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The roll forming line of the future has traction control, individual drives, a clutch system for automatic coupling and uncoupling, and absolute reproducibility

According to Austrian company voestalpine Krems, Europe's most advanced special roll forming line   was launched at the end of February 2016. Both voestalpine and SEUTHE developed the 328 feet (100 meters) long roll forming line together and both are very happy with the results. Most important for the customer is the traction control which you can compare to Formula 1 racing technology. It prevents the steel strip from slipping and thereby allows faster production speed and higher quality. Furthermore, the holes for the very complex profiles need to be punched very accurately to one tenth of a millimetre.

Individual drives with optimized speed control

SEUTHE was not only challenged in the development of a new drive concept to satisfy customer requests, but also in the generation of a process for fully automatic coupling and decoupling of the drives to the roller axes. The automatic changing process of in total 56 roll-forming stands needed to integrate the existing stands of the customer’s raft design. Since all roller axes can be coupled or uncoupled in parallel, this process is done in less than 60 seconds for all roll stands. Project manager Jürgen Drossel identifies system highlights in the traction control, the coupling and uncoupling to the roller axes, and the sturdy and solid engineering achieving tightest manufacturing tolerances.

Short set-up time by automatic coupling

To solve this challenge an individual drive was used for each roller axis - and separate for upper and lower drives -, each driven by a servomotor.   Benefits include an improved energy efficiency, the possibility of accurate speed control at each roller axis, and over- or understeering of the power value, if necessary.

Compatibility with stands and changing plates

SEUTHE Company can be proud of the absolute reproducibility of the roller axis settings, and the user friendly 28" operating display or the use of a tablet. As a result all technical data of a roller set can be saved altogether or each individually. . Technical data include e.g. roller pitch, torque, and speed. Especially the tablet increases usability by allowing the user to control or make changes to the settings right at the stand. Just imagine the operator correcting a mark appearing on the profile when setting up a new pitch, caused by different work speed at the upper part compared to the lower. The mobility of the tablet in the 30 meters long roll forming area is also of great advantage while service, maintenance, coupling, and control of the current operating status occur.

Individual drives: Quiet and energy efficient

Compliance with noise and safety regulations is just as important as a safety remote control.  Individual drives especially pay off in terms of energy policy. Those drives only use energy when actually in operation. Engine temperatures are always monitored and cooling processes start only at a particular pre-set temperature. That saves energy and reduces noise levels.

Above ground: Faster and lower costs

Another advantage of the new roll forming line is the design and construction of all plant components from coil cars to flying cut-off unit as an above-ground solution.  Customers benefit that foundation work is practically unnecessary saving considerable costs and time by not needing to build a foundation.

In the end a “multi-functional processing centre”

A fast operating line needs an adequate and accurately working saw. SEUTHE completely re-engineered the flying saw with new features and functions: Advantages of various methods of cutting with saw, shear or cutting blade are additional units in this system, enabling down-stream processing with a tracking punch or press, which allows voestalpine new opportunities in profile designs.

Seamless cooperation for high precision manufacturing

In order to perfectly separate profiles you can adjust the saw cutting position in 3 axes. The cutting angle is movable between 10º and 45º degrees. The innovative cutting section needs optimized control software to allow the processing aggregate and several functions to work at the same time, and to achieve a length accuracy tolerance of up to 0.3 mm.

Following are core functions:

  • Control of subsequent operation units
  • New saw designs to allow usage of smaller and less expensive saw blades with re-sharpening capability
  • Precise cutting position

These control functions can also be integrated into other SEUTHE flying cutting units.

Made in Germany – Advanced engineering and in-house manufacturing

All innovations of the special roll forming lines were designed and manufactured within the ASMAG Group. Close coordination between designing and the workshops and close networking within all departments allow for ideal conditions.


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