US3501937A

US3501937A - Stripper guide

Info

Publication number: US3501937A
Application number: US668141A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles E Pierce
Original assignee: Crucible Inc
Current assignee: Crucible Materials Corp
Priority date: 1967-09-15
Filing date: 1967-09-15
Publication date: 1970-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 1987-03-24

Description

United States Patent 3,501,937 STRIPPER GUIDE Charles E. Pierce, Brewerton, N.Y., assignor to Crucible Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 668,141 Int. Cl. B21b 41/00 U.S. Cl. 72250 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates generally to a stripper guide for use with a rod and bar mill and is adapted to receive the rolled workpiece from the mill and guide it along a substantially straight passline. More specifically, the stripper guide of the invention includes a guide body, in the form of a pipe section, and having at its head or inlet end a portion defining an inlet opening into which the workpiece exiting from the roll gap enters the guide body. The guide is mounted operatively adjacent the exit side of the roll gap. Means, such as a spring, is provided for urging the guide axially toward the work rolls adjacent the roll In rolling mills adapted to roll relatively small-diameter, elongated products such as rods and bars, it is conventional practice to provide stripper guides adjacent the roll gap on the exit side of the mill. The stripper guides serve to receive the rolled workpiece as it emerges from the gap of the work rolls and insures that its leading end emerges in the direction of the roll passline. In the absence of stripper guides, the workpiece, which for example may be a rod or bar, will periodically follow the contour of one of the work rolls rather than emerge in the direction of the roll passline. In this instance, the workpiece Wraps around the roll and results in what is commonly termed a cobble. Production is, of course, lost during the time required to remove the cobble from the mill.

It is accordingly the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved stripper guide for use with rolling mills for eliminating cobble, which provides additional advantages and improvements in structure and function over stripper guides conventionally used for this purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stripper guide of unitized construction wherein the head or stripper-guide tip, which is subject to wear because of its contact with the work rolls, is easily replaceable to substantially minimize mill downtime.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a stripper guide wherein the tip or head portion thereof wears in a manner that the configuration or contour of the guide tip remains unchanged during the life thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a stripper guide that is resiliently mounted in the direction of workpiece travel so that guide breakage caused by impact imparted to the guide by a workpiece emerging from the mill will be minimized.

These and other objects of the invention as well as a complete understanding thereof may be obtained from the following description and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, in partial section, of one embodiment of a stripper guide in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view of the stripper guide of FIGURE 1.

In its broadest aspects, the stripper guide of the invention includes a body member having a through passage which a workpiece, such as a rod or bar, leaving the work rolls of a mill stand passes along a horizontal passline. One end of the stripper-guide body has a head portion that is positioned operatively adjacent and urged to- "ice ward the gap of the mill work rolls and defines an inlet opening to the guide passage. The cross-sectional area of the inlet opening of the head portion is larger than the cross-sectional area of the guide passage. This facilitates entry of the workpiece leaving the gap of the work rolls into the guide passage.

Biasin-g means, such as a spring, is provided to urge the head portion axially with respect to the guide passage and into engagement with the work rolls. The force so urging said head portion is preselected so that Wear of the head portion caused by sliding contact with the moving work roll surfaces is minimized. An end portion of the outer surface of the stripper-guide head is shaped to conform to the curved surfaces of the work rolls. The head portion is removably secured to the body portion of the stripper guide, preferably by threaded engagement therewith. The body portion of the stripper guide defining the guide passage is preferably substantially circular in crosssection to facilitate the threaded engagement with the head portion of the stripper guide, which in turn facilitates replacement of the head portion.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a stripper guide, which is in accordance with the invention and designated generally as 10, mounted adjacent the roll gap of work rolls R on the exit side thereof. The stripper guide 10 is supported on a base or pedestal 13. The stripper guide has a body member 12 mounted within a housing 14 having uprights 16, which renders the housing of generally U-shape as shown in FIGURE 2. The member 12 is provided with a cylindrical bore 18. The end of the bore 18 adjacent the work rolls has a concentric, large-diameter portion 20.

A pipe section 22 is positioned within the bore 18 and a portion thereof extends from the end of the bore adjacent the work rolls. The end of this portion is provided with threads to permit it to be connected by threaded engagement to a stripper-guide tip or head 24. The head 24 is of generally cylindrical structure with the end thereof adjacent the work rolls flared outwardly slightly to create an inlet opening of greater size than the remainder of the guide passage. Head 24 has curved faces 26 which conform substantially to the curved surfaces of the. work rolls. It is obvious that although section 22 and head 24 have been shown as being circular in cross-sections, other configurations can be readily used and means other than threads can be used for securing these parts together in cooperative relationship.

Within the large-diameter portion 20 of the bore 18 is positioned a helical spring 28, which is in engagement with and urges the stripper-guide tip into contact at its curve faces 26 with the work rolls. In this manner, entry passage 30 is axially aligned with the workpiece emerging from the gap of the work rolls. The workpiece is thus guided into the passage 30 and from there along the desired horizontal passline by the action of the stripper guide. The pressure exerted by the stripper-guide tip 24 against the work rolls may be adjusted to any desired magnitude by the proper selection of spring 28. Ideally, this pressure is such as to insure against cobbles, and yet provide minimum wear of the stripper-guide tip. Wear of the stripper-guide tip will inevitably occur; however, because the tip is being urged axially against the work roll surfaces, such wear will in no way change the configuration of the tip to render the. stripper guide, and particularly the tip thereof, ineffective for receiving workpieces emerging from the gap of the work rolls. The spring 28 also serves to impart a degree of resiliency to the guide in the direction of workpiece movement. Hence, the impact of the workpiece against the guide is to a degree absorbed to minimize guide breakage.

The uprights 16 of housing 14 are provided with aligned rectangular openings 30. An elongated timber member 32, which is of rectangular cross-section, is supported within the openings 30 and extends between the uprights. When so positioned, the member 32 bears against a lug 34 integral with and extending upwardly from the mounting block 12. With the stri per guide so arranged, it is in the operable position with respect to the Work rolls as shown in FIGURE 1.

When it is desired to remove the stripper-guide tip 24, member 32 is removed from between the uprights 14 of the stripper-guide housing. This permits the stripper guide, and specifically the member 12, to be moved axially away from the work rolls (to the right as viewed in FIGURE 1). This action provides sufficient clearance between the end of the stripper-guide tip and the work rolls to permit the tip to be removed from the end of the pipe section 22. A new tip is then installed, the member 12 and associated pipe section 22 are slid axially toward the work rolls, and the wooden member 32 is again positioned between the uprights 16 of the housing.

It may be seen from the above description that the stripper guide may readily accommodate workpieces of varying diameter by merely changing the stripper-guide tip. Because the stripper-guide tip is axially urged into the roll gap and into contact with the curved work roll surfaces, the wear occasioned by contact with said work roll surfaces does not change the configuration of the tip and thus its effectiveness in directing the workpiece into the guide passage. Wear of the stripper-guide tip is minimized by the capability of selecting the desired axial force used in urging the tip against the work rolls; this is achieved by proper selection of the biasing spring.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that other adaptations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A stripper guide for use with a rolling mill having a pair of cooperating work rolls, said guide comprising body means defining a guide passage through which work leaving the pair of rolls is directed, a head portion at one end of said body means defining an inlet opening to said guide passage of larger cross-sectional area than the crosssectional area of said guide passage to facilitate entry of a workpiece leaving the work rolls into said guide passage, means for mounting said body means operatively adjacent the work rolls, and biasing means assembled between said body means and said mounting means in a manner such that said head portion is urged in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of said guide passage and into continuous contact with working surfaces of the Work rolls at a preselected pressure.

2. A stripper guide as defined in claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the outer surface of said head portion is shaped to conform with the working surfaces of the working rolls.

3. A stripper guide as defined in claim 1 wherein said head portion is removably secured to said body means.

4. A stripper guide as defined in claim 1 wherein said body means is substantially circular in cross-section shape and said head portion is threadably secured thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LOWELL A. LARSON, Primary Examiner