GB2117296A - Cold roll tool changing - Google Patents

Abstract

The rolls of a cold roll stand are supported on a tooling sleeve 6 carried by stub shafts 2 mounted in roll support blocks 1. Stub shafts 2 are axially movable to facilitate removal of tooling sleeve 6 perpendicularly to the roll axis, thus avoiding moving supports 1 or roll drive 3. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cold roll tool changing The present invention relates to cold roll mills and in particular to facilitating the changing of roll tooling in the stands of such mills.

A comprehensive background to the invention is provided by two publications and the bibliographies contained in them.~ "Cold Forming", W, G. Kirkland, Iron and Steel Engineer, November 1959.

"A Survey of Sheet Metal Cold Roll Forming", M. A. Wallis, British Steel Corporation Corporate Laboratories Paper Number My/36/7 1.

On known rolling mills there are two principal methods of changing the tooling. Firstly, a complete module of roll pair supports on a baseplate with the tooling already set up is kept at the side of the machine. When a tooling change is required, the module being used is disconnected from its drive shafts (usually Hardy Spicer type, one per roll) and the module is removed complete. The new module of rolls is then lifted into place and the drive shafts reconnected.

In the second method, the support at the nondriven end of the tooling shaft is removed complete from the machine, leaving the tooling shaft supported at the drive end only. This means that the bearings at the drive end have to be strong enough to support the rolls without damage to the drive gears, (see Reference 1, page 137). The rolls then have to be wound apart to allow the tools to be removed individually. Once this has been done, the tooling is removed from the shaft, the new tooling installed, the end supports replaced and the rolls wound together.

In some instances, this changeover process can take up to two shifts to complete.

On existing machine designs, the tooling shaft is an integral part of the machine. If it is required to roll a wide section, the roll shaft has to be stiff enough in the center to resist distortion due to the rolling forces. Above a certain width of section, the machine specified has to be of a larger power rating to contain a shaft of a large enough diameter to resist the rolling forces. This is because the power rating decides the shaft diameter, not the rolling forces acting on the shaft. This makes the rolling of light gauge sections very expensive as the power of the machine specified is often much higher than that which is actually required.

On existing machine designs, the horizontal alignment of the shafts to the supports is critical, as any misalignment will cause undue wear on the support bearings. It will also affect the drive mechanism if they are of the type shown in Reference 1.

The present invention overcomes these problems by mounting the tooling on a shaft which is independent from the rest of the machine. The shaft can be removed from the machine without any dismantling as previously described and be quickly replaced with a new shaft and tooling. The diameter of the shaft can also be varied without affecting the rest of the machine so that the power of the machine is only dependent on the gauge of the material being formed and the amount of forming being carried out, not on the width of the section being rolled.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a support for a roll adaptable for use in a roll stand and as such suitable for combining to form a cold rolling mill, said support comprising a pair of roll support members each having housed in it one of a pair of axially coincident shafts, said shafts supporting rolling means, said shafts being axially movable away from each other thereby disengaging them from the rolling means to facilitate removal of the rolling means in a direction perpendicular to the axis of said shafts.

A roll driving means may be supported by one of the shafts, or by a sleeve rotatably mounted in one of the roll support members.

The rolling means may comprise a tooling shaft carrying means for forming part of a rolling nip, there preferably being self aligning bearings mounted in the tooling shaft to engage the end portions of the two shafts.

It may be desirable to provide torque transmitting means which engages the roll driving means directly to the means forming part of the nip.

A number of embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:~ Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic sectional view Fig. 2 shows a modification thereto.

Referring to fig. 1, a pair of roll support blocks 1 form part of a roll stand in a rolling mill preferably as described in our co-pending applications. For the purposes of describing an embodiment of the present invention, it is convenient to regard the roll support blocks 1 as being fixed.

Two stub shafts 2 are mounted in bores in the roll support blocks 1, and do not rotate, although subject to the removal of locking means such as circlips or clamping screws, are readily movable axially in the roll support blocks 1.

A roll drive member 3 (for example a sprocket as described in one of our co-pending applications) and associated spacer 4 are mounted for rotation on the right hand stub shaft 2, via bearings 5. Note that although relative rotation should not of course occur between bearings 5 and stub shaft 2, it is necessary for the stub shaft 2 to be readily movable axially in the bearings 5.

The roll member actually forming part of the nip is not illustrated but may comprise a single element or it may be a composite roll formed from a number of components, as described in one of our co-pending applications. For convenience, this will be referred to as tooling.

The tooling is mounted on a tooling shaft 6 which is supported on self aligning bearings 7 in turn carried by the end portions of the stub shafts 2. As with the bearings 5, although relative rotation between 'non-bearing surfaces' is undesirable, nevertheless axial movement of stub shafts 2 relative to bearings 7 is necessary.

Drive is transmitted from drive member 3 to the tooling via drive plate 8 and shear pin 9.

In order to remove tooling from the assembly, any circlips, clamping screws or the like are removed or loosened, and the stub shafts 2 are moved axially until they clear bearings 7, the tooling being temporarily supported. The entire tooling assembly can then be removed vertically from the machine for rectification or the mounting of alternative tooling. Note that the roll support blocks 1 and associated roll stands, and roll drive assembly have not been disturbed during tool changing.

Referring to fig. 2, there is shown a modification to the drive end of the roll assembly.

The bearings 5, which support the roll drive member 3, are housed in the roll support block 1 to carry a sleeve 10, on the inner end of which is mounted the roll drive member 3 and drive plate 8. Stub shaft 2 must of course be axially movable in sleeve 10.

It should be noted that the tooling assembly described is one of a pair of such assemblies forming a roll stand, and that a plurality of such stands would form a rolling mill in accordance with the present invention. These and other adaptations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

Claims

1. A support for a roll adaptable for use in a roll stand and as such suitable for combining to form a cold rolling mill, said support comprising a pair of roll support members each having housed in it one of a pair of axially coincident shafts, said shafts supporting rolling means, said shafts being axially movable away from each other thereby disengaging them from the rolling means to facilitate removal of the rolling means in a direction perpendicular to the axis of said shafts.

2. A support as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the shafts supports a roll driving means.

3. A support as claimed in claim 1, wherein a roll driving means is supported by a sleeve rotatably mounted in one of the roll support members.

4. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the rolling means comprises a tooling shaft carrying means for forming part of a rolling nip.

5. A support as claimed in claim 4, in which self aligning bearings mounted in the tooling shaft engage the end portions of the two shafts.

6. A support as claimed in claims 4 or 5, in which torque transmitting means engages the roll driving means directly to the means forming part of the nip.

7. A support as claimed in claim 1, substantially as described in the accompanying specification.

8. A cold roll stand incorporating a roll support system in accordance witkany preceding claim.

9. A cold roll mill incorporating a cold roll stand in accordance with claim 8.

10. Any major component knowingly manufactured with the intention of it being used in conjunction with a roll support system in accordance with any preceding claim.