SE1551334A1 - A coiling system and a method for forming a hot rolled product into an annular coil - Google Patents

Abstract

18 ABSTRACT A coiling system (1) and a method for coiling a hot rolledproduct, the system comprising: - a base assembly (3) comprising a base plate (6), a centraldrum (7) extending from the base plate along a verticalaxis, and a receiving sleeve (8) arranged outside of saidcentral drum, - a support structure (2) configured to support the baseassembly and comprising a first drive mechanismconfigured to rotate the base assembly around the verticalaxis, - a feeding device (4) configured to feed hot rolled product tothe base assembly so as to form a coil (17), wherein the receiving sleeve is configured to receive a first endof the hot rolled product landing on said base plate so that a coilstarts to form inside of said receiving sleeve and outside of saidcentral drum, the base assembly being releasably connected tothe first drive mechanism so that the base assembly, aftercoiling, may be removed from the support structure. (Fig. 1)

Description

A coilinq system and a method for forminq a hot rolledproduct into an annular coil TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a coiling system for coiling ahot rolled product according to the preamble of claim 1, and to amethod for forming a hot rolled product according to thepreamble of the independent method claim. A hot rolled producthere refers to a bar, wire, rod, strip or the like formed by hotrolling and made from a metal material, including but not limitedto copper, brass, aluminium, and steel, such as spring steel,bearing steel, stainless steel, etc.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART A common type of coiling system for forming a hot rolled productinto a coil, comprises a base assembly supported by a supportstructure. The support structure comprises a drive mechanismconfigured to rotate the base assembly around a vertical axis ofrotation. The base assembly comprises a base plate forsupporting the coil, a central drum extending from the base platealong the vertical axis, and an outer housing, attached to thebase plate outside of said central drum, such that an annularspace is formed between the central drum and the outerhousing. The coiling system further comprises a feeding deviceconfigured to feed hot rolled product to the base assembly so asto form a coil. When in use, hot rolled product is fed from thefeeding device into the space provided between the central drumand the outer housing, so that a first end of the hot rolledproduct lands on the base plate. As the base assembly isrotated, hot rolled product forms a coil around the central drum.The outer housing ensures that each newly formed loop of thecoil is formed on top of an already formed loop.

However, a problem with this coiling system is that the gapbetween the feeding device and an already coiled portion of thehot rolled product, on top of which the hot rolled product fedfrom the feeding device lands, varies throughout the coil formingcycle. This results in a coil with low and non-uniform density andpoor stability. Coiling systems have therefore been developed inwhich a spiral shaped feeding tube is used, through which thehot rolled product is fed into the annular space between thecentral drum and the outer housing. Such spiral shaped feedingtubes can be inserted into the annular space and can therebyreduce the distance that the hot rolled product drops onto thealready coiled portion. The density of the formed coil canthereby be improved, but such feeding tubes are on the otherhand expensive and difficult to maintain. They are alsoassociated with safety problems during operation, and thedensity obtainable with such feeding tubes is for manyapplications not sufficient.

WO2009123685 discloses a coiling system in which an outerhousing is movable in the vertical direction, together with thefeeding device. ln this way, the distance that the hot rolledproduct drops can be significantly reduced. However, this coilingsystem, as well as other known coiling systems, become verytall and space consuming. When the finished coil is to beremoved from the coiling system, the coil is lifted from the baseassembly, or the base assembly is lowered so that the coil maybe removed. A basement or an additional floor is thereforetypically required to be able to remove the coil. This isinconvenient, as the available space is often limited and may beneeded for other purposes.

Another problem with known coiling systems is that the cycletime is relatively long, due to the amount of time needed toremove the coil from the coiling system after finishing one coil,and prepare it for formation of a second coil. Two separate coiling systems, which can alternately receive and coil hot rolledproduct from a rolling mill, are therefore often used. Yet anotherproblem is the large energy consumption of the coiling systems,resulting from the large moment of inertia of the systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION lt is an object of the present invention to overcome at leastsome of the above mentioned problems. ln particular, it is anobject to provide solutions by means of which less verticalspace is needed in a coil forming process and by means ofwhich cycle times and energy consumption can be reduced.Another object is to provide a coiling system which is versatileand easily adaptable to different coil sizes and productdiameters. Yet another object is to provide a coiling system anda method for forming a hot rolled product by means of which arelatively high density and uniformity of the finished coil can beachieved.

At least the primary object is achieved by means of a coilingsystem as initially defined, which is characterised in that thebase assembly is releasably connected to the first drivemechanism so that the base assembly, after coiling, may beremoved from the support structure. ln this way, the coil doesnot need to be lifted off from the base plate when the base plateis mounted on the support structure. lnstead, the entire baseassembly, comprising the finished coil, can be disconnectedfrom the support structure before removing the coil from thebase structure and transferring it to e.g. a conveyor or a pallet.This reduces the vertical space needed to accommodate thecoiling system. lt also increases the versatility of the coilmanufacturing process, since the removal of the coil from thebase assembly can be carried out either in immediateconnection to the coiling system, or at another location aftertransport using e.g. a conveyor. Removal of the coil can beachieved e.g. by tilting the base assembly and transferring the coil to a suitable coil holder, or by lifting off the coil. ln eitherway, the vertical space needed to remove the coil from thecoiling system is reduced.

Since the base assembly is removable, the coiling system isalso easy to adapt to e.g. different diameters of the hot rolledproduct, or different desired coil diameters. By simply switchingbase assemblies, the same support structure can be used fordifferent applications. The removable base assembly alsoreduces the cycle time of the coiling system, since the baseassembly after coiling can be quickly removed from the supportstructure, and replaced by another empty base assembly. ln thisway, it is not necessary to have two separate coiling systems toalternate between. lnstead, it is sufficient to have one supportstructure and at least two base assemblies.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the coilingsystem further comprises an annular collecting memberarranged around the central drum above the receiving sleeveand movable in the axial direction together with the feedingdevice so as to guide the hot rolled product onto a previouslycoiled portion of said product. ln this embodiment, the receivingsleeve has a height which is substantially smaller than a heightof the central drum, since it only needs to cover a first few loopsof the coil as it is being formed. The annular collecting membercollects and guides the hot rolled product onto those loops asthe coiling cycle proceeds. The annular collecting member isarranged above the receiving sleeve. The annular collectingmember thus forms a movable outer drum, reducing the distancebetween the feeding device and the previously coiled portion onwhich the hot rolled product is to land. Thus, the density of thecoil as well as the uniformity can be improved. The movableannular collecting member also enables formation of uniformcoils of different height, since there is no fixed outer housing.Another advantage of this embodiment is that the moment ofinertia of the base assembly can be reduced, since the annular collecting member removes the need for an outer housing, e.g. areceiving sleeve having a similar vertical extension as thecentral drum, connected to and rotating together with the baseassembly. The total energy consumption of the coiling systemcan thereby be reduced.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the annularcollecting member has a shorter extension along the verticalaxis than the central drum, so that the annular collectingmember surrounds only a minor portion of the central drum. Thetotal height of the coiling system can thereby be reduced incomparison with coiling systems comprising a tall movable outerdrum or the like, completely encapsulating the formed coil.Furthermore, the weight of the coiling system is reduced, furtherreducing the energy consumption.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the annularcollecting member is connected to the feeding device. This is aconvenient way of achieving simultaneous vertical movement ofthe feeding member and the annular collecting member.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the annularcollecting member is in the form of a rotatable collecting ring.Such a collecting ring provides a stable support for the hotrolled product as it is being coiled. The rotatable collecting ringmay e.g. be rotated by means of the first drive mechanism, usedto rotate the base assembly, or by a separate drive mechanism.Rotating the collecting ring prevents scratches on the hot rolledproduct.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the coilingsystem further comprises a support on which the collecting ringis rotatably mounted. The support provides a convenient meansfor supporting also a drive mechanism and for connecting theannular collecting member to the feeding device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the coilingsystem further comprises a second drive mechanism configuredto rotate the collecting ring around the vertical axis. Separatedrive mechanisms simplifies the construction of the coilingsystem.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first and thesecond drive mechanisms are configured to be operableindependently of each other. ln this way, the rotational speed ofthe collecting ring can be adjusted independently of therotational speed of the base assembly and the coiling conditionscan thereby be optimised.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the coilingsystem further comprises a pre-bending device configured tobend the hot ro||ed product as it is being fed from the feedingdevice. This makes the hot ro||ed product easier to form into acoil.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the central drumcomprises wall segments that are movable between an outerposition and an inner position. When the coil is to be removedfrom the base assembly, the wall segments can be collapsed,which reduces the risk of damaging the coil during removal.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the coilingsystem further comprises a transfer arrangement configured tomove the base assembly away from the support structure in ahorizontal or essentially horizontal plane. Such a transferarrangement enables fast removal of the base assembly fromthe support structure after coiling, enabling short cycle times.The vertical space needed for the coiling system can beminimised since the movement of the base assembly isessentially in the horizontal plane, although a small verticalmovement may be necessary to release the base assembly fromthe support structure. Such a vertical movement can be in the order of a few decimetres, such as 3-4 dm. Furthermore, thecoiling system is energy efficient since vertical lifting of the baseassembly holding the finished coil, which is often heavy, is to alarge extent avoided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at leastthe primary object is achieved by a method for forming a hotrolled product into an annular coil as initially defined,characterised in that the step of removing the coil from thecoiling system comprises removing the base assembly from thesupport structure prior to removing the coil from the baseassembly. ln this way, the coil can be removed from the coilingsystem without the need to lift the coil along the vertical axis.The method is thereby less space consuming and more energyefficient than known methods in which the coil is removed bylifting it off the coiling system as the base assembly is mountedon the support structure.

The proposed coiling system is advantageously used in themethod according to the invention. Advantages andadvantageous features of the method according to the inventioncorrespond to those discussed in connection with the proposedcoiling system.

According to one embodiment of this aspect of the invention, thestep of removing the coil from the coiling system comprisestilting the base assembly prior to removing the coil. Verticalspace can thereby be saved, since the coil can be removed fromthe base assembly by movement in a horizontal plane.

According to another embodiment of this aspect of the invention,the coiling system is located in a coiling station, and the baseassembly holding the coil is transported away from the coilingstation using a conveyor prior to removing the coil from the baseassembly. This is suitable for smaller rolling mills, and enables atime efficient handling of coils since the coil does not need to be transferred to an intermediate coil pallet or the like used fortransporting the coil to a coil compacting station. lnstead, thebase assembly is transported to the compacting station, wherethe coil is removed from the base assembly and thereaftercompacted.

According to another embodiment of this aspect of the invention,an annular collecting member arranged around the central drumis provided, and the method comprises guiding the hot rolledproduct onto a previously coiled portion of said product bymoving the feeding device together with the annular collectingmember upwardly along the vertical axis.

Other advantageous features as well as advantages of thepresent invention will appear from the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will in the following be further described by meansof example with reference to the appended drawings, wherein Fig. 1 schematically shows a coiling system according to anembodiment of the invention in a first position, Fig. 2 shows the coiling system in fig. 1 in a second position, Fig. 3 shows a side view of parts of the coiling system in fig.2, and Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THEINVENTION A coiling station comprising a coiling system 1 according to anembodiment of the invention is shown in fig. 1-3. The coilingsystem 1 comprises a support structure 2, a base assembly 3,and a feeding device 4. The support structure 2 is located on aflat surface 5, such as on a floor or on the ground, and supportsthe base assembly 3, which is positioned on top of the supportstructure 2. The support structure 2 comprises a first drivemechanism (not shown), which is configured to rotate the baseassembly 3 around a vertical axis of rotation. A fasteningmechanism (not shown) is used to releasably fasten the baseassembly 3 to the support structure 2. The fastening mechanismcan e.g. comprise male and female fastening membersconfigured to engage with each other in a locking position andthereby securely fasten the base assembly 3 to the supportstructure 2. ln an open position, the fastening members aredisengaged and the base assembly 3 is released from thesupport structure 2.

The base assembly 3 comprises a base plate 6, a central drum 7extending from the base plate 6 along the vertical axis, and areceiving sleeve 8 arranged outside of the central drum 7, suchthat an annular space is provided near the base plate 6,between the central drum 7 and the receiving sleeve 8. Thecentral drum 7 has collapsible wall segments 7a, 7b, 7c that aremovable between an outer position and an inner position. Thereceiving sleeve 8 has a height corresponding to a few loops ofcoiled hot rolled product, substantially smaller than a totalheight of the central drum 7.

The feeding device 4 is configured to feed hot rolled productfrom e.g. a rolling mill downwardly to a pre-bending device 9provided at a front end of the feeding device 4. The pre-bendingdevice 9 is configured to bend the hot rolled-product before it is being coiled. The feeding device 4, and in particular its frontend, is movable up and down along the vertical axis, so that hotrolled product can be fed to the base assembly 3 at a suitableheight.

On the front end of the feeding device 4, a rotatable collectingring 10 arranged around the central drum 7 is provided,rotatably mounted on a support 11. The collecting ring 10 has aninner diameter equivalent to an inner diameter of the receivingsleeve 8. The collecting ring 10 is movable together with thefeeding device 4 up and down along the vertical axis. ln thevertical direction, it surrounds only a minor portion of the centraldrum 7, since it has a small height in comparison with thecentral drum 7. A second drive mechanism 12, configured torotate the collecting ring 10 around the vertical axis, is alsoprovided on the support 11. The second drive mechanism 12 ishere operable independently of the first drive mechanism. lt maythus rotate the collecting ring 10 at the same rotational speed asthe base assembly 3 or at a different rotational speed.

The coiling system 1 further comprises a transfer arrangement13 configured to move the base assembly 3 away from thesupport structure 2 in a horizontal plane when the baseassembly 3 has been released from the support structure 2. Thetransfer arrangement 13 here comprises two rotatable arms 14extending from a hub 15 positioned between the supportstructure 2 and a rest 16, to which the base assembly can betransferred from the support structure 2. The transferarrangement 13 is also used to transfer an empty baseassembly 3, not holding a coil 17, to the support structure 2 fromthe rest 16. The skilled person of course realises that there aremany different ways to design a transfer arrangement which maybe used to move the base assembly away from the supportstructure. 11 When a coil is to be formed using the shown coiling system 1,the base assembly 3 is mounted onto the support structure 2with the wall segments 7a, 7b, 7c in the outer position. The baseassembly 3 is rotated by means of the first drive mechanism at arotationa| speed w_1. Via the feeding device 4, the pre-bendingdevice 9, and the collecting ring 10, a first end of a hot ro||edproduct is fed to the rotating base assembly 3. As the coilforming process begins, the feeding device 4, the pre-bendingdevice 9 and the collecting ring 10 are in a lowermost positionclose to the receiving sleeve 8, as shown in fig. 1. As the hotro||ed product exits the pre-bending device 9, it enters via thecollecting ring 10 into the annular space formed between thereceiving sleeve 8 and the central drum 7. Meanwhile, thecollecting ring 10 is rotated by means of the second drivemechanism 12 at a second rotationa| speed w_2, which may beequivalent or slightly different from the first rotationa| speedw_1. A first end of the hot ro||ed product lands on the base plate6 and a coil 17 starts to form as hot ro||ed product iscontinuously fed onto the rotating base assembly 3. As the coil17 grows taller, the feeding device 4 and the collecting ring 10are moved upwardly so that the vertical distance between alanding position of the hot ro||ed product being coiled and thepre-bending device 9 is kept constant or essentially constantduring the entire coil forming process. As a second end of thehot ro||ed product is transferred to the base assembly 3, thefeeding device 4, the pre-bending device 9 and the collectingring 10 have reached an uppermost position and the coil 17 isfinished, see fig. 2.

The base assembly 3 holding the finished coil 17 is thereafterreleased from the support structure 2 and transferred to the rest16 using one of the rotatable arms. At the same time, an emptybase assembly 3 is transferred from the rest 16 to the supportstructure 2 for formation of another coil. The base assembly 3holding the finished coil 17 is thereafter tilted, the wall segments7a, 7b, 7c are moved to the inner position, and the coil 17 is 12 removed from the base assembly 3 and transferred to a coilpallet 18 via an intermediate support 19. The coil pallet 18holding the coil 17 can thereafter be transported away from thecoiling station, e.g. using a conveyor. The coil is usuallytransferred from the coiling station to a compacting station,where it is compacted prior to further transportation. Analternative to using a coil pallet 18 is to transport the entirebase assembly 3 holding the coil 17 away from the coilingstation using a conveyor. The base assembly 3 in this casefunctions as a coil pallet.

A method for forming a hot rolled product into an annular coil 17according to an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig.4. ln a first step S1, a coiling system 1 as described above isprovided on a coiling station. ln a second step S2, the baseassembly 3 is set to rotate using the first drive mechanism. ln athird step S3, a first end of the hot rolled product is guided froma rolling mill, via the feeding device 4 and into the annularspace provided between the receiving sleeve 8 and the centraldrum 7. An annular coil 17 starts to form around the centraldrum 7 by rotating the base assembly 3 around the vertical axisof rotation while feeding the hot rolled product downwardly usingthe feeding device 4. ln a fourth step S4, the feeding device 4together with the collecting ring 10 are moved upwardly alongthe vertical axis, as the collecting ring 10 and the baseassembly 3 are both rotated and as the hot rolled product iscontinuously fed to the base assembly 3. ln a fifth step S5, thebase assembly 3 is removed from the support structure 2 byreleasing the fastening mechanism and, by means of one of therotatable arms 14, transferring the base assembly 3 to the rest16, or to a conveyor used to transport the base assembly 3holding the coil 17 to e.g. a compacting station. ln a sixth stepS6, the coil 17 is removed from the base assembly 3, preferablyafter tilting of the base assembly 3. 13 The invention is of course not in any way restricted to the em-bodiments described above, but many possibilities to modifica-tions thereof would be apparent to a person with skill in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims. For example, the annular collectingmember may comprise at least two vertically spaced apart rings,between which a number of rotatable rolls are provided. Therolls in this case serve to collect the hot rolled product withoutthe use of a second drive mechanism.

Claims (15)

1. A coiling system (1)comprising: - a base assembly (3) comprising a base plate (6), a centraldrum (7) extending from the base plate (6) along a verticalaxis, and a receiving sleeve (8) arranged outside of saidcentral drum (7), - a support structure (2) configured to support the baseassembly (3) and comprising a first drive mechanismconfigured to rotate the base assembly (3) around thevertical axis, - a feeding device (4) configured to feed hot rolled productto the base assembly (3) so as to form a coil (17), wherein the receiving sleeve (8) is configured to receive a firstend of the hot rolled product landing on said base plate (6) sothat a coil (17) starts to form inside of said receiving sleeve (8)and outside of said central drum (7), characterised in that the base assembly (3) is releasably connected to the firstdrive mechanism so that the base assembly (3), after coiling,may be removed from the support structure (2). for coiling a hot rolled product,

2. The coiling system according to claim 1, further comprisingan annular collecting member (10) arranged around the centraldrum (7) above the receiving sleeve (8) and movable in the axialdirection together with the feeding device (4) so as to guide thehot rolled product onto a previously coiled portion of saidproduct.

3. The coiling system according to claim 2, wherein theannular collecting member (10) has a shorter extension alongthe vertical axis than the central drum (7), so that the annularcollecting member (10) surrounds only a minor portion of thecentral drum (7).

4. The coiling system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein theannular collecting member (10) is connected to the feedingdevice (4).

5. The coiling system according to any one of claims claim 2-4, wherein the annular collecting member (10) is in the form of arotatable collecting ring (10).

6. The coiling system according to claim 5, further comprisinga support (11) on which the collecting ring (10) is rotatablymounted.

7. The coiling system according to claim 5 or 6, furthercomprising a second drive mechanism (12) configured to rotatethe collecting ring (10) around the vertical axis.

8. The coiling system according to claim 7, wherein the firstand the second drive mechanisms are configured to be operableindependently of each other.

9. The coiling system according to any one of the precedingclaims, further comprising a pre-bending device (9) configuredto bend the hot ro||ed product as it is being fed from the feedingdevice (4).

10. The coiling system according to any one of the precedingclaims, wherein the central drum (7) comprises wall segments(7a, 7b, 7c) that are movable between an outer position and aninner position.

11. The coiling system according to any one of the precedingclaims, further comprising a transfer arrangement (13)configured to move the base assembly (3) away from thesupport structure (2) in a horizontal or essentially horizontalplane. 16

12. A method for forming a hot rolled product into an annularcoil (17), comprising the steps:- providing a coiling system (1) comprising a base assembly(3), a support structure (2) supporting the base assembly(3), and a feeding device (4), wherein the base assembly(3) is rotatable around a vertical axis and comprises abase plate (6), a central drum (7) extending from the baseplate (6) along a vertical axis, and a receiving sleeve (8)arranged outside of the central drum (7),- guiding a first end of the hot rolled product onto the baseplate (6) inside of said receiving sleeve (8) and outside ofsaid central drum (7),- forming the hot rolled product to an annular coil (17)around said central drum (7) by rotating the base assembly(3) around the vertical axis while feeding the hot rolledproduct downwardly using the feeding device (4), and- removing the coil (17) from the coiling system (1),characterised inthat the step of removing the coil (17) from the coiling system(1) comprises removing the base assembly (3) from the supportstructure (2) prior to removing the coil (17) from the baseassembly (3).

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step ofremoving the coil (17) from the coiling system (1) comprisestilting the base assembly (3) prior to removing the coil (17).

14. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the coilingsystem (1) is located in a coiling station, and wherein the baseassembly (3) holding the coil (17) is transported away from thecoiling station using a conveyor prior to removing the coil (17)from the base assembly (3).

15. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, whereinan annular collecting member (10) arranged around the centraldrum (7) is provided, and wherein the method comprises guiding 17 the hot rolled product onto a previously coiled portion of saidproduct by moving the feeding device (4) together with theannular collecting member (10) upwardly along the vertical axis.