Protection
Labs Information
„
„Shutdown
Management System Material Tracking
„
„etc…
further under development
Adavanced Reporting
etc...
modules
Data & Event Tracking Data Mining

t he coke addition in the stockhouse; tive models) or plant maintenance. A

charging parameters on the machine; module for individual sinter car moni-
the return fines management. toring is actually well advanced and
This expert system is based on utilizing decision making will be proposed to customers as a
rules conditioned by an event tracking system. Event track- new product in 2017.
ing guarantees that all the correct conditions are fulfilled
before applying a rule. For the customer´s benefit, these
rules are configurable via a graphic, object oriented inter-
face.
In addition to the models, a set of configurable service
tools supports generating trends, dashboards and reports, www.paulwurth.com
managing the long term data storage and communication
with remote devices via VPN.
Paul Wurth is currently developing additional modules
that could be used for optimization of either the techno-
logical process (data driven models using data mining or
machine learning technologies to generate process predic-

57
PERFORMANCE MODULES SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

PERFORMANCE
MODULES
WOR LDW ID E . Improving
competitiveness with targeted
investments.

P E

Productivity Efficiency

Q 4.0

Quality Industry 4.0

Steelmaking plants and Continuous casting

continuous casting plants

P E 4.0 P E Q 4.0

LOGISTICS SIMULATION Performance checkbox TEMPERATURE AND Performance checkbox

MICROSTRUCTURE MONITORING
Challenges
Productivity Productivity
Bottleneck detection and proof of layout Challenges
- increase in productiv- - Improvement of yield
along complete process routes of exist- Prediction of thermo-physical properties
ity
ing and new plants of cooling slabs Efficiency
Check the capacity of the infrastructure Closing the process chain / slab logistics
Efficiency - Reduced energy
for production expansion between casting and rolling
- Optimization of logis- consumption through
tics shorter holding times
Solution Solution
- less CAPEX for new
Simulation under consideration of 2D and 3D simulation of temperature
plants Quality
metallurgical process and material properties for individual
- less OPEX for new and - Reduced slab defects
steel grades and material flow slabs between CCM, reheating furnace
existing plants
capacities and HSM
temperatures Industry 4.0
ladle handling including maintenance - Logistics assistance
Industry 4.0 Technical advantages
ways / tracks system
- Augmented reality for Avoidance of defects by controlled cool-
production planning ing of cast products
production
interfaces between plant units Technologically based guidelines for the
logistics in the slab yard
Technical and commercial advantages Energy saving by optimization of the hot
Tailored infrastructure for minimum charging process line
CAPEX and OPEX Easy handling by the process engineer

58
 SMSPERFORMANCE MODULES
group newsletter 01 / 2017

Over the past years, SMS group has developed a multi-

tude of solutions to substantially improve the competi-
tiveness of plants at moderate investment costs. All
these technologies, components or services are called
Performance Modules. Each performance module helps
customers improve the performance of their plants in
one or several dimensions and hence achieve a competi-
tive edge in a tough market environment. This means the
modules will not only raise plant productivity and product
quality, but also reduce operating costs and permit new,
high-margin products to be introduced. In addition, per-
formance modules offer best conditions for implement-
ing Industry 4.0: intelligent machines, components and
systems provide the basis for holistic process control.

Contact
performance@sms-group.com

www.sms-group.com/performancemodules

Continuous casters Pickling, galvanizing

for long products and annealing lines

E 4.0 P 4.0

CONYARD – ADVANCED STORAGE Performance checkbox Performance checkbox

X-PRO®-LASER WELDER –
YARD MANAGEMENT WELDING OF HIGH-CARBON STEEL
Industry 4.0 Productivity
Challenges - Mobile access Challenges - Increased product
Handle efficiently the warehousing of - 3D representation of New and difficult-to-weld steel grades portfolio (including
heterogeneous products products present in the Increase of productivity e.g. C67, high-silicon
storage yard Frequent changing steel grades and and martensitic
Solution - Seamless integration dimensions grades)
Innovative tracking of in & out flows with upstream & Limited space for revamps - Higher capacity due to
integrating information from multiple downstream areas short cycle time
sources, including manual operations Solution
and crane activity Efficiency Special heat treatment of the weld-seam Industry 4.0
- Shorter handling times (patented) - Automatic weld re-
Technical advantages - Error-free product Low cycle time lease
User friendly touchscreen interfaces deliveries Automatic calculation of parameters - Integrated data re-
Visualization of product inventory as per based on chemical analysis cording
physical location Compact and modular design - CatalogCreator ®
Different welding sources possible (solid
state or CO2)

59
IRONMAKING PLANTS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Skyline of the blast

furnace plant of EVRAZ-
NTMK in Nizhny Tagil.

Construction of new blast furnace secures

use of steel capacities
RUSS IA . EVRAZ places trust in technology from Paul Wurth.

For the development and balancing of hot metal capacities
at EVRAZ Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant (EVRAZ NTMK) in
Russia the EVRAZ Group has recently decided to build a new
blast furnace which will become the No. 7 unit at this site.
The design of the new blast furnace will be similar to that of
the existing No. 5 and No. 6 furnaces. At a hearth diameter
of 9.8 meters and an inner volume of 2,200 cubic meters,
with 22 tuyeres and 2 tapholes, each unit can produce
2.5 million tons of hot metal per year.
Thus, the EVRAZ NTMK blast furnaces are some of the
ironmaking units with the highest specific production rates
worldwide. EVRAZ plans to commission the new blast fur-
nace No. 7 in 2018. The new ironmaking plant configuration
will allow full steel production even during periodical repairs
of one or the other blast furnaces.
hydraulic tapping machinery. As shown
at NTMK’s No. 5 and No. 6 furnaces
since 2004, vertical copper stave cool-
ers in the high-heat loaded bosh, belly
and stack area will repeat their suc-
cessful application in an evaporative
cooling system. The blast furnace top
gas cleaning plant with axial cyclone
and annular gap scrubber as well as
the de-dusting systems for stockhouse
and casthouse will ensure a minimum
of environmental impact and a maxi-
mum of material return to the main
process route.

CORE EQUIPMENT ENSURES RELIABLE OPERATION

EVRAZ NTMK and Paul Wurth have now signed contracts for
the design and supply of technology and key equipment
which will ensure reproducible operations and support a
long campaign for this modern furnace. This includes a par-
allel hopper Bell Less Top® charging system, the hearth
www.paulwurth.com
refractory lining with a ceramic cup and two sets of fully

60
 METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

A MILESTONE IN
STEEL PRODUCTION
S OUT H KO R E A . TAEWOONG successfully cast 1,000 mm round bloom on
SMS Concast continuous casting machine.

The new 3-strand continuous casting machine at TAE-
WOONG, South Korea is designed for an annual capacity of
800,000 tons per year. With a casting radius of 18 meters the
SMS Concast Caster is able to cast round blooms of diame-
ter ranging from 310 up to 1,000 millimeters. This marks a
milestone in the steel production’s history, as it is the
first caster producing 1,000 millimeters blooms in a bend
continuous casting process – the biggest round bloom in
the world. Facing ever changing demands in the market,
TAEWOONG required the caster to be designed for flexible
operations.
WORLD’S BIGGEST ROUND BLOOMS
Thus the machine is able to cast different sections sizes si-
multaneously and this in steel grades from carbon over tool
steels, and stainless up to special alloy steels. The sections
410 mm, 600 mm and 800 mm round
have been successfully cast during
October and November 2016 and were
followed now in January 2017 by the
first cast of 1,000 millimeters round.
“This steelmaking plant project is one
of our company’s long-cherished ambi-
tions for 20 years”, states Yongdo Huh,
Chairman/Founder of TAEWOONG Co.,
Ltd. and further comments “We are
proud to be the first ones in the world to
be able to cast 1,000 millimeters round
blooms on a bend continuous casting
machine”.
www.sms-concast.ch

Mr Yongdo Huh,
Chairman/Founder
of TAEWOONG and
Luis Hernandez, CEO
of SMS Concast,
(left) in front of the
biggest round bloom
caster in the world at
TAEWOONG, South
Korea.

61
METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
New products for the wheel and
rail market
R USSI A . Metalloinvest places an order with SMS Concast for the revamp
of a continuous caster at Ural Steel.
SMS Concast, a company of SMS group, has been awarded
a contract by Metalloinvest, Russia, to modernize a four-
strand continuous casting machine CCM-1 at its metallur-
gical works “Ural Steel”. The aim of the upgrade is to en-
able the casting of round billets of 455 millimeters diameter
for downstream manufacturing of railway wheels and the
casting of rectangular billets in format 300 x 330 millime-
ters for the production of rails.
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH HIGHER EFFICIENCY
“The revamp of the continuous caster CCM-1 at Ural Steel
will allow Metalloinvest to master the production of new
types of high-margin products, to secure the company’s po-
sition in the market of high-end steel grades and to in-
crease the production efficiency. The project investment
62
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
totals to over 1 billion rubles,” said Andrey Varichev, Gen-
eral Director of Metalloinvest MC. Apart from the new
equipment, such as foot rollers, segments, spray rings,
needed for the new format, SMS Concast will introduce
well-established technology; i.e. steel billets cast on the
CCM-1 will be produced using CONVEX® mold technology,
CONFLOW stopper control and CONSTIR, a new system of
electromagnetic final stirrers. Electrical and automation
systems are customized to integrate the new equipment
and to optimize the continuous casting process. Pilot pro-
duction is scheduled to begin in mid-2017.
www.sms-concast.ch
The modernization
of the four-strand
billet caster by SMS
Concast enables
Ural Steel to offer
an extended product
range for the wheel
and rail market.
 METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

The centerpiece of
HD spray system: the
pneumatically oper-
ated water control
valves.

HD SPRAY SYSTEM IN
GREAT DEMAND
GE R MA NY. ArcelorMittal Bremen to install new HD spray system
developed by SMS group in its continuous caster.

ArcelorMittal Bremen has placed an order with SMS group
to supply the newly developed HD spray system with air-
mist cooling for its continuous slab caster. The modification
at the two-strand vertical bending machine is to be com-
pleted during a plant shutdown scheduled for the end of
2017. The HD spray system is a scalable water distribution
and control system which, compared to conventional solu-
tions, requires far less space and pipework.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE CENTERPIECE
The pneumatically operated water control valves and relat-
ed automation form the centerpiece of the HD spray sys-
tem. The secondary cooling water is regulated and distrib-
uted only just before the cooling nozzles. This does away
with negative influences such as long control lines or pres-
sure losses. What‘s more, the use of HD spray means a 30
percent reduction in process air consumption.
SMS group’s supply scope includes the
entire basic and detail engineering,
delivery and erection, and supervision
of the commissioning. ArcelorMittal
Bremen produces over 3.5 million tons
of flat steel every year in its integrated
steelworks. Europe‘s leading automo-
bile manufacturers are among its most
important customers.
Stephan Six
stephan.six@sms-group.com

63
METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
Higher yield through increased
slab thickness
RU SS IA . SMS group to modernize continuous caster and
heavy-plate mill at MMK.
Russian steel producer Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works
(MMK), has awarded SMS group the order to modernize its
i No. 6 continuous slab caster and the heavy-plate mill, and
upgrade both plants’ X-Pact® electrical and automation
systems. The caster currently producing slabs of thick-
Magnitogorsk nesses 190, 250 and 300 millimeters will in future produce
slabs with a thickness of 350 millimeters. The maximum
The Russian city is cast width will remain unchanged at 2,700 millimeters.
located in the south- The future higher weight per meter of the slabs will op-
ern Ural Mountains. timize the allotment of the sheet to be produced from the
The western part of slabs. As a result, the yield will increase markedly. The SMS
the city belongs to group’s scope of supply for the continuous caster includes
Europe, the eastern the basic and detail engineering, the optimization of the
part to Asia. secondary cooling system, the adaption of the X-Pact®
electrical and automation systems, the upgrade of the
In future, the mill stand will be able to roll slabs up to 370 millimeters thick.
64
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
technological process models (level 2)
and supervision of installation and
commissioning.
In order to be able to handle the
greater slab thickness, the maximum
roll lift in the horizontal stand will be
increased from 320 to 370 millimeters.
This will be achieved mainly by modify-
ing the CVC® roll bending and shifting
system, installing new chocks for the
upper work roll and adapting the back-
up roll balancing system. SMS group
will also supply a new level-2 model
for the reheating furnaces and an up-
grade of the process models in the
rolling mill.
The project - including all modifica-
tion and installation work and the
commissioning - is scheduled to be
completed by the end of 2017. The mill
stand supplied by SMS group in 2009
was the first in Russia to feature a
CVCplus® system. With a rolling force
of 120 MN it is one of the most power-
ful mill stands in the world.
Lothar Fischer
lothar.fischer@sms-group.com
Continuous caster supplied by SMS group produces high-grade slabs.
PREMIUM-QUALITY COILS
THANKS TO INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY
S PA IN.Succesful start-up of the slab caster No.1 at
ArcelorMittal Asturias (Avilés).
Five weeks after start up of the revamped slab caster No. 1
the caster production is already on the same production level
as before the revamp. The quality of the rolled coils is rated as
extremely good by the customer.
ArcelorMittal Asturias (Avilés), Spain had placed an or-
der with SMS group for the comprehensive revamp of the
two-strand slab caster No.1 from a bow-type to a vertical
bending caster. The new continuous caster No. 1 produces
slabs with a thickness of 235 mm and widths of between
800 and 1,600 mm, the maximum casting speed of 1.9 me-
ter per minute.
BROUGHT TO THE LATEST STATE-OF-THE-ART
From the mold to the run-out area, the caster was com-
pletely rebuilt as a vertical bending caster. The slab caster
is equipped with a remote adjustable mold, hydraulic oscil-
lation and a width-dependent spray cooling system (water
cooling) in the machine head. ArcelorMittal Asturias also
modernized the existing maintenance workshop which is
now equipped with the state-of-the-art SMS group HD LASr
alignment system.
Furthermore, SMS group has implemented various
X-Pact® level 2 process models and automation packages.
A mold monitoring system monitors the temperature
­distribution. In this way, possible strand shell stickers can
be detected and breakouts prevented at an early point in
time. The DSC® (dynamic solidification control) metallur­
gical process model calculates the solidification process of
the strand and controls the various secondary cooling
zones. The integrated steel plant ArcelorMittal Asturias
(Avilés) produces high-quality steel grades for the auto­
motive sheet and tinplate industries as well as for heavy
plate production.
Lothar Fischer
lothar.fischer@sms-group.com
65
METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
Optimization of logistics
WORL DW ID E . SMS group simulates the material flow in steelworks and
makes savings potentials visible.
“I want to optimize the processes in my BOF shop. Is there
still room for a production increase? Is my crane capacity
sufficient to handle the extra production?” With questions
like these steelworks operators turn to SMS group – and
the explanation below will make things very clear to them.
The SMS group’s metallurgists, plant design specialists
and IT experts can show producers in great detail how the
logistics in their works should be designed to provide a
maximum of efficiency and support the processes in the
best possible way – both in existing plants and when plan-
ning new ones. Showing in great detail means: The results
Logistics simulation checks the utilization rates of cranes and ladles.
66
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
from studies and calculations are visualized in a “real
time” simulation. Due to the constantly advancing digitali-
zation of production, the complex relationships between
process data, material flow, temperatures, ladle manage-
ment, interfaces and others can be increasingly better
captured and understood.
The material flow from the scrap yard via the electric or
converter steelworks and the continuous casting plant
through to the coil store can be mapped and tracked in 3D
displays. Thus it is possible to identify bottlenecks and
weak points and to explain their causes. The utilization of
ladles and cranes is analyzed in order to avoid empty runs
and idle times. The program specifies the information not
only based on layout and performance data but also for
individual process routes and production programs. The
results are documented in the form of tables, charts or
videos.
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
“Experience shows that information provided in illustrated
form can be grasped a lot more easily than calculations
that run over several pages,” says Manfred Stade, respon-
sible for the sale and development of simulation programs
at SMS group. “A very important benefit of the system is
that everything can be tested and tried out before we turn
the first screw. The potential savings on CAPEX and OPEX
become visible before any measures are implemented.”
The customers highly appreciate the possibility of actually
seeing how all the logistics systems interrelate before
starting an expensive plant modification.
By modeling the production plants, SMS group examines
the layout of the logistics and determines the performance
and production data. The obtained results will help the
manufacturer increase the efficiency of his production pro-
cesses. Numerous steelworks operators worldwide have
used the simulation program when building new plants or
for revamping projects.
Manfred Stade
manfred.stade@sms-group.com

New steel grades for SBQ billets in China.
GOOD EXPERIENCE COUNTS
C H IN A . Yonggang places repeat order with SMS group.
Jiangsu Yonggang Group Co., Ltd. re-
wards SMS Concast with the modern-
ization project for a new 4-strand SBQ
billet caster replacing an old caster at
Yonggang in Zhangjiagang city, Jiang-
su Province, China. The customer was
highly convinced of SMS Concast’s
technology based on the lasting expe-
rience with an 8-strand SBQ caster
delivered in 2009.
EXPANDED RANGE OF STEEL GRADES
One major goal of this modernization is
the expansion of Yonggang’s SBQ steel
grades portfolio, which will now include
high quality bearing and other engi-
METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
neering steel grades. According to the
agreed time schedule, the new continu-
ous caster with a capacity of 540,000
tons per year shall start operations by
end of 2017. The section sizes to be pro-
duced include 150 millimeters and 220
millimeters square billets. The custom-
er is sure to benefit from SMS Concast’s
dynamic mechanical soft reduction
(DMSR) technology.
Giovanni Cairoli
giovanni.cairoli@sms-group.com
67
METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

The new VIM unit at Tata Speciality Steels in Stocksbridge.

68

SPECIALITY STEELS FOR THE
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
GR E AT B R ITA IN. Tata Steel produces ultra-clean steels with
VIM X-eed® unit from SMS group.
At its Stocksbridge site, Tata Steel´s Speciality Steels, UK,
has successfully commissioned the VIM X-eed® (vacuum
induction melting furnace) supplied by SMS Mevac. This
new tertiary metallurgy facility produces high-purity steels
and specialty alloys for the aerospace industry.
The VIM unit at Tata Steel comprises an eight-ton vacu-
um induction melting crucible and the associated vacuum
pumping, material charging and process control equip-
ment. All core components supplied by SMS Mevac have
been designed to allow Tata Steel to increase the melt size
to 18 tons in future. Also ancillary equipment for crucible
preheating and lining maintenance was included in the
supply scope. The unit incorporates vacuum pouring equip-
ment for both top poured and bottom poured ingots, in sin-
gle or multiple ingot configurations.
i
PERSONALITY NEWS
Since the beginning of 2017,
Jochen Schlüter has been the
new CEO of SMS Mevac GmbH.
METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY
i
Before the ingots are rolled or forged
into products for the aerospace mar-
ket, they are refined in Tata Steel’s VAR
(Vacuum Arc Re-melting) and/or ESR
Tata Steel Europe
(Electro Slag Re-melting) facilities.
Considering its
STRONG PARTNERS FOR TATA STEEL ­Europe-based busi-
Andrew Douglass, Engineering Direc- ness activities, Tata
tor of Tata Steel Speciality Steels. “We Steel ranks second
are delighted to have the VIM in opera- in Europe. From
tion and producing commercial grades their steelmaking
for sale and customer acceptance tri- ­facilities in the UK
als”. and the Netherlands,
Jochen Schlüter, Managing Direc- Tata Steel serves
tor of SMS Mevac: “We are very proud ­demanding markets
of having installed and successfully worldwide, including
commissioned the new VIM X-eed® fa- automotive, con-
cility in Stocksbridge in close collabo- struction, lifting and
ration with Tata Steel. As partners of excavating, and
Tata Steel, we will continue to render ­energy and power.
our extensive metallurgical expertise
to support Tata Steel in developing and
producing innovative high-end materi-
als with the newly installed VIM X-eed®
unit and responding successfully to
the increasing requirements of this
extremely exacting market.”
Based on their extensive plant
­engineering know-how, SMS Mevac,
leading providers of hot metal pre-
treatment and secondary metallurgy
facilities with more than 40 years of
plant engineering experience,
69
METALLURY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

Top: Preparing the

i
tundish.

Left: Production of
speciality steels and
super alloys at Tata
SMS Mevac GmbH Steel in Stocks-
bridge, using the
SMS Mevac supplies new VIM X-eed® unit
equipment, process supplied by SMS
know-how and pro- group.

cess automation sys- Bottom: The poruing

tems for the produc- process (see the tilt-
tion of high-grade ed crucible in the
background) is con-
steels to customers
trolled from the con-
all over the world. The trol room.
range of metallurgi-
cal equipment covers
vacuum-type and at-
mospheric-type treat-
ment processes for hot
metal pre-treatment
and liquid steel re­
fining by ladle metal-
lurgy (secondary met-
allurgy) and tertiary
metallurgy processes.

70
 METALLURY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

has ­expanded its portfolio to in-

clude the segment of tertiary metal-
lurgy/special steels. This strategic
move into tertiary metallurgy current-
ly incorporates three key melting and
­remelting technologies, namely VIM,
VAR and ESR units. This product area
is managed by in-house experts who
boast more than twenty years of expe-
rience working with leading produc-
ers of speciality steels. This know-
how and SMS Mevac’s excellent
reputation as a supplier of high-­
performance equipment provide the
basis for state-of-the-art plants de-
signed to meet current and future
market requirements.
i VIM PROCESS
Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) is the preferred tech-
nology for the production of steels for use in the most
demanding applications.
The benefits of VIM include:
 o formation of oxides during melting, as melting takes
n
place in an oxygen-free atmosphere under fine vacuum,
removal of unwanted accompanying elements,
removal of gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen,
t he possibility of producing new alloys under fine vacuum,
which would not be feasible under atmospheric pressure.

Jochen Schlüter
jochen.schlueter@sms-mevac.com

www.sms-mevac.com

71
SMS group newsletter
METALLURGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL
01 / 2017 TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Typical RH plant in
operation.

RH-TOP PLANTS ROUNDS OFF

PLANT PORTFOLIO
I N D I A. SMS Mevac UK and SMS India Pvt. Ltd. have commissioned the new
310-ton RH-TOP plant at Tata Steel in Kalinganagar.

The RH plant complements SMS Mevac’s 310-ton CAS-OB vessels were supplied by SMS India.
and 340-ton Twin Station Hot Metal Desulphurization Unit Apart from this, SMS India also de-
commissioned at Kalinganagar earlier in 2016. It gives Tata signed and supplied all the electrical
Steel the ability to produce high quality vacuum degassed and automation equipment.
steels in its new steel plant which consists of SMS group’s This plant is the latest one in a long
recently commissioned 310-ton BOF converters and ladle line of successful RH degassers com-
furnaces. missioned by SMS group in India over
the last 10 years.
QUALITY THROUGH LATEST RH PLANT TECHNOLOGY
The plant is of the SMS Mevac vessel rocker type which has
become increasingly popular in India due to its simple de-
sign, easy maintenance and fail-safe functionality.
SMS Mevac provided all the high technology equipment
such as the vacuum pump, oxygen system, TOP lances,
valves racks etc. whereas all the large fabrications such as
the transfer car, rocker arms, moving platform, vacuum www.sms-mevac.com

72
 FLAT ROLLING MILLS

Continuation of revamp

C HI N A . SGJT contracts SMS group to modernize finishing stands

in hot strip mill No. 2.

In 2016, SMS group

installed efficient
bending and shifting
systems in the front
mill stands.

Shougang Jingtang United Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (SGJT)
placed a further order with SMS group covering the mod-
ernization of the finishing stands of hot strip mill No. 2. In
2017/2018 the back stands will receive more powerful
work roll bending and shifting systems. Identical were in-
stalled in three of the front stands at the end of 2016.
technological layout and design of the
system, the supply package includes
the manufacture of the bending and
shifting blocks in the SMS group’s
own workshop.

INCREASED AVAILABILITY
The hot strip mill No. 2 supplied to SGJT on Caofeidian
island in the Chinese province of Hebei in 2010 by a local
manufacturer is designed for rolling strips up to 1,450
millimeters wide. The replacement of the existing equip-
ment with the robust and proven SMS bending and shifting
systems, will enhance the availability of the plant. Fur-
thermore, SGJT will then have an efficient actuator for Ralf Setzer
setting the strip profile and flatness. In addition to the ralf.setzer@sms-group.com

73
FLAT ROLLING MILLS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

The second mill stand is shifted into

the prepared foundation pit.

LIKE A PIT STOP

BE LG IU M. Two new mill stands installed within just 19 days.

The new finishing stands prior to

production start.

74

In November and December 2016, the long-planned and
meticulously prepared modernization of the hot strip mill at
ArcelorMittal Gent has been implemented. Within just 19
days, SMS group replaced the first two stands of the finish-
ing mill with new state-of-the-art mill stands which subse-
quently went into operation successfully.
Installation of the new finishing stands F1 and F2 was the
last and the most important step in the modernization of
ArcelorMittal’s hot strip mill in Ghent, Belgium. In the years
2012 to 2015, SMS group had already increased the rolling
force of mill stands F3 and F4, integrated hydraulic loopers
in the finishing mill, equipped F1 to F3 with new gear units
and SIEFLEX® HT-spindles (high-torque spindles) and sup-
plied a new Profile, Contour and Flatness Control (PCFC®)
for the plant that had been put on stream in 1967.
PREPARATIONS IN SMS GROUP WORKSHOP
Preparations for the conversion shutdown started in the
SMS workshop in Hilchenbach in spring 2016. To comply
with the planned conversion period of merely 19 days, SMS
group completely pre-assembled both new mill stands
there. This was followed by testing the mechanical and hy-
draulic equipment for proper functioning. ArcelorMittal
performed own tests to adjust the automation system in-
stalled for the hot strip mill to the new equipment.
Once the tests had been completed, the disassembled
mill stands were transported to Ghent and, in September
2016, pre-assembled as close as possible to the running
line. ArcelorMittal Gent utilized the time until conversion
start for further tests of the automation system.
FIRST COIL AFTER 19 DAYS
Conversion work at the hot strip mill started in mid-No-
vember 2016. After about five days, the existing mill stands
were removed and foundation work to receive the larger
and stronger new mill stands could be commenced. In the
conversion planning phase, SMS group paid particular at-
tention to maintaining a high number of interfaces to the
utility systems and re-use system components as for in-
stance the media pump station.
Approximately one week after the beginning of the shut-
down period, the pre-assembled mill stands could be posi-
tioned in the line. This work was accomplished using a
sledge system. One after the other, the mill stands, each
weighing about 400 tons, were first moved in parallel to the
rolling line and then lowered into the prepared foundation
pit. All work, including finish assembly of the mill stands
was well planned and performed without any problems so
FLAT ROLLING MILLS
that the equipment could be handed
over for the cold tests two days ahead
of the agreed date. On December 6,
2016, after a conversion period of 19
days, ArcelorMittal’s hot strip mill re-
sumed operation and rolled the first
strip.
HIGH-STRENGTH STEELS AS NEW
GRADES
Through this modernization, Arcelor-
Mittal made its hot strip mill in Ghent
fit for future challenges. Both new mill
stands are equipped with powerful ac-
tuator systems such as hydraulic ad-
justment and CVCplus® with work roll
shifting and bending systems. These
actuators had already been integrated
in the previously installed PCFC® mod-
el and permit the strip parameters to
be influenced right from the first fin-
ishing stand. Owing to the new stron-
ger mill stands, it is possible to attain
high reductions in the first mill stands
even when high-strength steel grades
are rolled. Mill stands F3 and F4 had
previously been strengthened by in-
creasing their rolling force.
The modernized equipment enables
ArcelorMittal Gent to enlarge its port-
folio of high-strength grades, for ex-
ample by the so-called Fortiform®
series. It covers new steel grades for
the automotive industry that feature
considerable reductions in weight and,
at the same time, provide a higher
level of safety. ArcelorMittal further
benefits from more flexibility in pro-
duction and may increase hot strip ca-
pacity at its Ghent site whenever so
required.
Markus Wagener
markus.wagener@sms-group.com
www.sms-group.com/
expertise/modernizations
75
 FLAT ROLLING
SMS group MILLS01 / 2017
newsletter SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
Photo: Huythoai Photographer/fotolia

ON THE ROAD TO AN
INDUSTRIALIZED NATION
VIET N AM . The continuous growth of the Vietnamese economy is accompanied
by an expansion of the country’s steel industry. Over the past years, SMS group
has earned a reputation for being a competent and reliable technology partner
especially among cold strip producers.

76

Vietnamese economy has been growing by five percent a
year on an average since 1999. With an annual steel con-
sumption of about 200 kilograms per capita, the country
ranks slightly below the mean global steel consumption.
Steel industry and economic development are going hand in
hand as they do in China, India and South Korea. Vietnam is
on the road to becoming an industrialized nation. In order to
advance its infrastructure, the basis of economic growth
and urbanization, the country has to drive its steel produc-
tion. In 2015, Vietnam was the largest steel importer in
Southeast Asia.
To make sure the growth will not have adverse impacts
on the environment, but will develop sustainably, Ho Nghia
Dung, Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA),
calls on the steel producers in his country to modernize
their plants and use advanced technologies.
FLAT ROLLING MILLS
In Vietnam, steel industry and economic de-
velopment are going hand in hand. This is
reflected by the metropolis Ho Chi Minh City,
among others.
This is where Vietnamese steel and
cold strip producers, such as Nam
Kim Steel and Hoa Sen Group, rely on
the know-how and the technology of
SMS group.
In the recent past, they ordered sev-
eral single- and two-stand reversing
cold mills and strip processing lines
from Esmech Equipment Pvt. Ltd., a
joint venture partner of SMS group,
thus making sure they can systemati-
cally complete their vertical integra-
tion through to surface-finished cold
strip.
77
FLAT ROLLING MILLS

Conceptual design of
a CCM®. The highly
productive plant is
provided with one
pay-off and two re-
versing reels, so that
finished coils can be
removed on entry
side and exit side.
Work and intermedi-
ate roll changes are
carried out automati-
cally using the two
roll change cars in
the foreground.

On a growth path

VI E T N A M. Hoa Sen Group orders second compact cold mill.

In autumn 2016, Vietnamese cold strip producer Hoa Sen
Group provided the Indian joint venture partner of SMS
group, Esmech Equipment Pvt. Ltd., with the full line supply
order of a second twin-stand reversing cold mill. The so-
called compact cold mill (CCM®) will be installed at the new
cold rolling facility of Hoa Sen Group in Vingh City in the
central Vietnamese province Nghe An.
SMS group appreciates Hoa Sen Group’s confirmation of
confidence in its plant technology. Besides the first CCM®,
scheduled to go on stream in mid-2017, Hoa Sen has been
operating a reversing cold mill (RCM) since 2015, supplied
by Esmech Equipment Pvt. Ltd., at the Phu My location in
South Vietnam.
It is characterized by robust design and reliable and highly
precise measuring accuracy. Further, on entry and exit, the
CCM® is equipped with a blow-off system for efficient re-
moval of the surplus lubrication from the strip surface, also
ensuring high strip surface quality.
Besides the mechanical equipment provided by Esmech
Equipment Pvt. Ltd., SMS India is supplying the complete
electrical equipment and automation system. The scope of
supply also includes high and low pressure hydraulic sys-
tems and the emulsion plant.

QUALITY-RELEVANT COMPONENTS MADE IN GERMANY

The second CCM® will be erected in the same factory build-
ing as CCM® 1 and will be installed vis-à-vis. This arrange-
ment is beneficial for coil logistics. The CCM® is designed
for rolling of low carbon steel at a nominal annual capacity Main technical data
of 350,000 tons. The minimum final gage to be achieved on
Material Carbon steel
this mill is 0.11 millimeters.
Strip width 650 – 1,250 mm
Key components of the rolling technology will be sup-
Strip thickness 4.50 – 1.60 mm (entry)
plied by SMS group Germany. Both six-high stands are pro-
vided with CVC®plus technology. In combination with posi- 1.20 – 0.11 mm (exit)

tive and negative work and intermediate roll bending and
other proven rolling technologies, outstanding strip thick-
ness and flatness results are to be achieved. The X-Shape
flatness measuring and control system by SMS group in
combination with the two X-Shape flatness measuring rolls
as core components, guarantees excellent flatness results.
Rolling speed max. 1,400 m/min.
Coil weight max. 27 t
Annual capacity max. 350,000 t
Torsten Seeger
torsten.seeger@sms-group.com

78
 FLAT ROLLING MILLS

FOCUS ON QUALITY
V I E T N A M. MY VIET INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. orders compact cold mill.

Vietnamese company MY VIET INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. or-

ders a twin-stand reversing cold mill (CCM®) and a push-
pull pickling line from Esmech Equipment Pvt. Ltd., a joint
venture of SMS group. MY VIET STEEL INDUSTRIES CO.,
LTD. belongs to My Viet Company, established in Vietnam in
1994 and well known in the country under the brand name
Olympic. Olympic’s manifold portfolio covers, among other
things, roofing material, white good appliances and fittings.
Furthermore, MY VIETINDUSTRIES CO., LTD. is installing a
galvanizing line and a color coating line and is extending its
upstream production facilities by installing the new cold
rolling mill complex.

ANNUAL PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF 400,000 TONS

The order for the installation of the CCM® at their location
Pho Noi A Industrial Park in the Hung Yen province south of
Hanoi was placed in the autumn of 2016. The CCM® in six-
high design with CVC®plus is configured for an annual pro-
duction capacity of 400,000 tons. On this mill, low-alloy car-
bon steel with widths up to 1,250 millimeters and minimum
final gages down to 0.15 millimeter will be rolled. The CCM®
is able to operate at a maximum rolling speed of up to 1,400
meters per minute.
The high technology components, viz the bending blocks
cassette and the CVC® shifting mechanism forming the
heart of the mill stands to ensure the excellent quality of
the rolling result, will be supplied by SMS group Germany.
The CCM® is provided with positive and negative work and
intermediate roll bending, interactive roll pass mathemati-
cal module, automated flatness control etc. High pass re- Mill stand in six-high design with CVC®plus.
ductions are enabled by directly driven work rolls featuring
a minimum diameter of 300 millimeters.
The scope of supply of SMS group also includes fluid and
media plants, such as high- and low-pressure hydraulic
systems as well as an emulsion plant.

Torsten Seeger
torsten.seeger@sms-group.com

79
FLAT ROLLING MILLS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

The toothing is what

matters.

80

A STRONG SET OF TEETH!
U. S. A . SMS group has supplied three new-generation spur-wheel mill-pinion
gear units for a five-stand cold tandem mill in the U.S.A.
To reduce vibration, latest calculation procedures and de-
sign methods were applied in designing the new units.
The surface finish of rolled plates is one of the crucial
quality criteria. To attain a perfect surface finish, it is
therefore essential to avoid drive vibrations. The new, low-
vibration gear units permit the customer to operate at
higher rolling speeds and thus significantly boost the out-
put of his mill. The scope of the initial order covered the
replacement of the existing gear units of mill stands 3 and
4. Impressed by the operating results, the customer or-
dered a further gear unit for mill stand 5. In December
2016, after the equipment had been installed and commis-
sioned with good results, the customer granted his final
acceptance.
DROP-IN REPLACEMENT OF THE GEAR UNITS
The new gear units were designed as so-called drop-in re-
placements. A baseframe was manufactured to serve as an
adapter between existing foundation anchors and new gear
unit. The coupling halves were designed ready for connec-
tion to the existing motor couplings, i.e. without having to
perform any adapting work.
FLAT ROLLING MILLS
INDUSTRY 4.0
While the order was being executed,
the customer decided to additionally
purchase a Genius Condition Monitor-
i
ing (CM) system for his new spur-
Drive technology
wheel mill-pinion gear units. This sys-
tem includes temperature monitoring Today, SMS group
and vibration monitoring of anti-fric- puts the focus in
tion bearings, monitoring of oil flow drive technology on
volumes at anti-friction bearings and increasing driving
gear unit toothings as well as vibration power and improving
monitoring of the mill stands. the quality and relia-
bility of driving sys-
EASY REDUCTION OF VIBRATION tems.
The special feature of the two new
spur-wheel mill-pinion gear units is
the design of the toothing. It does not
only ensure a homogeneous load dis-
tribution along the tooth profile and
the tooth flank, but makes the gear
unit extremely resistant to vibration.
This optimization is accomplished
81
FLAT ROLLING MILLS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Combination gear
unit to drive a cold
mill stand.

Toothing contact stress. Vibration measurements at the gear unit housing: Vibrations of the
new gear units are distinctly lower (shown in black). Even at speeds
of up to 400 rotations per minute vibrations do not rise. Therefore, the
customer may operate his rolling mill at higher speed thus attaining a
higher production output.

82

200
A gear wheel fitted in the main drive of a cold mill performs 200
million rotations per year.
by adapting macro and micro geometries. Adaptation of
the macro geometry covers a defined design of the trans-
verse contact and overlap ratios as well as the mesh fre-
quency. Vibration analyses have revealed that there are fa-
vorable combinations of transverse contact and overlap
ratios with the toothing showing an outstanding smooth
and quiet running behavior. Furthermore, the mesh fre-
quency is modified to the effect that no detrimental natural
frequencies are caused, such as chatter frequencies in the
operating area, for example.
HOMOGENEOUS LOAD DISTRIBUTION
Adapting the micro geometry encompasses a modification
of tooth profile and tooth flank in conformity with the oper-
ating load. This modification is intended to achieve a homo-
geneous load distribution over the entire tooth mesh area
for both, the partial load range and the overload range.
Toothings that have not been modified usually show an
inhomogeneous load distribution which is due to load-de-
pendent deformation of shafts, bearings, housings and of
the tooth. Standardized calculation methods according to
DIN, ISO or AGMA do not adequately consider these effects
and thus reduce the actual load transfer capacity. However,
applying the toothing modification, as described above,
compensates this discrepancy and allows for a relative
torque increase of approx. 30 percent to be attained. A side
effect is the uniform meshing behavior which, in turn, has a
positive effect on the toothing’s vibration behavior.
FLAT ROLLING MILLS
REVAMP ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE
The customer accepted both spur-
wheel mill-pinion gear units in the
Hilchenbach workshops of SMS group.
Installation and commissioning of the
gear units at mill stands 3 and 4 were
performed with the support of SMS
group supervising staff during a
planned 14-day shutdown. Additional-
ly, the Genius Condition Monitoring
system was installed during that peri-
od. All work was performed according
to schedule and to the customer’s sat-
isfaction.
IMPRESSIVE RESULTS
Thanks to the extremely low excitation
of the new gear unit toothing, it was
possible to significantly raise the roll-
ing speed compared to that achievable
with the old gear units. A further ben-
efit, in addition to the productivity in-
crease, was the decreasing noise level
in the rolling bay. The subjective im-
pression was confirmed by the Genius
Condition Monitoring system on the
basis of acceleration measurements
at the gearbox. Contrary to the values
at the old gear units, the maximum ac-
celeration values measured at the new
ones were clearly below 1g (9.81 m/
sec2) at all reading points. Further, ex-
citation remained almost constant ir-
respective of the input speed, while the
measurements at the old units showed
high speed dependence.
Klaus Lazzaro
klaus.lazzaro@sms-group.com
83
FLAT ROLLING MILLS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

An investment that has paid off: PAO Severstal’s extensively renewed tandem mill “2100” impresses with both higher productivity and efficiency.

TOP PERFORMANCE WITHIN

RECORD TIME
RUSSIA . Modernization at PAO Severstal successfully completed.

84
 FLAT ROLLING MILLS

On December 7, 2016, after an extensive and fast modern- for new product grades. Using this function, all of the prod-
ization, the Russian steel producer PAO Severstal granted uct properties achieved were superior to those assured.
SMS group the acceptance of its tandem cold mill “2100” at PAO Severstal has increased its capacity by 200,000 tons
the Cherepovets location in Northwest Russia. to a total of 1.3 million tons. This growth is due to a rise in
SMS group completely renewed the entry section and the plant availability on the one hand and a reduction of coil
four tandem mill stands, and installed latest-generation sequence times on the other.
rolling equipment. In addition to new mill stands of four-
high design and with CVC®plus technology and to numer-
ous other technological actuators, this equipment com-
prises X-Pact® electrical and automation systems, including
level 1 and level 2, the X-Shape flatness measurement and
control system as well as an assistance system for each
stand to optimize threading and tailing-out operations. One
of the big challenges involved here was to replace the com-
plete old stands by the new ones, with main attention being
paid to organizing the individual revamp phases in order not
to impact production until the beginning of the main con-
version shutdown. Dismantling and installation were
planned and implemented on the basis of intensive discus- i SCHEDULE
sions and in close collaboration with Severstal.
Another challenge was to provide the existing Leonard-
type roll motors of three mill stands with state-of-the-art A tight schedule had to be prepared to be able to
controls for further use. Merely at the first mill stand, the perform modernizations within record time:
complete drive train covering a modern synchronous ma-
chine with pertaining converter technology was renewed,  anuary 25, 2016:
J
Shutdown of the approx. 50-year-old tandem mill and start
thus simultaneously increasing rolling speed. These mea- of dismantling work
sures make rolling mill “2100” fit for satisfying rising cus- April
 10, 2016:
tomer material requirements with respect to high-quality Completing installation of new equipment and start of cold
carbon steel grades as well as high-strength and micro- commissioning
alloyed silicon steels.  pril 23, 2016:
A
Rolling the first product
May
 11, 2016:
COMMISSIONING WITHIN RECORD TIME
Rolling the first salable product
The conversion activities comprising dismantling of exist- May
 to July 2016:
ing equipment, installation of the new components and Hot commissioning
commissioning up to the first successfully rolled strip were August
 2016:
performed within a main shutdown period of merely three Optimizing plant performance
months. Thanks to meticulous planning, the Plug & Work 
September to November 2016:
Performing acceptance tests
concept of SMS group and efficient cooperation of all par-
December
 7, 2016:
ties involved in the project, conversion work and subse- Acceptance granted by PAO Severstal
quent commissioning could be performed within record
time.
SMS group also integrated the special function of total
roll gap control (TRC®) to reduce off-size lengths and hence
minimize coil change times. Part of this function is the
model-based pass schedule system of level 2 that offers Otmar Giesler
the customer full flexibility in calculating the target values otmar.giesler@sms-group.com

85
FLAT ROLLING MILLS / STRIP PROCESSING LINES SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

ON THE HOME STRETCH

U.S . A . North American Stainless is erecting a high-performance production
facility for bright-annealed stainless steel strip.

North American Stainless (NAS), a subsidiary of the Span-
ish Acerinox Group, has erected the most up-to-date and
highest-performance production facility for bright-an-
nealed stainless steel strip in the U.S. at its plant in Ghent,
Kentucky. SMS group supplied the main production equip-
ment. On January 20, 2017 – a full five and a half weeks
ahead of the contractually agreed date - NAS successfully
rolled its first strip on the new 20-roll cold rolling mill, sup-
plied by SMS group. Commissioning of the bright annealing
line is also underway. NAS is now on the home stretch in its
ambitious project of supplying cold-rolled stainless strip of
the highest strip quality - BA - primarily to the domestic
market.
Frank Lettau, Project Manager at SMS group, explains: “The
fact that SMS group supplied all the equipment meant we
could take full advantage of the synergies of perfectly
matched mechatronic systems, which were previously pre-
assembled at SMS and had undergone extensive function
testing before being delivered. As a result, we were able to
meet the tight deadline and even managed to start cold pro-
duction as early as 38 days ahead of the contractually
agreed date.“ The bright annealing line is also set to go into
operation soon. A further advantage for NAS as the owner is
that its operating personnel was trained by SMS group on
own machinery. This will also help NAS achieve its produc-
tion target quickly.

ALL MECHATRONIC SYSTEMS FROM ONE SOURCE

SMS group supplied all the mechatronic systems with Frank Lettau
frank.lettau@sms-group.com
X-Pact® electrics and automation, as well as process and
furnace technology. The scope of supply also included the
auxiliary and ancillary facilities, like the SUPAFINE® filter
system for eco-friendly purification and cleaning of the roll-
ing oil. What‘s more, SMS group was responsible for the su-
pervision of the erection and installation, commissioning
support and operating personnel training.

North American Stainless (NAS) produces top

strip quality.

86

Final assembly of the high-tech 20-roll cold
rolling mill at NAS.
20-roll cold rolling mill
Material AISI 200 - AISI 400
Millstand type MB 22B-54“
Strip width 600 - 1,350 mm
Strip thickness max. 6.2 mm (entry)
0.15 - 1.5 mm (exit)
Rolling speed max. 800 m/min.
Annual capacity 95,000 t
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
Christian Müller, design engineer at SMS
group, supervised the commissioning of the
cold rolling mill.
Bright annealing line
Material AISI 300 - AISI 400
Furnace type Heated electrically
Strip width 600 - 1,350 mm
Strip thickness 0.15 - 1.5 mm
Process speed max. 50 m/min.
Annual capacity 95,000 t
87
STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

The X-Pro® laser welder with fiber laser to be inte-

grated in SSAB‘s new entry section comes with high
efficiency and availability. It features a safe, fast and
fully automated process even for difficult-to-weld
materials.

The project team of SSAB and

SMS group with Heikki Nisula,
General Manager Maintenance
and Investments at SSAB
Europe, Hämeenlinna, Finland
(4th from left).

88
 STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

WELL EQUIPPED
FOR FUTURE
CHALLENGES
F I NLAND. SMS group to modernize entry
section of SSAB‘s pickling line.

SSAB has awarded SMS group an or-
der covering the modernization of a
continuous pickling line entry section
in the Finnish city of Hämeenlinna.
This modernization will significantly
increase the line’s availability and its
output as well as the degree of auto-
mation and safety.
With the installation of an X-Pro®
laser welder with fiber laser and of a
high-performance tension leveler it
will be possible to produce modern,
high-strength steel grades with high
alloy contents. The conversion includ-
ing modification of the complete elec-
trical and automation equipment to be
accomplished in two phases is sched-
uled to be completed at the end of
2018.
“Supported by SMS group we will
make the line fit for the future and up-
coming challenges,” says Heikki Ni-
sula, General Manager Maintenance
and Investments at SSAB Europe, Hä-
meenlinna, Finland. “The new equip-
ment will make sure we can process
materials with yield points of up to 900
megapascals. Higher capacity at lower
operating costs will be a further ben-
efit.” An essential element of the mod-
ernization is the X-Pro® laser welder
with solid-state laser. Contrary to a
conventional carbon dioxide laser, the
laser beam here is generated in a res-
onator by means of a laser-active fiber.
Owing to its high efficiency and good
controllability operating costs will re-
duce by up to 90 percent. A crucial fea-
ture of the new system is its simple,
modular and nearly maintenance-free
design.
Additional major advantages of the
X-Pro® laser welder are its patented
inductive pre- and post-treatment of
the weld, automatic adaptation of the
welding parameters on the basis of a
material melt analysis and an inte-
grated automatic weld seam monitor-
ing system. The machine also im-
presses with its short cycle time of
less than 60 seconds.

89
STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

The weld seam is be-

ing critically checked
and approved by
Heiki Nissula and
his colleagues
from SSAB at the
Laser Strip Welding
Symposium, which
was organized by
SMS group in 2015
to introduce the new
X-Pro® laser welder
with fiber laser.

MODERNIZATION IN TWO PHASES pickling line will be further increased

The modernization will take place in two phases. In the first by installing the SMS eco-production
phase, the new entry section will be installed on part of the turbulence pickling model. The line is
present coil storage area while pickling line production is designed for strips with thicknesses
going on. The entry section will comprise two payoff reels, between 1.5 and 6.5 millimeters and
the X-Pro® laser welder and a horizontal six-fold looper. In widths from 650 to 1,650 millimeters.
the course of a one-week downtime, the new equipment In the processing section, the strips
will be connected to the pickling line by means of a bypass will be pickled at a speed of up to
running across the existing entry section. 180 meters per minute in the turbu-
In the second phase, also during ongoing production, the lence pickling tanks, whereas the strip
existing entry section will be removed and replaced by a speed attainable in the entry section
new scale breaker and a recuperator tank. The scale break- will be maximum 400 meters per
er will be specially designed to process high-strength ­minute.
strips. If so required, the maximum strip tension can be
raised up to 900 kilonewtons. The recuperator tank serves
to pre-heat and pre-clean the strip, using spent acid from
the pickling process, before it enters the actual pickling
line. This increases the capacity of the existing turbulence
pickling section. Integration of the new plant components is
scheduled to take place during a two-week downtime at the
end of 2018.
All new equipment will be supplied by SMS group includ-
ing electrical and automation systems. Additionally, the
level-2 automation system for the complete pickling line
will be modernized. Prior to commissioning, the automa-
tion system will undergo a Plug & Work integration test in
Germany to simplify commissioning and ensure safe and Christian Dornscheidt
fast plant ramp-up after the downtime. The efficiency of the christian.dornscheidt@sms-group.com

90
First coil annealed on the new annealing line supplied by SMS group to Han-Steel.

HIGH-STRENGTH STEEL
FOR SAFER CARS
C HI N A. Handan Iron & Steel grants final acceptance for continuous annealing
line producing strip for high-strength automotive parts.

In November 2016, Handan Iron & Steel Group (Han-Steel), face quality of the plates produced sat-

i
China, granted SMS group the final acceptance certificate isfy high requirements.
for the new continuous annealing line. The line was com- Apart from other products, Han-
pletely supplied by SMS group and is designed to produce Steel’s new annealing line produces
428,000 tons of steel strip per year. The major share thereof high-strength steels such as HSS, HS-
Supply package
is planned to be used for the production of high-strength LA, DP, TRIP, PM or MS and also com-
structural automotive components. This annealing line is mercial and soft grades. When used In addition to design-
the second one SMS group supplied to Han-Steel in the for automotive applications, high- ing the mechanical
province of Hebei in northern China. The first line was put strength materials increase safety equipment and man-
on stream in 2010 and has an annual capacity of 1,000,000 and, at the same time, reduce fuel ufacturing special
tons. consumption. components, the
supply package of
UNIFORM COOLING FOR HIGHEST MATERIAL QUALITY SMS included all
The highlight of the line is its high-performance annealing electrical and auto-
furnace from Drever International with integrated ultra-fast mation systems.
cooling system. To produce martensitic grades and ultra-
high-strength, multi-phase steel grades, a water spray
cooling system for particularly high cooling rates was inte-
grated in addition. Both cooling systems impress with their Contact
very uniform cooling effect that makes strip shape and sur- strip.processing@sms-group.com

91
STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

STEEL SHEETS FOR THE

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
M E X I CO . NUCOR - JFE STEEL MEXICO orders a hot-dip galvanizing
line and recoiling line from SMS group.

Starting in the second half of 2019, NUCOR - JFE MEXICO

will operate the new hot-dip galvanizing line from SMS group,
which is designed for a yearly production of 400,000 tons
of high-quality galvanized strips for the automotive industry.

SMS group was awarded the order to supply a continuous
hot-dip galvanizing line and a recoiling line for a new plant
in Mexico by NUCOR - JFE STEEL MEXICO. The hot-dip gal-
vanizing line will produce 400,000 tons of steel strips per
year, most notably deep-drawing grades and high-strength
steels for the automotive industry, including modern dual-
phase steels. Furthermore, the line is designed to process
not only cold strip but also hot strip material. Startup is
anticipated for the second half of 2019.
PRODUCTION FOR THE REGION‘S AUTOMOTIVE MARKET
NUCOR - JFE STEEL MEXICO is a 50:50 joint venture of
Nucor Corporation, U.S.A., and JFE Steel Corporation, Ja-
pan, which will build and operate the plant in central Mexico
to cater to the requirements of that region’s automotive
market. Besides the design and production of the mechan-
ical equipment, the complete electrical and automation
package is also within the supply scope of SMS group. The
hot-dip galvanizing line is designed for strips with a thick-

92
 STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECNOLOGY

ness of 0.4 to 2.6 millimeters and widths ranging from 800

to 1,880 millimeters. In the process section the strip will be
coated with zinc at a process speed of up to 180 meters per
minute, whereas in the entry and exit sections speeds of up
to 280 meters per minute can be reached. The strip steel
grades manufactured are mild steel, deep-drawing grades
and high tensile strength steel. The surfaces of the strips
will either be galvanized or galvannealed.
The annealing process will take place in
a Drever International furnace with highly
efficient combustion system permitting
high-strength material to be produced
economically.

MODERN AND EFFICIENT FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

One highlight is the advanced furnace technology from
Drever International which allows an economical produc-
tion of high-strength material. The highly efficient combus-
tion system features recuperative burners. Furthermore,
the furnace consists of a powerful rapid gas jet cooling sys-
tem, which offers upgrade possibilities. All furnace param-
eters and coil sequencing are controlled automatically by a
mathematical/physical furnace model.
The cleaning section consists of efficient vertical elec-
trolytic cleaning and rinsing cells and horizontal brushing
machines. The skin pass mill ensures an optimized surface
roughness and slight linear elongation. A vertical roll coat-
er system with drying and cooling devices from Drever will In the line, the strip surfaces will either
be used for the chemical treatment of the coated surfaces. be hot-dip galvanized or galvannealed
to provide permanent protection against
In total, the new hot-dip galvanizing line consists of the corrosion.
following essential components: entry section with two un-
coilers, welding machine, entry strip accumulator, cleaning
section, radiant tube furnace, galvanizing section with zinc
pot, intermediate accumulator, skin pass mill, vertical roll
coater system, exit accumulator, side trimmer, inspection
section, oiling machine, flying shear and two coilers.
The supply scope also includes a recoiling and inspec-
tion line. This line features pay-off reel, welding machine,
side trimmer, inspection station, oiling machine, cross-cut
shear and upcoiler. It is also designed for strips with a
thickness of 0.4 to 2.6 millimeters and widths ranging from
800 to 1,880 millimeters. The maximum line speed is 300
meters per minute.

The line is designed to process both cold

strip and hot strip material.

Contact
strip.processing@sms-group.com

93
STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

CHALLENGE MASTERED
FRAN C E . After successfully revamping its direct rolling, annealing and
pickling line, Aperam has increased capacity by 25 percent.

14
In 2015, Aperam Stainless, France, contracted Drever Inter-
national (a company of SMS group) located in Belgium to
revamp its direct rolling, annealing and pickling line in Is-
bergues, France. The goal was to increase the capacity by
as much as 25 percent. After the modernization, Aperam
expects to produce 350,000 tons per year of cold rolled, an-
nealed and pickled stainless austenitic and ferritic grades
(AISI 300 and 400 series) with this line. The material is used
for the automotive industry and many other industrial ap-
Only 14 working days were available to
plications.
replace the existing parts with the new
The modernization involved the replacement of the
equipment.
24-meter pre-heating section with a new pre-heating and
heating section, totaling 50 meters. The air and fumes cir-
cuit had to be upgraded. The cooling section had to be
boosted by the addition of a new, power-packed air-cooling
module, the revamp of another one, and the replacement of
an old mist-cooling box with a brand new and more power-
ful one.
openings in the roof. The size of the
HIGHLY CHALLENGING REVAMP openings and the manageable load of
This project was challenging due to several aspects. As for the equipment were two major limits,
all revamps, the allowed time for the site works was very since the crane couldn‘t lift heavier
short. The line was stopped on December 16, 2016, and than 22 tons at a 50-meter distance.
production had to restart on January 9, 2017. Which means Since the hall had no roof, there was
only 14 working days were available to take out the existing also a risk of prolonged line stoppage
parts and install the new equipment. The furnace and cool- due to rain, snow and wind. All these
ing section were installed on a steel platform, 18 meters conditions required a tightened agen-
above floor level, between an accumulator and the edge of da and a strong management of the
the platform. Aperam made as much room as possible, risks.
which still was quite little for such a revamp. Another diffi- In order to complete the erection in
culty was the configuration of the building. The furnace was the given time frame the design was
right under the sloping roof; thus there was no overhead modified and made more modular by
crane available. Therefore, almost all the equipment had to Drever International. Heating mod-
be brought by a crane, 50 meters from its base, through ules were pre-assembled and fully

94
equipped with platforms, burners,ducts,
pipes, and even electrical equipment.

PREPARATORY ACTIONS AND PRE-

ASSEMBLY
Aperam allowed Drever to use the line
stop in July 2016 to perform the up-
grade of the cooling section and air-
fumes circuit. Although it could have
been done in parallel with the rest, to
do this part in advance was helpful, as
it allowed Drever to reduce the num-
ber of simultaneous operations and
related risks. For the heating section,
as much as possible was erected be-
fore the line stop, especially a long,
concrete-insulated fumes duct. Dur-
ing the whole project, Drever made a
full assembly of all equipment wher-
ever possible, in a pre-erection work-
shop provided by Aperam. This helped
avoid inevitable troubles during the
commissioning period.
Such a difficult job could not have
been possible without reliable suppli-
ers. Particular care was given to the
selection of Drever’s partners and they
are part of this success. They provided
advice during the design phase, manu-
factured quality parts, and erected the
equipment properly, despite the inevi-
table obstacles. Last but not least, a
key factor to this success was Drever’s
team of supervisors, who didn‘t spare
themselves a minute during that tough
month.
Drever was able to overcome all
those difficulties and production re-
started on the due date. Moreover,
Aperam has reached the target pro-
duction already in January 2017, less
than 3 weeks after the production re-
started. Most importantly, no accident
was recorded.
Top: All equipment had to be brought in by a 700-ton crane through
openings in the roof of the building.
Middle: It had to be considered that the dimensions of all modules
Laurent Sturnuck were limited due to the limits of the crane and trucks.
laurent.sturnuck@drever.be Bottom: Pre-assembley helped avoid troubles during commissioning.

95
STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Andrey Zubitsky (Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SIJ Group), Milan Brglez (President of the National Assembly of the Republic of
­Slovenia), Anton Chernykh (President of the Board of Directors of SIJ Group) and Dr. Fritz Brühl (Executive Vice President Processing Lines
and Furnace Technology of SMS group) at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony during heat treatment line inauguration.

FESTIVE MOOD
IN JESENICE

S LOV E N I A . Heavy-plate heat treatment line with new MultiFlex-Quench®

inaugurated at SIJ Acroni.

On September 23, 2016, high-ranking guests from politics
and economy attended the inauguration ceremony of the
new heavy-plate heat treatment line at SIJ Acroni, a com-
pany of the SIJ Group, in Jesenice, Slovenia.
SIJ Acroni is a highly specialized producer of plates and
strips of customized metallurgical properties. Guest of hon-
or at the ceremony was Dr. Milan Brglez, President of the
National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, who empha-
sized the international character of SIJ Group. With an ex-
port share of 87 percent, the Group is one of the most inter-
nationally oriented companies in Slovenia, he said.
The new heavy-plate heat treatment line which was com-
pletely supplied by SMS group helps SIJ Acroni strengthen
its market position in the field of wear-resistant and high-
strength steel grades such as HSLA, tool and super-duplex
steels. The line has been designed for plates of thicknesses
between three and 100 millimeters, widths from 700 to 2,560
millimeters and lengths from four to 13 meters.
A special feature of the line is its innovative MultiFlex-
Quench®. Contrary to conventional quenches, this type
­offers variable setting options to achieve a broad product
portfolio.
Contact
furnace.technology@sms-group.com

96
The core components of the heat treatment
line are a shot blast descaler, a high-temper-
ature roller-hearth furnace and MultiFlex-
Quench® plus low-temperature roller-hearth
furnace and equipment for marking, sam-
pling and hardness measurement. The sup-
ply package furthermore included the com-
plete water management system and all
material handling facilities such as plate
feeder, piling equipment, roller tables, cen-
tering devices, cross-transports, crane sys-
tems, cooling beds and transport systems
for removal.

The supply package

of SMS group also
comprised an effi-
cient water manage-
ment system for wa-
ter cooling and
eco-friendly condi-
tioning. This means
the water can be re-
turned to the cooling
circuit and re-used
in the MultiFlex-
Quench®.

97
STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

In the second furnace chamber, the plates

are heated to a final temperature of up to
1,100 degrees Celsius. The burners and ra-
diant tubes there are provided with special
high-temperature ceramics. The homoge-
neously heated and still red-hot heavy plate
is then directly guided to the MultiFlex-
Quench® newly developed by SMS group.

The main advantage of the MultiFlex-

Quench® is its extraordinary flexibility. A
variable pressure range permits all cooling
patterns, from extreme slow cooling to
abrupt quenching, to be applied with the
temperatures for cooling stop being freely
selectable. Hydraulic plate clamping by the
roller guide ensures optimum plate flatness,
in particular when thin plates are processed.

98
 STRIP PROCESSING LINES / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

The high-temperature
furnace may be run at
maximum 1,100 de-
grees Celsius. Recu-
perator burners were
installed to ensure an
optimum of energy ef-
ficiency. The furnace
features a nitrogen-
based inert gas atmo-
sphere. It has two
chambers and is able
to heat two to four
plates at a time, de-
pending on the plate
length. The plates per-
form an oscillating
movement on the roll-
ers until they will have
reached their homoge-
neous target tempera-
ture.

Having passed the

MultiFlex-Quench®,
the plate may enter
different process
routes. It may be re-
moved by crane or
transferred to the low-
temperature roller-
hearth furnace by
means of a cross-
transport. A so-called
tempering furnace
serves to set the de-
sired final heavy-plate
material properties at
temperatures of up to
maximum 800 degrees
Celsius.

80,000
tons of heavy plate per year can be heat treated with the new
SIJ Acroni line.

99
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Installed MEERgauge® for the

contact free measurement of
the complete cross-section.

KEEPING AN EYE ON ALL

PARAMETERS
WO R LDW ID E . Contactless precision measurement
for optimal production processes.

Ever higher demands on the dimensional precision of rolled
material necessitate continuous monitoring of the rolling
process. The exact knowledge of the current quality level of
the product and rapid reactions to changing process pa-
rameters are necessary. Exploitation of tolerances, mini-
mum interruptions in production and low scrap rates guar-
antee economic success.
Every production line experiences minimal anomalies
that are caused by the ingoing material or minute damage
to the rolls or roller guides, among other things. All this
has an influence on the surface quality and productivity.
Producers are facing two challenges: firstly, the defects
on the hot surface need to be detected and located; sec-
ondly, the cause of the defects needs to be identified and
eliminated. Whether it´s tube, rail, bar, wire rod, beam,
channel or other section: SMS group teamed up with TBK
Automatisierung und Messtechnik GmbH (TBK) to offer the
right measuring system for all rolled metal products.
MEASURING SYSTEMS WITH LASER LIGHT SECTION SENSORS
The measuring system operates on the basis of the “laser
light section” technology using four, eight or more sensors

100

performing synchronous, contact-free
measurements over the entire cross-
section. The sensors developed by TBK
measure up to 5,000 contours per sec-
ond. Therefor special lasers project
lines onto the surface of the product.
The reflected laser light is captured by
cameras and converted into distance
values. Using the values recorded by
all sensors arranged around the prod-
uct, the systems can calculate the
precise cross-section of the product.
The high measurement density means
that a high-resolution, 3D model of the
product can be created from many 2D
cross-sections.
In order to capture complex con-
tours precisely and fully, too, TBK
sensors illuminate different contour
regions with various laser colors – an
essential basis for synchronous mea-
surement. In this way, overlapping ar-
eas can also be differentially mapped
and precise cross-section models
generated.
SYSTEMATIC QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
BASED ON MEASUREMENT DATA
Based on the high-precision cross-
section measurements, TBK systems
generate precise information that is
relevant for rolling process control and
upload it back into the production sys-
tem. Depending on the plant layout,
the models are displayed at the plant
operators’ workstations and/or are au-
tomatically analyzed by SMS group
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS
Part of a round bar
exhibiting a periodic
surface defect due
to a roll crack.
control systems with the aim of improving product quality
and efficiency.
TRUE SHAPE SIZE MEASUREMENT FOR TUBE, BAR AND
WIRE ROD
The MEERgauge® laser system for tube, bar and wire rod
uses four sensors and has a scanning rate of up to 5,000
scans per second. A true-shape cross-section is created
from up to 4,000 synchronous measuring points in a shared
coordinate system, and is then displayed with maximum
precision. Unlike in conventional systems, the true shape of
the contour can be represented precisely. Furthermore the
measuring systems allow for closed loop control between
the contour measurement and rolling mill control systems.
The computer-based interpretation on the measurement
results allows roll adjustment corrections to be made while
production is ongoing.
i ADVANTAGES
MEERgauge® benefits at a glance:
 igh measurement data density: up to 20 million measur-
H
ing points per second
 hort exposure time and absolute synchronization of the
S
measuring sensors
 easuring equipment in the immediate vicinity of the roll
M
stands
 irect transfer of measured values to the roll stand control
D
system (closed loop control)
Compatible with 2- and 3-roll systems
Time and cost benefits from direct production control
10 references worldwide
101
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

INLINE MEASUREMENTS OF RAILS AND SECTIONS

The PROGAUGE section measurement uses the laser-light
section method with up to eight sensors. The various qual-
ity requirements for the individual section types are ac-
counted for in special sets of key values, meaning the sys-
tem always calculates precisely the data that is relevant for
the desired product quality. With particularly large formats,
such as beams with web heights of over one meter, the
measurement windows must be correspondingly wide.
That is why top priority must be given to the alignment of
the sensors in relation to each other. If required, our ex-
perts can provide special frame designs to attain the nec-
essary size of the measurement window. Sensors with high Tear at web of an H-Beam detected by the surface extension of the
laser capacities of up to 500 mW are included in the tech- PROGAUGE system.
nology portfolio and have been applied many times. The
measurement window format and the accuracy require-
ments specified by the plant owner determine how many
sensors are used. This means even oversized sections can cross-section measurements, local, atypical anomalies on
be reliably measured. Accurate temperature stabilization of the surface can be detected. High measuring frequencies
the measuring frame is part of the system and ensures provide the required resolution: With up to 5,000 images
high precision measurements independent of ambient per second the system shows precise details of even slight
temperature variations. anomalies e.g. cracks on the surface.
Changeovers from one section type to the next are per- SurfTec can optionally be integrated in the MEERgauge®
formed fully automatically, without the operator interven- or PROGAUGE system and helps plant operators to do both;
tion. This results in significant time and cost benefits dur- it determines the precise position of the anomalies on the
ing production as well as increased plant availability. surface at the time of rolling, evaluates the data using spe-
cial algorithms and provides the plant owner with informa-
ONLINE SURFACE DEFECT DETECTION WITH SURFTEC tion on the cause by classifying the defects. The advantages
Based on the 3D models created from the high-resolution are twofold: producers can react quickly in the event of sur-
face defects and thus decrease the material scrap. At the
same time, they can improve the productive time of the en-

i ADVANTAGES
tire plant as they are able to identify the cause of the anom-
alies far more quickly.
As everybody knows, the steel industry is currently fac-
ing problems with overcapacities and this is going along
PROGAUGE benefits at a glance:
with a deterioration of steel prices. Especially in times like
Measurement of various contours
these it is important to optimize the efficiency of existing
Information about complex key performance values helps
plants at reasonable investment costs with short payback
operators make appropriate process-related decisions
periods. The above presented measuring systems MEER-
Stable and precise measurement results
Individual tolerance specifications taken into account
gauge® and PROGAUGE are only two of a whole bunch of
 oftware and measuring units are individually tailored to
S
performance modules developed by SMS group in order to
the production conditions make existing mills more efficient.
 rofiles can be changed without intervention in the mea-
P
suring unit; the software is switched over automatically
Time and cost benefits through optimization of production
Individually adapted laser power
20 references worldwide

Volker Bleischwitz
volker.bleischwitz@sms-group.com

102

New equipment for increased
rolling capacity
U. S . A . Steel Dynamics Roanoke orders new reheating furnace and finishing
equipment from SMS group.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, award-
ed SMS group the contract for an expansion of the merchant
bar mill at its Roanoke Bar Division, Virginia operation. The
upgrade is to integrate a new reheating furnace and a com-
pletely new finishing area into the facility. With this invest-
ment, one of the largest steel producers in the United States
strengthens its market position, enabling SDI Roanoke to
increase its rolled capacity from the current 500,000 tons to
over 600,000 tons per year.
The supply package is comprised of a pusher-type re-
heating furnace that is designed for high capacity to process
140 tons of billets per hour. These will be rolled into light
sections and reinforcing bars from sizes 12.7 to 35.8 milli-
meters, as well as corresponding round bars.
ENERGY-EFFICIENT OVERALL PACKAGE
The new reheating furnace aims not only to increase pro-
ductivity but also to significantly improve energy efficien-
cy, with the adoption of a smart combustion management
system. The heating process will be optimized by the
SMSPrometheus software and extra low NOx burners that
are digitally controlled to reduce emissions. The furnace
will be supplied complete with handling equipment to
charge and discharge billets. A key factor in the selection
of the full package from SMS group is the lean design,
which will allow a swift tie in with the existing mill ma-
chines in a one week shut down. The new finishing pack-
age, specially designed for rebar with diameters from 12.7
Pusher reheating furnace from SMS group.
mm to 35.8 mm, includes all equipment starting from the
outlet of the dividing shear up to the finishing area. It com-
prises bar layer transfer devices, bar counter, lance-type
bundler, electrical-type tying machines, bundle transfer
and temporary storage devices. The lance-type bundler
ensures high quality bundle formation. The bundle length
will vary from 20 to 60 feet and the weight can vary from 1
ton to 5 tons, maximizing the furnace capacity.
“One of the most important advantages of the SMS group
concept is a favorable design that utilizes current floor space
and minimizes construction and installation costs. Paired
with the short delivery time, we will reach our goals within
the shortest possible time.” says Tim Bradley, Project Man-
ager at SDI Roanoke. After its upgrade, the merchant bar
mill will increase production of rebar to over 200,000 tons per
year. Commissioning of the upgraded facility is scheduled for
the end of 2017.
Contact
barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com
103
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

PREMIERE FOR NEW

HEATING CONCEPT
GE RMA NY. Deutsche Edelstahlwerke grants SMS group FAC
for quenching line.

Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH (DEW) has issued the final
acceptance certificate to SMS group for the new quenching
line at its Witten (Germany) location. The new quenching
line, installed downstream an existing blooming mill, con-
sists of a walking-beam furnace and a cooling section. This
project is one of DEW’s most significant and biggest invest-
ments of the last few years. It is intended to further en-
hance the quality of the rolled products and to make pro-
duction more energy-efficient and climate-friendly. In
December 2016, after just slightly less than two years of
very close cooperation, DEW issued the FAC to SMS group.
The new quenching line, which is the first of its kind in
terms of layout, has been designed for round bars in diam-
eters ranging from 55 to 250 millimeters and lengths be-
tween four and 17 meters. Rolled grades include all stain-
less steels, for example bearing steel; rust, acid and
heat-resistant steels, and engineering and tool steels.
then. After the material has been reheated to a specified
temperature, it is delivered to a cooling section in which it is
cooled down uniformly and in a controlled manner to the de-
sired end temperature. Then it is discharged from the rolling
mill via the cooling bed.
Apart from machine equipment SMS group supplied the
process models CCT® (Controlled Cooling Technology) and
SMSPrometheus for offline predetermination and precal-
culation of the required process parameters. With this
­project SMS group has again proven its competence to suc-
cessfully implement the most challenging conversions and
modernizations in extremely restricted space during ongo-
ing production.

EFFICIENT HEAT TREATMENT

The new quenching line uses the available rolling heat to set
the desired material properties by a controlled bar quench-
ing process. For this purpose, the bars are directly charged
into the reheating furnace via a roller table. The furnace Contact
equalizes the heat losses that the material has suffered by sectionandbilletmills@sms-group.com

104
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

New heating concept

to make production
more energy-effi-
cient and climate-
friendly.

Deutsche Edelstahl-
werke has integrated
a new heat treat-
ment line and
quenching section
into the existing roll-
ing mill.

105
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
For a 16-inch ERW line supplied to Harrow,
Canada in 2000 two newly developed inside
scarfers were delivered.
Expansion and quality improvement of
product range
NORT H A ME R ICA . Zekelman Industries places orders with SMS group for
modernization of ERW tube lines.
Atlas Tube, a company of Zekelman Industries, reiterates
its trust in tube welding technology from SMS group. Over
the past two years, the company has placed several orders
with SMS group aimed at expanding and enhancing the
product spectrum of the 8 5/8-inch and 16-inch lines in-
stalled in Harrow, Canada, and the 16-inch line installed in
Blytheville, U.S.A.
SMS group has now received several follow-up orders
for the 16-inch tube welding line which was moved to Bly-
theville, Arkansas, in 2006 and which SMS had already ex-
tensively modernized and extended as part of that reloca-
tion. The line is now going to be equipped with a completely
new sizing section to expand the product spectrum and
improve productivity. The use of URD® (Uniform Rigidity De-
sign) stands in the sizing section will significantly shorten
the size changing times in future.
Once the upgrading measures have been completed, the
line will be able to roll structurals (round tubes with outside
diameters up to 18 inches) as well as square and rectangu-
lar hollow sections. Hollow section sizes will range from 14
inches x 14 inches square to up to 18 inches x 10 inches
rectangular. The maximum wall thickness will be 17.3 mil-
limeters. In order to optimize the cross-welding process,
the welding equipment on the cross-welder will be replaced
with the PERFECTarc® system developed and patented by
SMS group. No transformers will be required here, the sys-
tems will be operated using IGBT (Insulated-Gate Bipolar
Transistor) power electronics, with the welding current
completely digitally controlled. As a result, the welding ma-
106
chines can attain an efficiency rate of over 90 percent.
Compared to older welding techniques, energy savings are
up to 30 percent, depending on the operating point. This will
further improve process stability, particularly with heavy
walls, and contribute to the increase in productivity.
PRODUCT EXPANSIONS FOR LINES IN CANADA
The installation of an additional pinch roll/breakdown stand
in the 8 5/8-inch ERW line in Harrow, Canada, will allow
higher grades and greater wall thicknesses to be produced
in the future. Furthermore, the additional stand will enable
the existing product portfolio to be expanded.
Two newly developed inside scarfers have been supplied
for the 16-inch line installed by SMS group in Harrow in
2000. These scarfers are a further optimization based on
Zekelman Industries’ and SMS group’s experience of the
original scarfers of proven SMS design. The inside scarfers,
which are equipment crucial to the quality of the tubes, are
now designed for the extended wall thickness range of up
to 17.3 millimeters. The new scarfers are already in opera-
tion and have been performing very successfully. With these
modernization measures, Zekelman Industries is strength-
ening its leading position in the production of structurals in
the North American market.
Contact
weldedtubeplants@sms-group.com
 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS

UPGRADE IN A VERY
SHORT TIME
ITA LY. Arvedi Tubi Acciaio commissions upgraded
tube welding line from SMS group.

At its location in Cremona, Italy, Arvedi Tubi Acciaio has suc-
cessfully taken into operation a high-frequency tube welding
line (ERW) upgraded by SMS group. The line can now handle
tubes of up to 14 inches in diameter. To be able to use wider
strip coils, improve the rolling conditions and secure com-
petitiveness in the long term, Arvedi had commissioned SMS
group to upgrade its existing 12 ¾-inch tube welding line to a
welding line for up to 14-inch tubes. The upgrade also in-
cluded the exchange of the cutting device in the profile tube
cutting line complete with the associated controls. After only
four weeks of rebuilding, the upgraded tube welding line was
handed over to the customer on time, ready for operation.
upgrade, Arvedi is placing the focus of production on high-
grade and specialist products, mainly for use in the auto-
motive, petrochemical, thermal and construction industries
as well as in mechanical engineering.
“As we are very satisfied with the tube welding plants
SMS group has supplied to us in the past, we decided to
also have this recent upgrade done by SMS,“ says Mario
Caldonazzo, CEO of Arvedi Tubi Acciaio. “Thanks to this up-
grade, plant availability has become even better allowing us
to respond to specific requests of our customers even more
quickly and flexibly.”

EXTENDED DIMENSION RANGE

The upgraded equipment allows Arvedi Tubi Acciaio to ex-
pand its portfolio in terms of product types and dimensions.
It will not only be possible to have a greater outside tube
diameter of up to 14 inches, but to also produce square
tubes of up to 300 x 300 millimeters and rectangular tubes
Contact
of up to 400 x 200 millimeters. With this tube welding plant weldedtubeplants@sms-group.com

Arvedi Tubi Acciaio

commissions the up-
graded tube welding
line which is now ca-
pable of handling an
expanded product
portfolio.

107
 EXCLUSIVE
KEY TECHNOLOGY
WORLDW ID E . Manufacturing patented PQSC® tool technology
in SMS group workshop.

108
 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS

Tools for the hot forming of steel are

exposed to high thermal and me-
chanical stresses. The service life of
such tools is therefore often very lim-
ited. This results in high tool costs
and an impairment of production due
to stoppages for tool changes or pro-
duction faults caused by damage to
the formed material.
A particularly critical application is
the piercing of steel billets heated to
approx. 1,200 °C by cross-rolling dur-
ing the production of seamless steel
tubes.

A NEW PATENTED TOOL TECHNOLOGY

In recent years, SMS group has devel-
oped a technology for the production of
hot forming tools subject to high loads
under the name PQSC® (Premium
Quality Surface Coating). Owing to the
good thermal and mechanical proper-
ties of the PQSC® tools, plant opera-
tors can roll higher alloyed material
grades, minimize production faults
and boost the productivity of their
plants. The PQSC® piercer plugs are
PQSC® piercer plugs. characterized in particular by their
long tool lives. 10 to 30 times longer
tool lives are achieved with PQSC®
piercer plugs compared with standard
piercer plugs, depending on the mate-
rial grade. The PQSC® process patent-
ed by SMS group allows an exclusive
marketing of this key technology.

ULTRA-MODERN PRODUCTION
In order to meet growing customer de-
mands, SMS group recently set up an
ultramodern production facility con-
sisting of starting material store, me-
chanical manufacturing shop and in-
stallations for the production of

109
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

“Multi-channel approach may be the trend in many sectors – but for us it often
makes business more difficult. The new order platform for PQSC® plugs now
allows us and our customers an easy access to all the important information.”

Volker Bleischwitz, Head of Performance Modules, Long Products, SMS group

PQSC® coatings. Hot forming tools up to a diameter of

i ADVANTAGE
The SMS order platform
Real-time status information
 lexible adaptation of order pro-
F in future.
cesses
 ully automated, digital exchange
F PQSC® MEETS E-COMMERCE WITH SMS DIGITAL
of information
 xcellent service from SMS group
E
with reduced internal processing
costs
900 millimeters and a length of 2,000 millimeters can be
made in the workshop. The throughput of the production
facilities is currently 10 tons per day.
In the meantime, SMS group is able to supply tube man-
ufacturers worldwide with the PQSC® tools. With the new
order platform, the ordering process will also be optimized
Until today, order handling in the steel industry is charac-
terized by complex and laborious, time-consuming pro-
cesses; in short, it is inefficient. For customers a large
number of communication channels are available, howev-
er, they are not interlinked. Up to now, orders are received
by phone, fax or email. Therefore, transparency and clarity
often fall by the wayside. This can lead to two scenarios:
either bottlenecks occur because new parts are ordered
too late or not at all, or excessive stocks result in a signifi-
cant tie-up of capital and high process costs. With the new
digital order platform, SMS group and SMS digital have set
themselves the goal of eliminating this inefficiency and of
creating greater transparency and clarity in providing infor-
mation and in order handling.

110
 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS

For a clearer overview, the current status

of the order is broken down into Order
Received, Order Confirmed, Produc-
tion Started, Ready for Shipment and En
Route. Furthermore, the overview shows
whether the planned timetable for the
order is being met.

The central element of this solution is
a transparent order platform, via which
the status of every order can be checked
around the clock and from anywhere in
the world. In addition, a comment func-
tion ensures simple communication
without any misunderstandings by al-
lowing notes to be entered by custom-
ers and SMS staff, referenced to the
respective purchase orders. As a re-
sult, every customer can check his or-
der overview containing among others
the status of the respective order us-
ing search and sort functions.
A detail view of the different orders
provides product details, the transport
weight and further transport infor-
mation. The possibility of additional
order-based communication creates
greater transparency, simpler tracing
of modification wishes as well as the
possibility of splitting an order if differ-
ent delivery dates are required for par-
tial deliveries.
Marketing our ultramodern PQSC® piercer plugs is the pilot
project for the SMS order platform, which has been devel-
oped as MVP (Minimum Viable Product). The customer-
oriented approach enables iterative customization and fur-
ther development of the platform on the basis of customer
feedback. In this case, feedback of different users was re-
peatedly collected by means of simple illustrations (mock-
ups). Through this iterative process the final product is pre-
cisely adapted to customer requirements and a common
solution is then developed. In the next step, other product
categories and performance characteristics are to be
supplemented.
Volker Bleischwitz
volker.bleischwitz@sms-group.com
Tommy Goslicki
tg@sms-digital.com

111
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Top: The walking beam furnace for PT. Gunung Raja Paksi, which will be similar to the one shown here, will be equipped with SMSPrometheus
software to achieve excellent heat efficiency.
Below: PT. Gunung Raja Paksi’s rolling mill, similar to the type shown here, will be designed for an annual production of 500,000 tons.

112
 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS / FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

UNDERSTANDING MARKET
REQUIREMENTS
IN D O N E S IA . PT.Gunung Raja Paksi orders a
light section mill from SMS group.

PT. Gunung Raja Paksi, based in Cikarang City, Indonesia, HL mill stands and a finishing mill
has awarded SMS group the order to supply a continuous
light section mill. The new mill will be installed at the new
industrial site of PT. Gunung Raja Paksi close to their exist-
consisting of four HL mill stands each
equipped with multi-groove rolls. Be-
tween the stands of the intermediate
i
ing facilities, with production scheduled to commence in and finishing mill vertical loop lifters
SMSPrometheus
2018. will be arranged allowing tension-free
With this mill PT. Gunung Raja Paksi will be able to ex- rolling to closest tolerances. The inter- This system provides
pand its product portfolio and meet the increased demand mediate and finishing mill will be de- for targeted improve-
for structural sections in Indonesia. signed for flexible operation in hori- ment of the metal-
zontal/vertical, horizontal only or lurgical properties,
EFFICIENT AND ECO-FRIENDLY universal arrangement. for example, by im-
SMS group is supplying a reheating furnace with a capacity Starting materials will be 150 and 200 proving temperature
of 100 tons per hour, a one-strand rolling mill equipped millimeter square billets with a length homogeinity and
with 15 housingless (HL) stands in horizontal, vertical, con- of 12 meters and 300 x 250 millimeter minimizing negative
vertible and universal arrangement, a cooling bed, straight- beam blanks, heated in a walking effects such as de-
ening machine, cold saws, magnetic stacker and tying ma- beam type reheating furnace. carburization and
chines. The mill will be designed to pro- heavy scale forma-
The furnace will be a walking beam type, designed to duce 500,000 tons per year of a wide tion.
achieve excellent heat efficiency and enhanced process range of products, such as equal and
control by means of the renowned SMSPrometheus soft- unequal angles, channels, H-beams,
ware. Low-NOx burners ensure a substantial reduction of squares and hexagonal bars for the
pollutants released to the atmosphere, markedly contribut- Indonesian market.
ing to the plant’s objective of becoming a local benchmark
for environmental awareness.
The rolling mill will include a roughing mill consisting of Contact
six HL mill stands, an intermediate mill consisting of five barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com

113
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

VCC® - most advanced technology

for compact, torsion-free coils.

PERFECTLY COILED –
COMPACT TORSION-FREE COILS
WO RL DW I D E . VCC® enables producers to prepare long products ready for sale
in a quick and simple manner.

SMS group has updated its vertical compact coiler (VCC®)
to meet the needs of today’s customers. By producing com-
pact and torsion-free coils, this state-of-the-art concept
can operate with all the best elements of modern mechan-
ical engineering for rolling mill applications: industrial de-
sign standards, including heavy duty service factors, focus
on maintenance minimization, easy erection and start-up,
effective safety features and a design that perfectly suits
the overall production process.
ADVANTAGES OF SMS PROCESS
The VCC® features spooling technology developed by SMS
group for producing compact coils consisting of rebars,
rounds, squares and hexagons. The geometry assures

114
 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS

smooth de-coiling during the downstream process. SMS

Technical Data
group’s VCC® produces coils with weights up to 5,000 kilo-
grams. The higher weight significantly contributes to a re- Products: Rebar 6.3-25 mm (up to 40 mm)
duction in times for downstream coil changing and to sig- Rounds 8-25 mm
nificant yield enhancements through minimized material Hexagons, squares and flats also possible
losses. In addition to that, the vertical spooling solution, Max. speed: 40 m/s
compared to the horizontals, prompts other positive ef- Coil weight: 1 to 5 tons
fects: the equipment is simpler and can be easily installed; Coil size: Inner diameter: 700 / 850 / 900 mm
the required civil works as well as maintenance operations
Height: 700/800 or 900 mm
are minimized.
Outer diameter: 900-1,500 mm
These coils have preselected dimensions that, due to
Coil temperature
VCC®, remain consistent for all products processed on the
range: 450 °C - 900 °C
same line. At the same time the compact coil size is ideal
for storage, transport and handling. This is particularly
beneficial when coils are reworked next to construction the coils have cooled down. Reduced handling also mini-
sites, where there is a build-up of rebar stirrups and other mizes the overall risk of damaging the coil surface.
concrete reinforcing structures, especially in metropolitan
areas with space constraints. The hot rolled condition of the
compact coils allows for direct cold working with high duc-
tility during the elastic deformation process, as well as for
low energy demand for final forming.
Out of all its features, the one that stands out is the
method of winding the bar directly into a vertical position.
Just by this aspect any plant operator can eradicate the
need for transferring from different angles, all while reduc-
ing the cycle time and compacting the coil, as all of them
are formed in the final stage. The product is in line to be Contact
stored immediately once coiling has been completed and barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com

IMPLEMENTATION AROUND THE WORLD

Slovakia Steel Mills A.S.

Stefana S.p.A. ArcelorMittal Zenica Rizhao Iron & Steel Co.
Acciaierie di Sicilia S.p.A.
Daehan Steel Co., Ltd.

Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp.

The VCC® plant is currently regarded

as the most modern hot coiling pro-
cess. The VCC® technology is also
highly suitable for integration into old-
Gerdau Aços Longos S.A.
er plants with wire rod blocks or cool-
ing beds in order to permit production
of compact and stable coils.

115
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS

New spooler line saves

time and costs
B OSNI A -HERZEGOVI NA . The most recent installation
of a VCC® was in Bosnia-Herzegovina for ArcelorMittal
Zenica. The line has been designed for producing compact
coils at a maximum hourly rate of 60 tons with state-of-the-
art hot spooling technology. Nowadays the cold processing
market requires stable, compact and easy to process coils.
Many conventional plants with wire rod blocks and laying
heads are more often required to recoil their hot rolled coils
into spools. With the new VCC® line, ArcelorMittal Zenica
can produce ‘as-recoiled’ compact coils directly in line with
a consequent saving of manpower and time and with a fully
automatic process that minimizes human supervisory work
during production.
The mechanical properties of the bars are carefully con-
trolled by a set of soft cooling boxes that not only permits a
fine tuning of mechanical properties along the bar length,

The world’s first VCC® but also an immediate switch from the straight bar line to
the coil line. Due to this system, the set-up of each product
rolling mill for compact has been fast and smooth.
In addition to that, the vertical spooling solution, com-
coils pared to the horizontals, prompts other positive effects: the
equipment is simpler and can be easily installed; the re-
S OU T H KO R E A. Daehan Steel Co., South Korea, quired civil works and maintenance operations are
had placed an order with SMS group in 2010 for the minimized.“We are proud to have started the operations of
supply of a complete VCC® (vertical compact coiler) this new line in Zenica bar mill plant”, stated Mustafa Ima-
rolling mill for compact coils. The mill with an an- movic, Director of Project and Environment department at
nual capacity of 450,000 tons is the world’s first ArcelorMittal Zenica.“This is an important investment that
rolling mill that concentrates exclusively on the will give us the opportunity to be more competitive on all
production of compact coils. the European market.”
Now, six years later SMS group revamped the
existing line in only five weeks. The shear, part of
the VCC® line was originally designed for tail scrap-
ping at the maximum speed of 15 meters per sec-
ond. Due to a newly developed high speed deviator
and upgrade of the automation system, it was pos-
sible to implement the tail and nose cutting se-
quence up to the speed of 35 meters per second
without any major modification to the nearby
equipment. Furthermore the modernization in-
creases the throughput up to 70 tons per hour. The
new deviator, tailor-made designed and delivered
in just 5 weeks from the purchase order, was in-
stalled and commissioned in just 3 days. The plug
& work solution, the reduced investment and the
short delivery time were the keys to the implemen-
tation of this project.

116
 LONG PRODUCT PLANTS

POWERFUL CENTERPIECE
FOR ENHANCED QUALITY
G E R MA NY. New wire rod outlet at Saarstahl
successfully installed.

Saarstahl AG, Germany, has successfully rolled the first bar

on the single-strand wire rod mill supplied by SMS group at
its Neunkirchen Works. After the new loop cooling section
had been commissioned on schedule at the beginning of
2016 as part of the first construction phase, the second
phase of construction has now also been successfully com-
pleted so that dimensions from 14 to 27 millimeters in diam-
eter can now be finish-rolled on a MEERdrive®PLUS block. On
the second day, 16-millimeters-diameter wire rod was al-
ready being rolled with a tolerance of ± 0.05 millimeters. The
first defined objective of the new wire rod outlet, namely
closer tolerances for the wire rod dimensions, was thus
achieved.

SUCCESSFUL MODERNIZATION STEP

This second construction phase represented the most ex-
tensive modernization step. The heart of the installation is
a four-stand MEERdrive®PLUS block with quick-change faci-
lity that rolls finished dimensions from 5.5 to 27 millimeters Dimensions in the diameter range from 14 to 27 millimeters can now
in diameter. Together with new movable cooling sections, a be finish-rolled on a MEERdrive®PLUS block.

high-speed shear upline of the MEERdrive®PLUS block and

two movable loop laying heads, Saarstahl can now react
faster and more flexibly to the demands of its customers.
The new loop cooling conveyor with 3-fan technology and
the cooling and equalizing sections now allow the mechani-
cal properties to be influenced online, with a resulting im-
provement in the quality of the finished material.
Revamping of the wire rod mill will be completed in the
third construction phase with the repositioning of the exist-
ing ten-stand finishing block with upline shear during the
course of 2017. All dimensions above
5.5 millimeters in diameter can then be
finish-rolled on the MEERdrive®PLUS
block.
Contact
barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com

117
LONG PRODUCT PLANTS
Expanded quickly and safely
G E RM ANY.Saarstahl issues final acceptance to SMS group for upgraded
high-capacity wire rod mill in Burbach.
Saarstahl AG has granted acceptance to SMS group for the
expansion of the high-capacity wire rod mill at the Burbach
location. To employ larger initial pass sections (180 x 180
millimeters), improve the rolling conditions and secure com-
petitiveness in the long term, Saarstahl commissioned SMS
group to expand the single-strand roughing mill of its four-
strand wire rod mill at the Burbach plant. Besides the expan-
sion of the four-stand roughing mill by two additional stands,
this modernization measure included a shear, a four-strand
switch and a four-strand pinch roll unit. After the expand-ed
wire rod mill was handed over to the customer on time and
ready for production the production tests took place. Hence,
the modernization project could be successfully completed
about two months before the deadline.
LARGER CROSS-SECTIONS WITHOUT RECONSTRUCTION
­MEASURES
With the expansion of the single-strand roughing mill initial
pass sections can now be employed without any recon-
struction measures. The final cross section of the roughing
118
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
train is equal for all initial pass sec-
tions and will now be distributed onto
the four strands of the wire rod mill by
means of the new switch.
Saarstahl AG is one of the world’s
leading producers of quality steel for
rolled and forged finished products
with German locations in Völklingen,
Burbach and Neunkirchen. One of the
most important production facilities is
the four-strand high-performance
wire rod mill in Burbach which had
been taken into operation by SMS
group in 1973 for the first time and
now has repeatedly been expanded by
SMS group.
Contact
barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com
The upgraded wire
rod mill could be
handed over to
Saarstahl already
two months earlier.
The bar mill has an
annual capacity of
1,000,000 tons.

THANKS TO FREE-SIZE
ROLLING ALWAYS IN TOUCH
WITH LATEST TRENDS
C HI N A . Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel has placed an order with the SMS
group for the modernization of bar mill No.1.

The Chinese company Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel
Works Co., Ltd from Jiangyin (Jiangsu Province in China)
has placed an order with the SMS group for the moderniza-
tion of its special bar quality (SBQ) mill “Bar Mill No. 1”.
The bar mill that has an annual capacity of 1,000,000 tons
will thereby be expanded to include a 3-roll precision sizing
mill (PSM®) of Type 450/4. The high-performance bar mill
with its capacity of over 330 tons per hour will then be able
to achieve closer rolling tolerances than is the case today.
Owing to the possibility of free-size rolling, all diameters in
the range from 40 to 130 millimeters can be very flexibly
rolled from a small number of feed cross-sections. The hy-
draulic adjustment of the rolls that permits roll gap control
under load allows dimensional deviations caused by varia-
tions in temperature or ingoing thickness to be equalized. A
complete workshop for roll changing and adjustment in the
cassettes, including an optical setting
gauge, also forms part of the SMS
group scope of supply.
WORKSHOP FOR ROLL CHANGES
Xingcheng Special Steel is one of the
largest roller bearing steel producers
in the world, but also produces a wide
range of other quality steels. Around
6.9 million tons of steel is produced
per year at the sites in Jiangyin and
Wuxi.
Contact
barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com

119
FORGING TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Special steels expand

product range
C HI N A . Qingdao Iron and Steel awards FAC to SMS group for SBQ mill.

The Chinese company Qingdao Iron and Steel from Qingd-
ao, Shandong Province, has awarded SMS group the FAC
for the supplied SBQ (Special Bar Quality) mill. After a short
ramp-up phase, the new special mill is now producing a
wide range of steel grades with very good mechanical prop-
erties and optimized microstructure with tolerances of bet-
ter than 1/6 DIN. The mill is designed for an annual capac-
ity of around 700,000 tons of bar steel.
CORE EQUIPMENT ENABLES RELIABLE OPERATION
The close tolerances are achieved by the 3-roll “PSM®
380/5” (Precision Sizing Mill) sizing block in conjunction
with a MEERgauge® cross-section measuring system and
monitor control technology. Practically any desired finished
sizes in diameters between 16 and 100 millimeters can be
rolled.
A large number of different cooling strategies were consid-
ered during the design of the mill in order to achieve the
very good mechanical properties and the optimized micro-
structure. These strategies are based on eight movable wa-
ter boxes and long equalizing sections. Together with the
CCT® program (Controlled Cooling Technology), optimum
temperature control in the rolling mill is ensured during
production for every dimension and every steel grade. With
the installation of the SBQ mill, the Qingdao Iron and Steel
Group has strengthened its position on the market and ex-
tended its product portfolio by now being able to also roll
high-grade special steels.
Contact
barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com

Thanks to the roll

gap adjustment un-
der load, PSM® en-
ables uniform sizing
in the roughing and
intermediate line as
well as the infinitely
variable production
of all finished sizes.

120
 FORGING TECHNOLOGY

From left to right:

Thomas Brockmann
(Head of Technology
apt Hiller GmbH),
Hans-Uwe Rode
(SMS group), Thomas
Boddenberg (Manag-
ing Director apt Hiller
GmbH), Frans
Kurvers (Managing
Partner apt Group),
Toni Herrmann (SMS
group).

AUTOMATIC START-STOP
SAVES ENERGY
GE RM ANY. apt Hiller places order with SMS group for a 27-MN front-loading
press with intelligent ecoDraulic system.

apt Hiller GmbH headquartered in Monheim, Germany, has
meanwhile ordered the fourth front-loading extrusion press
from SMS group. The new extrusion press operates with an
extrusion force of 27 MN (2,700 tons) in front-loading de-
sign, thus enabling high productivity and product quality. At
the Monheim location, it replaces an older 20/22-MN extru-
sion press of apt Hiller GmbH. At the same time, a new
highly effective billet heating furnace will be installed and
part of the runout equipment will be newly built.
USE OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMPONENTS
Moreover, the new press is equipped with an “ecoDraulic“
system, an intelligent automatic start-stop system which is
able to deactivate unused pumps. By installing a particu-
larly fast hydraulic system shortest idle times can be
achieved. Compared to conventional presses, the employ-
ment of these energy-efficient components and systems
enables energy savings of 25 percent. Hence, the new press
at apt Hiller meets the criteria of the distinctive ecoplants
mark for especially energy efficient machines of SMS
group.
“apt Group stands for reliable top quality. In accordance
with our slogan “Essential Parts - Essential Partners“, we
are pleased to have SMS group as such a reliable partner at
our side and we are sure that the forth front-loading press
will also meet our expectations as regards quality and reli-
ability,“ said Thomas Boddenberg, Managing Director apt
Hiller GmbH.
On the 27-MN extrusion press line, apt will be producing
high-end aluminum profiles primarily applied in the con-
struction and construction product sectors. The new line
will go into operation in the first quarter of 2018.
www.sms-group.com/plants/process/
forging-pressing-processes/

121
FORGING TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

Strengthening the product range

CH I N A . Western Superconducting orders open-die forging press for processing

high-grade superconducting materials.

Western Superconducting Technologies, Co. Ltd. (WST) in

Xian, Shaanxi Province, China, has placed an order with the
SMS group for the supply of a high-speed 63/80-MN two-
column push-down open-die forging press with two inte-
grated 25-tons rail-bound manipulators and an 8-tons mo-
bile loading and unloading manipulator. The machine
operates with a press force of up to 63 MN and a maximum
upsetting force of 80 MN. Commissioning is scheduled for
the end of 2017.
In future, high-quality semi-finished products for various
industrial applications such as high-grade superconduct-
ing materials, e.g. titanium alloys for superconducting
magnets for use in the aerospace industry, will be pro-
cessed on this open-die forging press.

QUICK AND PRECISE HANDLING

In addition to the open-die forging press, SMS group also
supplies two rail-bound manipulators that are synchro-
nized with the forging press to guarantee fast and precise
handling of the forgings. The systems supplied by the SMS
group will thus enable the very high stroke rates demanded
by WST to be reliably achieved. An 8-tons mobile manipula-
tor will perform the loading and unloading of the press, so
completing the logistical demands on the plant.
With this modern forging plant, the titanium producer
will be able to expand the existing product range and fur-
ther strengthen its key position on the international titani-
um market. Western Superconducting forms part of the
NIN COMPANY, which is part of the State Nuclear Power
Technology Corporation / China (SNPTC).
In total, the SMS group has already sold more than 450
forging presses worldwide and is thus one of the world
leaders in this sector.

www.sms-group.com/plants/all-plants/
open-die-forging Comparable two-column pull-down open-die forging press during
loading with a mobile manipulator.
122
 FORGING TECHNOLOGY

Beneficial for quality and the environment

I N D I A . RYKER INDIA orders CONTIROD® copper wire rod casting and
rolling line from the SMS group.

RYKER BASE PRIVATE LIMITED, a joint venture of Polycab

and Trafigura, India, has placed an order with SMS group
for the supply of a CONTIROD® CR-3500 line. The line for
the casting and rolling of wire rod in a single process will
have a production capacity of 35 tons of cast and rolled cop-
per wire rod per hour. Commissioning of the CONTIROD®
line at the JV’s new plant in the Indian state of Gujarat is
scheduled for the first quarter of 2018. On the CONTIROD®
CR-3500, RYKER will produce predominantly ETP copper
wire rod (Electrolytic Tough Pitch) as starting material for
its own cable production.

NEW PLANT ENSURING CONSTANT HIGH QUALITY
The in-house production of eight millimeters drawing stock
on the new CONTIROD® line from SMS group will enable
RYKER to supply a consistently high product quality for the
existing ultra-modern wire drawing plant. RYKER will thus
be able to achieve a high product quality over the whole pro-
cess chain. Thanks to the use of modern, energy-efficient
installations (such as lambda control on the shaft furnace,
AC motors, deoxidization and cooling section with separate
media circuits) and high performance, the new CONTIROD®
CR-3500 from SMS group will establish the preconditions
for achieving the aspired goals.
The scope of supply includes a shaft melting furnace, a
twin-belt caster, a 12-stand rolling mill with separate indi-
vidual drives, a deoxidization and cooling section, a wire
coiling station, a strapping unit and a film packing station.
The shaft melting furnace employs the SMS group’s proven
From left: Matthias Bollmann, SMS group, Rishikesh Rajurkar,
­Polycab, Sandeep Bhargava, Polycab, Thomas Schatz, SMS group,
and Anuj Bareja, Trafigura, after signing the contract.
LEADING TECHNOLOGY
The casting and rolling technology employed establishes
very good preconditions required for the downline drawing
process – particularly for the production of enameled wire
and multi-fine wire in an environment with constantly grow-
ing demands on drawing speed and technological proper-
ties. In the cooling section, the oxide layer on the surface of
the wire is first reduced by a chemical reaction with a wa-
ter/alcohol solution before it is cooled to the desired target
temperature in a second step using water without the addi-
tion of alcohol. The separation of the two process steps al-
lows for a significant reduction in alcohol consumption.
*
CONTIROD® is a registered trademark of Aurubis Belgium.

lambda control system in combination with the further de-

veloped charging and distribution system for cathodes and
recycled scrap. This technology minimizes natural gas con-
sumption and increases product quality.
The twin-belt caster produces a rectangular cast ingot with
6,300 mm² cross-sectional area in a practically horizontal
casting process. This is an important precondition for a high
and consistent quality of the finished products, in particular
with the demanded large dimensions. The homogeneous
cast ingot is formed into the required wire rod dimensions in Thomas Schatz
the twelve individually driven stands of the rolling mill. thomas.schatz@sms-group.com

123
FORGING TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

WORLD RECORD IN
RING ROLLING
C HI N A . Shandong Iraeta Heavy Industry will soon be able to produce
seamlessly rolled rings up to a diameter of 16 metres.

SMS group is entering entirely new dimensions with a newly
developed ring rolling machine: The “RAW 2500/1250-
16000/3000” allows rings with a diameter of 16 metres to be
seamlessly rolled for the first time. The maximum rollable
ring height is 3 meters. The new machine was developed for
Shandong Iraeta Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (SIHI) that, from the
end of the 2017, will be the only company worldwide to be
able to roll seamless rings of this size. The rings produced
on the machine will be used e.g. for tower flanges of wind
turbines and will be capable of withstanding extreme loads.
The machine has specially been designed with additional
features for these products. Another application of the rol-
lable rings will be large shells such as those required in the
construction of large pressure vessels (e.g. for nuclear
power reactors).
INCREASED CAPACITY OF RINGS
During radial-axial ring rolling, the cross-section of a ring
blank is reduced in a combined forming process in which
wall thickness and height are reduced. As a result, the ring
diameter increases due to the constant volume of the work-
piece. With the new machine for its works in Zhangqiu

Successful partner-
ship: Ulrich Vohs-
kämper (SMS group)
and Niu Yugang
(SIHI) (from left to
right).

124
 FORGING TECHNOLOGY

New ring rolling machine for the world´s largest rolled rings will be supplied to Shandong Iraeta Heavy Industry.

»The development was a great technical challenge. The experiences gained will
help us to significantly increase the capacities.«

Robert Düser from Forging Technology Division of SMS group.

16
(Shandong Province, Eastern China), SIHI is increasing the ­ evelopment was a great technologi-
d
production capacities for rings that are made from blanks cal challenge. The experience that we
with a weight of up to 200 tons. The ring rolling machine will have gained here will help us to
be equipped with the latest sensor technology and a state- ­considerably expand the capacities
of-the-art machine controller. The power supply to the ma- of our ring rolling machines, opening
chine is constantly adapted by the controller to the energy up completely new markets for our
required for the forming process. The systems ensure that customers.”
the capacities of the machine are ideally exploited, but at meters is the diam-
the same time protect them from overload. eter of rings seam-
lessly rolled with the
“With the maximum ring diameter of 16 meters, this
RAW 2500/1250-
new development from the SMS group opens up opportuni-
16000/3000 ring
ties for us to serve the market with new ring dimensions, rolling machine.
and hence to expand our product portfolio,” says Niu
­Yugang, President of SIHI. “We are pleased to have SMS
group as our partner who has the necessary competence
for such a technical challenge as well as masters the ma-
chine technology and the processes.” Equally pleased is
Robert Düser from the SMS group’s Forging Plants/ Robert Düser
Ring and Wheel ­Rolling Business Area who adds: “The robert.dueser@sms-group.com

125
FORGING TECHNOLOGY SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
Automatically, practically, good
U N I T E D A R A B E MIR AT E S . Emirates Global Aluminium commissions
Hertwich with the supply of batch homogenizing plant.
Emirates Global Aluminium is the largest industrial com-
pany in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas
sector. Its production makes the UAE the world’s fourth
largest aluminium producing nation. EGA has smelters in
both Jebel Ali in Dubai and Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi.
LONGSTANDING COOPERATION
The cooperation between EGA in Jebel Ali and Hertwich
dates back to 1994, when the first continuous homogeniz-
ing plant was commissioned at EGA. In 2010, EGA was
also the first company to place its trust in the newly devel-
oped Hertwich batch-furnace concept. Due to the positive
experience gained, EGA is subsequently replacing all its
older batch furnaces in Jebel Ali with modern units from
Hertwich. The fourth unit started operation in the autumn
of 2015; the batch furnace currently on order will be the
fifth of its type at this aluminium plant.
The new furnace is designed for billets 125-406 mm in
diameter and 5,000-8,000 mm long. During heating in a con-
ventional batch furnace, the gas stream loses energy as it
passes through the stack of material being heated; the new
design achieves more uniform heating of the furnace con-
tents by alternating the direction of the incident gas flow.
Experience has shown that heating-up times can be re-
Schematic diagram of batch homogenizing plant and cooling station.
126
duced significantly in this way. A new
feature of the fifth homogenizing unit is
that certain alloys can also be cooled
down in the furnace. The temperature
range is 620-450 °C.
Where cooling is carried out in a
separate cooling station, air from the
casthouse is sucked in via fans and
passed through the stack of material
being cooled, the direction of the inci-
dent gas flow is alternated here too.
The ancillary equipment required for
furnace operation has already been
supplied with the existing furnaces and
can be used for the new furnace. It fa-
cilitates a large degree of automation of
the heat treatment process. This begins
with the loading of the trolley and incor-
porates a whole host of subsequent
steps: stacking with automated spacer
handling, ultrasonic testing, furnace
charging and operation, transfer to the
cooling station and unloading the stack,
sawing, weighing and packaging.
www.hertwich.com
 FORGING TECHNOLOGY

EFFICIENT RECYCLING
TAI WA N . Hertwich Engineering to supply a compact remelt plant for aluminum
to SAI in Taiwan.

SuperAlloy Industrial Co. Ltd. (SAI), located in Dou-Liu City,

Taiwan, has placed an order with Austrian Hertwich
­Engineering, a company of SMS group, for the supply of a
compact remelt plant for aluminum billets in sizes up to
maximum 305 millimeters diameter and 7,000 milli­meters
length. The plant is designed for a capacity of 40,000 tons
per year and shall be commissioned in September 2017.
SuperAlloy Industrial Co. Ltd. (SAI), which was founded
in 1994, is an internationally renowned supplier to the auto-
mobile and aviation industries. The company enjoys a par-
ticularly strong position as a supplier of forged alu­minum
wheels for premium and sports cars, and in ­addition SAI
supplies aircraft seats and more recently – but growing

rapidly – also aluminum chassis components. Its cus­
tomers include noted addresses in Europe, the U.S.A. and
­Japan.
With the investment in a modern compact remelt plant
SAI is creating an internal recycling circuit that includes ev-
ery working step, from scrap melting, through casting,
quality control and up to packaging and consignment of the
basic material to be re-used.
STRONG EQIUPMENT PARTNER
SAI’s equipment partner is the Austrian company Hertwich
Engineering, which developed the concept of the compact
remelt plant in the 1980s and since then has adapted it con-
tinually in line with current requirements. Today, a series of
such units are already in operation, to the complete satisfac-
tion of the customers. At present, the U.S. American extru-
sion plant Service Center Metals (SCM) is already installing
its second Hertwich unit of the said type.
www.hertwich.com
i
RECYCLING CIRCUIT
Various working steps at SAI
 lean and contaminated recycling material is prepared in
C
chutes and transferred into the pre-heat chamber of the
furnace by a special charging machine.
 achining chips are fed into the furnace via a chip-pre-
M
treatment plant and a high-speed co-flow dryer, which is
thermally connected with the furnace. .
 crap is melted in a three-chamber melting and casting
S
furnace. The preheated and thermally stripped scrap pieces
are melted down in the immersion melting process. Then,
the melt flows through a partition wall into the casting
chamber where it is heated to casting temperature.
 he melt is degassed, filtered and fed to the horizontal con-
T
tinuous casters. A separate facility is installed for water
treatment.
 he solidified billets are cut off by a flying shear and are
T
deposited onto the feeding magazine of the homogenizing
furnace. Continuous homogenizing ensures constant opti-
mal metallurgical properties.
 ooled down billets are placed on a storage conveyor and
C
then inspected for internal cracks and inclusions by a heli-
cal ultrasonic testing unit.
 he inspected billets are semi-automatically strapped,
T
weighed, and prepared for shipment

127
TECHNICAL SERVICE SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
Major repair at Tata Steel
I N D I A . SMS group overhauled roughing stand of hot strip mill.
Hot strip mill.
The hot strip mill of Tata Steel in Jamshedpur, India, has
been in operation since 1993 and, since that time, has expe-
rienced several major overhauls supported by SMS group.
Just recently, SMS group completed a major repair of the
mill’s roughing stand.
At first, an investigation was conducted in the bottom
backup roll area to determine the causes of the damage at
backup-roll change sledge and load cell that had been ob-
served during mill operation. Mill housing windows in the
areas of bottom backup roll and work rolls were measured
and so was the flatness of the bottom mill housing saddle.
Deviations from the regular dimensions were found at the
housing windows (operating side and drive side) in the ar-
eas of the bottom backup rolls and the mill housing saddle.
Further damage was detected at the bottom work-roll
balancing system. Wear plates as well as saddle plates at
the mill stand were worn out and insufficiently fastened.
The contact faces between mill housing and wear plates
were worn, too, and showed deformations.
HOLISTIC REPAIR CONCEPT
Tata Steel contracted SMS group for the complete overhaul
of the roughing stand including services on site and supply
of required spare parts. Machining activities were per-
formed at the mill housing in the areas of the saddle plates,
the bottom backup-roll wear plates as well as the work-roll
128
i REPAIR CONCEPT
Proposed necessary measures
 achining of the bottom mill stand saddles and the fasten-
M
ing screw threads
Installation of new saddle plates with seal ring between
plate and mill stand
Overhauling of backup-roll and work-roll locking bars
Repair of the bottom work-roll balancing system
 eplacement and repair of the backup-roll pressure cylin-
R
ders
 epair of the grease lubrication system serving the backup-
R
roll change sledge according to drawing
 ew wear plates at the extensions of the operating-side
N
backup roll chocks
 ill stand machining in the area of the bottom backup-roll
M
wear plates and machining of the screw threads for wear
plate fastening
Using new wear plates at the mill housing in the bottom
backup roll area
and backup-roll locking bars. The new wear plates were
supplied by SMS group and installed during the major shut-
down in 2016. The customer highly appreciated the holistic
modernization concept and its smooth implementation by
SMS group within the scheduled period.
Ganesh Bayari
ganesh.bayari@sms-group.com

AVOIDING SURFACE
DEFECTS
WORL DW ID E . Continuous casting plant for premium quality steel slabs.
For producing top-quality steels not only a sophisticated
secondary metallurgy treatment is needed but also a con-
tinuous caster designed to come up to such high quality
requirements. High-end steels can only be produced when
the occurrence of both internal and surface cracks is reli-
ably ruled out. Here, the processes of primary and second-
ary solidification play a key role in various respects: they
form the highly sensitive strand shell, define the down-
stream geometry of the slab and ensure that the slab is
solidified all the way through.
DETECTING AND ELIMINATING WEAK POINTS
Another critical point has always been the slab edges. At the
edges, the temperature is lower than in the middle of the
slab because they cool down faster due to the convergence of
two slab sides. Moreover, in combination with oscillation
marks, a sharp edge is often the initiation point of near-edge
cracking. This phenomenon becomes particularly problem-
atic in the straightening zone of continuous casters. Critical
alloy and carbon contents make it even more difficult to meet
the exacting quality requirements.
In order to increase the slab edge temperature and re-
duce the proneness to cracking, SMS group has developed
an optimal narrow side contour. The narrow sides no longer
close the wide sides with a sharp right angle but with round-
ed ends, independently of the cast or adjusted width. The
Optmized slab on a
roller table.
rounded edge shape is formed along
the entire length of primary solidifica-
tion in the direction of casting. At the
lower part of the mold, the radius re-
tracts in order to minimize wear.
The optimized mold geometry thus
also prolongs the life of the mold plates.
Especially at the lower part of the
plates, which is particularly heavily
subjected to wear, the occurrence of
wear is markedly reduced due to the
uniform contact of the strand shell. The
continuous slab caster recently com- Schematic illustra-
missioned at PT. Gunung Garuda by tion of the narrow
SMS group in Indonesia has been using side contour
this mold type from the very first cast-
ing sequence, to the customer’s full
satisfaction.
Dr. Oliver Wiens
oliver.wiens@sms-group.com
129
TECHNICAL SERVICE SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

FOR MORE EFFICIENCY:

LOWER COST AND HIGHER
QUALITY
NET HE RL AND S . For coated rolls Tata Steel in IJmuiden uses the services of
DUMA-BANDZINK in Mönchengladbach, Germany.

i
Tata Steel Netherlands expressed its confidence in DUMA- buildup on the roll surfaces could be
BANDZINK GmbH by choosing them as the preferred sup- minimized, improving the steel sheet
plier for coated rolls for their zinc bath equipment. product quality. Another advantage of
In late summer of 2015, DUMA-BANDZINK opened its this tungsten carbide coating in addi-
DUMA-BANDZINK workshop in Mönchengladbach with the new roller coating. tion to optimized adhesion values is
Since then, there is a possibility to carry out the whole coat- corrosion protection against the ag-
Since 2008, DUMA- ing process at this location whereas earlier coatings for Eu- gressive molten zinc which is signifi-
BANDZINK has been ropean customers had to be commissioned externally. cantly influenced by sealing of the
part of SMS group, coated surface.
and was thus able to INCREASED EFFICIENCY Apart from Tata Steel, other cus-
support the Techni- The new coating line operating according to the high-velocity tomers also employ this unique one-
cal Service in the oxy-fuel flame spraying process (HVOF), therefore puts the stop service offering customers spare
setup and expansion SMS subsidiary in a position to perform sandblasting of the parts, repairs and coating of zinc bath
of the service work- barrel surface, the actual coating with subsequent sealing equipment from a single source.
shops in Tianjin, and final heat treatment with its own capacity. This enhanced
China, and Calvert, efficiency is achieved not only due to reduced delivery times
U.S.A., with their and lower costs but also due to increased quality.
expertise in the field These advantages are highly appreciated by Tata Steel. “I
of bath equipment feel that these are the best coated bath rolls we have seen
coating. over the past two years, with consistent quality and reliabili-
ty.” said Dr. Mark Bright, Senior Process and Product Tech-
nologist, Tata Steel Europe. Already the initial operations
performance was positive, so that galvanizing line 3 hard-
ware comprising sink, stabilizer and correction rolls could be
directly coated in Mönchengladbach with improved equip-
ment delivery times. Additionally, intermetallic particle www.duma-bandzink.com

130
TECHNICAL SERVICE

Left: (f.l.t.r.) Micha

Umfahrer, DUMA-
BANDZINK, René
Visser and Dr. Mark
Bright, TATA Steel,
as well as Matthias
Black, DUMA-
BANDZINK, with the
newly coated roll at
the IJmuiden plant.

Below: The center-

piece of the new
coating line –
the machine for
HVOF coating.

131
TECHNICAL SERVICE SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

SERVICE WHICH ATTRACTS

C HI N A . In a close exchange with Wuxi Turbine Blade Company SMS group
designed a new tool holder.

tool holder for a screw press according to the technical re-

SMS group has earned a worldwide reputation with its well-
quirements. The clutch-controlled screw press of the SPKA
designed products and sophisticated technology. For almost
22400 type is currently the world’s largest press with an op-
150 years, SMS group has been supplying plants and equip-
ment to steel, aluminum and copper producers. From indi-erating force of more than 35,000 tons. In this case, the
large forming energy is particularly combined with high ac-
vidual machines up to whole plant complexes – the projects
curacy, since high standards are set as regards the parts
are versatile. However, they all have one thing in common: in
manufactured in near-net shapes. WTB manufactures
addition to the understanding of how a plant is working in
among others turbine blades employed in airplanes and
practice as a whole, an eye for the detail is essential. More-
power plants. Highest technical standards of the machines
over communication with customers is crucial. Besides the
know-how of SMS engineers, an open exchange with the ex-and workpieces continuously reproducible in equal quality
perts of the manufacturer is needed so that experiences are basic requirements to satisfy the end customer. To be
gained from day-to-day operations can be incorporated, able to manufacture forgings in a cost-efficient manner, the
leading to new functions and ideas. SMS screw press is equipped with a special tool holder
which now has been further developed by SMS group to
THE WORLD’S LARGEST SCREW PRESS withstand the high stresses during forging operations even
And this is also the case with the Chinese Wuxi Turbine better. An integrated electrical heating system ensures that
Blade Co., Ltd. (WTB). SMS group has constructed a new the temperature difference to the hot forgings of approx.

The project has been

successfully planned
and practiced to-
gether (from left to
right): Representa-
tive Jin Zhe from
Beijing Joy, Li Xiang
and Du Zhimen
(back) from WTB and
Zijia Guo during the
acceptance test of
the new tool holder
in the Mönchenglad-
bach workshop.

132

1,000 degrees is not too large and the holder material be-
comes not too porous.
The engineers from SMS group are aware of the fact that
it was not only the technical component which convinced
WTB of the SMS solution. “Further technical development
was one reason why they decided to order from us,“ said
Zijia Guo from SMS Technical Service in Mönchengladbach.
“During the discussion WTB realized above all that they
have been properly advised by us.“
A trustful cooperation is the basis for each order. In or-
der to be always close to its customer, SMS group also re-
lies on local experts who maintain direct contacts with cus-
tomers. They are quick to help when repair work is needed
or other assistance or advice is required. And with WTB it
was no different: after cracks appeared on the first tool
holder of the screw press SMS group was initially asked for
the cause and a solution of the problem. The plant manu-
facturer had supplied WTB with the large screw press in
2011 and should now offer an optimized tool holder as an
alternative to a local manufacturer.
CUSTOMIZED OPERATION
WTB wanted the new tool holder to be compatible with the
operation. To achieve this, the options available regarding
technical adjustments were discussed between WTB and
SMS technicians in Germany. With Zijia Guo on the manu-
facturer’s side a Chinese engineer was also sitting at the
table in Mönchengladbach, who was able to take on wishes
of the customer in his own language and discuss directly
with him the technical pros and cons. In this way, WTB not
only benefited from a contact partner in China, but a con-
tact to the counterpart in Mönchengladbach was quickly
made. Many phone calls, mails or even messages via mo-
bile phone were communicated effectively back and forth –
speeding up and simplifying coordination. “For us it was of
course quite comfortable,“ expressed also Li Xiang, Deputy
Head of Maintenance at WTB. “We wanted SMS group to
further develop the tool holder for us, and they understood
The screw press at
WTB employing the
newly developed tool
holder.
right away what we meant,“ he added. The personal contact
did the rest. Together with SMS representative Jin Zhe, Li
Xiang visited Mönchengladbach several times – most re-
cently during the acceptance test of the finished tool holder.
The order for the redevelopment is an integral part of
many projects, interconnecting both companies – coopera-
tion in the meantime dates back to well over 35 years. The
first screw press was supplied to WTB’s plant in the eastern
Chinese city of Wuxi in mid 1990s by Eumuco-Hasenklever
which has been part of SMS group for many years. At that
time, the screw press was of the type SPKA 11200. This was
followed by a hydraulic screw press (HSPRZ) and finally an
SPKA 22400 was supplied which had been enhanced and
optimized on that basis, enabling WTB in 2011 to double its
forging capacities.
In addition to common projects for new plants, WTB and
SMS group have already intensified their service coopera-
tion. SMS group, for example, dismantled the machines
when the WTB plant was relocated to an economic area on
the outskirts of the city and built it up again at the new loca-
tion. “Such action also requires much mutual coordina-
tion,“ said Bernhard Kaminski, sales employee of SMS
group in the closed-die forging sector. “But it worked well.“
Now, another project falls into the same category as suc-
cess story: meanwhile, the new tool holder has been
mounted in the press fulfilling its intended purpose to the
satisfaction of WTB.
Zijia Guo
zijia.guo@sms-group.com
133
TECHNICAL SERVICE
Services from SMS group in
great demand throughout the world
BRAZ I L . Gerdau Ouro Branco and SMS group sign a three-year contract.
UNIGUARD™
coating of a copper
mold on an HVOF
machine (High Ve-
locity Oxy-Fuel).
At the beginning of September 2016, Gerdau Ouro Branco
signed a three-year contract together with SMS group for
servicing and maintenance work on the continuous slab
caster and the beam blank and bloom caster at the Ouro
Branco works in Brazil. The four-strand beam blank and
bloom caster, which went into operation in 2007, has an an-
nual rated capacity of 1.5 million tons. The continuous slab
caster commenced production in 2009, at first with only one
strand. The second strand went into operation in 2012 and
increased the rated capacity of the caster to 3 million tons
per year.
SERVICES FROM A SINGLE SOURCE
The contractually agreed services to be rendered by SMS
group include the repair and coating of the copper plates in
both casters. This will utilize the UNIGUARD™ technology,
which significantly enhances the mold performance thanks
to its unique hardness and heat resistance.
134
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
Furthermore, SMS group will be re-
sponsible for the disassembly/assem-
bly of the caster rolls, for the replace-
ment of spare parts, and for dressing
and welding work on the rolls. For this,
SMS group will make use of its long-
standing experience and proven tech-
nologies that are based on several de-
cades of further development by the
group of the many different types of
materials and know-how in the field of
welding engineering.
The repair work will be performed in
one of the Brazilian service workshops
of SMS group in Vespasiano, close to
Belo Horizonte. The workshop is
equipped with state-of-the-art and reli-
able machinery.
“We are very proud that Gerdau has
entrusted us with these tasks. It shows
that we made the right decision in in-
vesting continuously in our staff and in
our machinery and mechanical equip-
ment,” says Marcellus Piedade, Head
of Technical Service for the Brazilian
market at SMS group.
Marcellus Piedade
marcellus.piedade@sms-group.com

MAINTENANCE AS
SCHEDULED
B E LGI UM . SMS group overhauled a laying head gearbox for Thy Marcinelle S.A,
at its service workshop in Moenchengladbach.
Riva Group operates a 2-strand wire rod mill at Charleroi-
Marcinelle, Belgium. Thy Marcinelle S.A. (T.M.), a company
of Riva Group, mainly produces rebars for construction as
well as wire rod for industrial and machinery applications.
During the bigger revamp of a laying head gearbox in sum-
mer 2014, T.M. and SMS group service agreed upon a regu-
lar overhauling of the current gearbox on a biennial rhythm.
The two-week overhauling of the affected gearbox was
planned at the turn of the year.
REPAIR ON SCHEDULE
As planned, the laying head gearbox was disassembled in
Belgium and arrived at the service workshop in Mo-
enchengladbach on December 20th 2016. The quantity of
spare and wear parts as well as the scope of the repair was
dependent on the state of the equipment. The first analysis
Before: Opened gearbox in the service work-
shop Moenchengaldbach.
After: The overhauled laying head gearbox before shipment back to Belgium.
TECHNICAL SERVICE
corresponded to the expected operating expense. While
opening the gearbox in the service workshop no further
damages were detected. And therefore the exchange of the
hollow shaft, the flange pipe and all the seals started right
before the end of the year.
After the customer’s visit the reassembly was carried
out and the overhauled gearbox was sent back on January
6th 2016, right on time. On his first visit to Moenchenglad-
bach the T.M.’s Head of Maintenance was very pleased and
stated “a good maintenance job can only be secured by a
good planning in advance. We are glad to have SMS group
as partner who guarantees reliability”.
Marco Szommer
marco.szommer@sms-group.com
135
EVENTS SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

LOOKING BACK ON
ALUMINIUM 2016

GE RM A N Y. SMS group presented numerous novelties at its booth.

From November 29 to December 1, 2016, leading experts

and decision-makers from the aluminium industry met in
Düsseldorf, Germany. SMS group was once again one of the
participants at the trade fair. At its booth which was more
than 300 square meters, the company presented to its visi-
tors a comprehensive overview of novelties and develop-
ments in its portfolio relating to the production of aluminium.

NOVELTIES FROM SYSTEMS SUPPLIER

Michael Schäfer, Head of Aluminium Business of SMS
group, looks back at the event with satisfaction: “SMS group
had the opportunity to present itself to international experts
as a systems supplier for the aluminium industry. This Top: Staff members of SMS group welcoming visitors at the exhibition
trade fair was an excellent occasion to introduce our latest booth.

developments in the field of aluminium production and to Below: Trade fair exhibit: Inductive billet heater from IAS, a company
experience immediate reactions by our customers. of SMS group.
This time, particular attention was paid to our innovation
project NEXCAST which we started in cooperation with U.S.
aluminium producer Golden Aluminum Inc. NEXCAST is a
combined casting and rolling process in a minimill with the
liquid aluminium being directly cast to strip and rolled.
Compared to a conventional process, NEXCAST reduces the
investment and production costs involved in making alu-
minium strip. The innovation is of particular interest to en-
terprises with low or medium output and for capacity ex-
pansions.”

Michael Schäfer
michael.schaefer@sms-group.com

136
Top: Inviting and open – this is how SMS group A video with trade
presented itself at the Aluminium 2016. fair impressions is
available here:
Left: The interactive media table provides infor-
mation to booth visitors on the plant technology
of SMS group.

Below: Jeff Frim, CEO at Golden Aluminum Inc.,

and Michael Schäfer, Head of Aluminium Busi-
ness of SMS group, presenting the NEXCAST in-
novation project at the SMS booth.

137
EVENTS
EUPHORIC MOOD AND
CONVINCING SOLUTIONS
BAN G LA D E S H . SMS group is a reliable partner for opening up
new dynamic markets.
In cooperation with SMS group, Steel Group for the second
time hosted the Cold Rolling & Processing Technology Day
in Chittagong, Bangladesh on November 22, 2016. At its
booth and during the conference, SMS group presented its
technical systems solutions tailored to the special condi-
tions of new and rapidly developing markets. Plant opera-
tors, investors, equipment manufacturers and consultants
were invited by the Steel Group to Chittagong, Bangladesh.
About 200 visitors illustrated the euphoric mood and dy-
namic development on the local steel markets in Bangla-
desh, India and Southeast Asia. The focus of the visitors was
mainly on cold strip production and, in particular, on opti-
mizing investment and operating costs along with an im-
provement of plant performance.
SMS GROUP EXPERTS IN DIALOG
For both issues, SMS group could offer convincing design
solutions in the course of personal discussions at the booth
or within the scope of the conference lectures. In his lecture
entitled “Reversing Cold Mills from SMS group – flexible
138
Above: Visitors in front of the SMS group booth.
Left: Torsten Seeger, Project Director Cold Rolling Mills,
Flat Rolling Plants Division, at SMS group, presenting in-
formation on flexible reversing cold mill concepts.
plant concepts tailored to the demands of emerging mar-
kets”, Torsten Seeger, Project Director Cold Rolling Mills,
Flat Rolling Plants Division, introduced the single- and two-
stand reversing cold mill (RCM) version with its optimized
design requiring moderate investment and low operating
costs. In addition to describing equipment technology, he
showed the flexible expansion options of an RCM up to a
two-stand compact cold mill (CCM®) and illustrated them on
the basis of local reference plants. These explanations cou-
pled with different proposals of financing met with strong
response from the participants.
A further paper was delivered by Vijay Pitale, Technical
Director Product Area Strip Processing Lines at Esmech
Equipment Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture of SMS group. The title of
his lecture was “Technologies for high-end galvanizing and
aluminum zinc lines”.
Torsten Seeger
torsten.seeger@sms-group.com

The team of SMS group at 1st Hyundai Steel Tech Show.
Visiting Hyundai
Steel
SMS group participates in first
Tech Show.
S O U T H KO R E A. The 1st Hyundai Steel Tech Show
took place in October 2016 in South Korea with the ac-
tive participation of SMS group. Hyundai Steel invited all
its major vendors to Dangjin in South Korea. Staff mem-
bers from all Hyundai Steel locations in South Korea
were present during the three-day event. SMS group
took the opportunity of exchanging information with
Hyundai Steel’s employees and presented the various
innovations and developments in Technical Service at
its exhibition booth. Later on these developments were
also presented during presentation session along with
individual discussions and on illustrative objects. The
SMS Technical Service from Germany, represented by
Stephan Schallenberg and Dr. Gunnar Böttcher, togeth-
er with its Technical Service team in Korea headed by
Patrick Oppermann took the opportunity to present to
Hyundai Steel the large range of value-added parts and
the services of SMS group.
Patrick Oppermann
patrick.oppermann@sms-group.com
EVENTS
Customers and lecturers of SMS group in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
Customer
Relationship Day
Successful service event in
the Gulf region.
SA UD I A RA B I A . In November 2016, SMS Technical
Services Gulf S.P.C. had invited to its first ”customer re-
lationship day“. More than 50 customers could be wel-
comed in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and two days later in
Manama, Bahrain, by Pino Tesè, Executive Vice Presi-
dent Technical Service. The event gave the participants
the opportunity to be vividly informed on current and
future products of SMS group in general and about the
Technical Service in particular. In a lecture series, is-
sues among others were explained to the audience
such as the inhouse Genius Condition Monitoring (CM)
System, and different training concepts as well as
the new training program of SMS TECademy were
presented.
A talk on the subject of digitalization with established
and new technologies rounded off the first service event.
Renato M. Brandao Jr., Principal Engineer Steel Plant &
Direct Reduction, summarized the day as follows: “Con-
gratulations on this successful event and we are looking
forward to the next year!”
Siegfried Gruber
siegfried.gruber@sms-group.com
139
EVENTS
The basic training on strip processing lines makes employees fit.
Training on strip
processing lines
EMG staff at SMS group.
G ERM A N Y. A total of 17 employees from different
work areas of EMG Automation GmbH, a company of
the elexis group, participated in a training course on
strip processing lines at SMS TECademy. During the
two-day basic training, the staff of the company that
specializes in strip guiding and quality assurance sys-
tems was familiarized with the design and the basic
elements of several strip processing lines. Further as-
pects under consideration were the crucial process
steps and process components needed to finish strips
of carbon steel, silicon steel, stainless steel and alu-
minium.
“For our staff it is very important to know how the
equipment works which is operating with our integrat-
ed controls and systems,” says Jochen Fryn, Head
Sales Europe at EMG Automation GmbH. “Finally, when
talking with our customers, it is very useful to have a
better understanding of the interactions beyond our
systems. And this will make it easier to find joint solu-
tions as equal partners.”
SMS TECademy
tecademy@sms-group.com
140
SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017
In the SMS TECademy classroom (f.l.t.r.): Dr. Michael Degner (SMS
group), Galeno Oliveira (trainee from Gerdau S.A.) and Jana Bommer
(SMS TECademy).
Well trained
SMS TECademy trains staff from all
over the world.
WORL DW I D E. In October 2016, series of trainings
were organized for the customers Gerdau S.A., Brazil,
and ArcelorMittal Bremen GmbH, Germany. The indi-
vidual courses for Gerdau’s staff were held at SMS
group’s worksite in Hilchenbach with the contents fo-
cusing on the basics of rolling, section rolling and roll
pass design. Other subjects included process and plant
engineering in flat and section rolling mills, measuring
technology in hot and cold rolling mills for flat products
and for sections, as well as the market situation in
the steel industry. Site inspections of the SMS group’s
workshops at both locations, Hilchenbach and
Mönchengladbach, and of the bar mill of DEW in ­Siegen,
Germany, complemented the two-week program pre-
senting further impressions.
For ArcelorMittal Bremen GmbH training courses
were organized at its Bremen location on two dates,
each one lasting two days. Mr. Mester, engaged in per-
sonnel affairs at ArcelorMittal, Bremen, praised the
extremely positive feedback from the participants who
had expressed their thanks to the managing board of
ArcelorMittal Bremen even after the courses. Accord-
ing to Mr. Mester, this had not happened before and he
therefore wants to intensify the cooperation.
SMS TECademy
tecademy@sms-group.com
 SMS group newsletter 01 / 2017

OLD BECOMES NEW

AUSTRIA. UrbanGold and SMS group have started
joint marketing of electronic scrap.

Imprint
SMS group newsletter
SMS group and UrbanGold GmbH, based in Leoben, Austria, ing and implementation of the Urban- Issue 01/2017

have signed a cooperation agreement in October 2016. The Gold technology. Publisher
agreement covers the joint marketing of a new milestone in SMS group Corporate
Communications, Eduard-
recycling facility for electronic waste (e-waste). Copper, EXPANDED RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND ­Schloemann-Straße 4
40237 Düsseldorf, Germany
Nickel and precious metals among other byproducts from SERVICES Responsible under Press
e-waste are recovered in an efficient and environmentally This cooperation, which comprises the Law: Thomas Isajiw
Phone +49 211 881-0
friendly way. A unique feature of the “UrbanGold technology” planning and supply of plants and E-mail: communications@
is the possibility to process low-grade material with up to 50 equipment for UrbanGold will expand sms-group.com
www.sms-group.com
percent of organic. This is possible by advanced process de- the product and service portfolio of
Printing and prepress
sign and a new kind of smelting unit. The metals are extract- SMS group. As part of the agreement, processes
ed by a combination of pyro- and hydrometallurgical pro- METTOP will provide key equipment Druckhaus Kay GmbH
Hagener Strasse 121
cesses. A first facility is planned for an input of 30,000 tons of and additional know-how. The coopera- 57223 Kreuztal,
Germany
e-waste per year. Additionally demonstration trials will be tion is in line with SMS group’s consis-
carried out at different sites in Europe. tently pursued strategy of diversifying Published on
May 31, 2017 /
The METTOP GmbH and Pierer Industrie AG are its portfolio in the non-ferrous metals © SMS group 
­shareholders of UrbanGold. Since 2013, the company’s industry. circulation: German 4,000,
English 8,500 , Chinese
experts have been working on the development, engineer- 1,000, Russian 1,000

The information provided

Dr. Rolf Degel
rolf.degel@sms-group.com
Representing SMS group during the contract
signing ceremony: Dr. Guido Kleinschmidt,
Member of the Managing Board of SMS
group, (2nd from left) and Dr. Rolf Degel (sec-
ond from right).
in this magazine contains
a general description of the
performance characteris-
tics of the products con-
cerned. The actual products
may not always have the
characteristics described
and, in particular, these
may change as a result of
further developments of the
products. The provision of
this information is not in-
tended to have, and will not
have, legal effect. An obliga-
tion to deliver products
having particular character-
istics shall only exist if ex-
pressly agreed in the terms
of the contract.

141
Leading partner
in the world of metals T H E S MS G R O U P MAGA Z I NE
I SS U E 01 / 2017

ISSU E 0 1  / 2 017

SMART STEEL PLANT

THE SMS GROUP MAGAZI NE

New digitalization strategies facilitate manufacturing
processes according to the principles of Industry 4.0.

Plug & Work: automation pretested by simulation

Plug & Work: That’s the tried-and-tested method we apply
to run your systems thoroughly through their paces and
optimize them even before commissioning.
What you gain: Installing pre-tested automation systems
ensures rapid run-up curves for new plants as well as
revamps. Even more, shorter assembly times give you a
faster return on investment.
SMS group is a global, leading partner for the metal
industry. As a family-owned business headquartered in
Germany, quality and innovation is in our DNA. We are
committed to the success of our customers and strive
to add value along the entire value chain of the global
metal industry.

SMS group GmbH

Eduard-Schloemann-Strasse 4 Phone: +49 211 881-0
40237 Düsseldorf, Germany Fax: +49 211 881-4902
automation@sms-group.com www.sms-group.com