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Metal Pass' Smart Manufacturing
in Steel Industry
Technical consultation and development based on existing
project cases and existing software
In producing high strength grades such as Linepipe steel X80 -
X120, the rolling and cooling processes need to achieve
process targets (temperature, draft, cooling rate etc.). The
processes also involve strip/plate shapes under certain roll
profiles, together with the equipment capacity limits and
energy saving issues. Metal Pass helps you in improving mill
models and automation software, with also metallurgical
knowhow integrated to the models. This will not only ensure
that you can successfully produce the high strength grades, but
also let you achieve a yearly return of millions of dollars
(e.g. in a steckle plate mill). Many clients of Metal Pass,
though already possess technologies to produce high grades,
still hire Metal Pass to improve their draft schedule. After
upgrading the level 2 model, a plant is usually expected to
increase earning of about a million US dollars per month!
Smart Manufacturing of steel
Metal Pass has technical strength on Smart Manufacturing in
Steel Industry. This is particularly in
Overview,
Plate production,
Wire and
Bar production, and
Steel Smelting,
and so on.
In steel industry, Level 2 system is the primary area for
Smart Manufacturing, and the Level 2 System is also the
primary Intelligent System to deal with process models and
Logics. With Level 1 as the Basic Automation System, and Level
3 as management system with most functions overlapped with
today's MES, the Level 2 System integrates with the Level 1
and the Level 3 to form the Smart Manufacturing System.
In general,
Metal Pass consulting covers a variety areas for steel mills
on model improvement and software development, such as
Level
2 model,
mill
software,
Automation System,
Mill Improvement,
Roll Pass
Design and
FEM/FDM
Analysis.
In flat rolling, we improve yield and product quality
(shape/property) by accurate prediction of force, temperature and roll deformation,
etc. for Level 2 model.
In rod,
bar and section rolling, we have accurate models for spread, forward slip
and tension effects, etc. to achieve high quality roll pass
design.
In either case, we improve existing mill software and/or develop
new software system.
Level 2 Model Improvement
Steel mill Level 2 system is
considered as the nerve
system of a steel mill and
is usually
referred to as the Production
Execution System, in which mill Level 2 model contains most of the
mill system
intelligences.
Most product defects,
such as the poor geometry
and low properties, are
directly or indirectly
related to a poor Level 2
model. The
center buckle and edge wave,
for example, are caused by
unequal drafts in the middle
and the sides of the
plate/strip due to a draft
schedule not fit to roll
profile. The problem of low
mechanical properties is
often caused by inaccurate
Level 2 model in which the
preferred parameters
(temperatures, etc.) missed
metallurgical targets. See
Level 2 Model Performance
Issues such as
Product Defects and
Level 2 Model Error.
Even a slight improvement of
a
Level 2 model can add
significant economic value
to the steel mill. See
Significance of the Level 2
Model Improvement. For
example, 1% reduction in the
Level 2 force error may have
a value of 1 million US
dollar per year! (See
Significance of Accurate
Level 2 Force Prediction).
Metal Pass
Level 2 Model Improvement
can significantly increase
your system accuracy, by
making very few , often only
several lines of, source
code change, or by simple
modification of the Level 2 input data without any
source code modification.
Improvement can be performed in
the modules such as
For more significant
improvement, usually by more
modifications to the
existing system, Metal Pass
can perform
System Further Development
for you. Metallurgical
models and other thermal and
mechanical models can be
integrated into your system,
as showed below:
Please see the consulting
section
Level 2 Model Improvement for details.
Mill Software
Development and
Improvement
Metal Pass'
expertise exists in
the development of model-based
steel mill software,
especially those
used in
the rolling mills. We have
consultants (e.g. Dr.
Benjamin Li)
who are both the
mill model experts
and the
highly-skilled
software engineers.
Metal Pass'
software consulting
and developments are
primarily in the
following areas:
See details on
Metal Pass'
Model-based Mill
Software Development
and Improvement.
Mill
Automation
System
Development
and
Improvement
We develop new
and improve existing Level 2 systems. We apply our
accurate rolling process models and metallurgical models to develop new production scheduling
system or to improve the existing ones. In addition, we develop
various software applications to satisfy steel mill needs.
-
Level 2 system for EAF, LMF, Caster and Baghouse, etc., for
data collection, data communication, production logics and
modeling.
-
Level 2 system for steel rolling mills: Level 2
production execution system which manages steel rolling
operation with quite little human intervention, about one third of
which is the Level 2 model.
-
Level 3 system for steel rolling mills: such as
production scheduling system, prediction system for rolled steel
properties, and slab management and optimization systems, etc.
-
New Level 2 system development: new development of the
Level 2 system architecture and integration of metallurgical
model into Level 2 systems
-
Other applications for steel rolling mills: various
mill software development and improvement.
For details, see the consulting section
Mill Automation System Development and Improvement.
Rolling Mill Plant
Metal Pass provides
steel wire rod
rolling mill
machinery and
automation
equipment. with the
state-of-the-art
development of mill
technological
parameters, process
models and
automation systems,
the mill is,
however, with very
competitive price.
For detailed
information on the
wire rod mill plant,
see the
Rolling Mill Plant section.
Roll Pass Design
Metal Pass provides
consulting services to improve both your roll pass schedule
and roll pass software. There are dozens of influence
factors on a roll pass schedule, together with issues of
robustness and accuracy. Metal Pass' strength exists in the
unique combination of the theory (accurate process models) and
field practice. Example of our consulting areas are:
-
Wire rod
rolling:
a
list
of
roll
pass design
programs,
with
accurate
process
models -
Bar
rolling:
models,
advanced
analytical
tools
and a
good
collection
of
existing
pass
schedules -
Section
rolling:
good
understanding
of metal
deformation,
with
the Ph.D.
research
on the
subject
and a
book
published. -
Pipe/tube
rolling:
work on
tension-reducing
mill
roll
pass,
good
understanding
of
related
metal
deformation;
many
classes
in the
field
and mill
practices,
etc. -
Flat
rolling:
both
online
and
offline
models
available,
with
sophisticated
Level 2
models.
See detailed
description of Metal
Pass
Roll Pass Design
consulting.
Mill
Performance
Improvement
This is to apply our mill models
and mill knowledge in the daily operation of the steel plants, to improve
productivity, yield and product quality, etc. It is under unique combination of the
mill theory and mill practice. Examples of our consulting areas
include:
-
Mechanical properties improvement: such as increasing
reductions in certain temperature range and application of
roll bending schedules.
-
Shape and yield improvement: change of mill operation to
reduce all kinds of defects such as camber, hooking, edge
wave, center buckle, missed slots, kinks, knuckles, etc.
-
Productivity improvement: improvement of mill operation,
such as decreasing the number of passes, slab line up and
firing, flow analysis, etc. to increase productivity.
-
Energy saving and cost reducing: such as improvement of
reheating process, optimization of slab size and slab grade.
See details on
Mill Operation Improvement with a list of work areas and
solutions.
FEM/FDM
Analysis
We are one of the earliest successful researchers in the industry applications of finite elements method (FEM)
for the steel rolling. Our work area focuses on the
application of FEM
to solve real industry problems. We can use our expertise to
help you. Besides FEM, we have also developed software with finite
differential method (FDM), see an
online demo.
FEM is an universal tool to provide information on local
deformation such as roll deflection and roll flattening,
and to do product defects analysis. The information is very useful in
improving forming process and reducing defects. FDM is an
efficient tool for temperature profile determination. See
FEM/FDM
Application Areas.
Metal Pass consulting utilizes FEM and FDM to improve your
rolling mill operation and forming processes, to achieve
accurate roll pass schedule, improved Level 2 model, and to
reduce defects, etc. Metal Pass can guide you to improve your
production process in a very wide range with application of
FEM/FDM. See detailed
Metal Pass Work Areas in this aspect.
Please refer to the Metal Pass Consulting in the section
FEM/FDM
Analysis for details.
Model Training
Based on the large number of web-based software programs,
Metal Pass provides hands-on training on mill model and mill
design/development. The
training schedule consists of 20 modules. Every module has
technical discussion and lab excise, etc. Hands-on lab is an
effective way for students to quickly gain experience on mill
parameter calculation and mill design/development. The
training schedule can be customized based on each company's
practice. For more details, see "Model
Training: Steel Rolling Process Modeling and Mill Design
".
Metal Pass Resources Available for Consulting
As an industrial expert, Metal Pass has rich resources for
mill consulting, especially in the steel mill process
modeling and computer application.
Detailed listing for
the resources is
described in a
separate file, which
covers following
topics:
See the profile for the primary consultant
Dr. Benjamin Li.
Please contact us via email
BLi68@QQ.com
(preferred) if you need any software
system or mill machinery/equipment mentioned above. For details on the primary
Consultant, you are welcome to review the Website
www.Meta4-0.com/BLi. It covers his
past experience with over 1GB of materials in text and photos.
Metal Pass also has dozens of
research reports and some
software applications
available at no charge for the Metal Pass Consulting clients (under approval by
Dr. Benjamin Li).
Planning &
Consulting
Biz discuss, Planning, Maturity,
Consulting Area,
Predict Maint.
Defect
Early Warning, Models, Manufacturing, Li-Battery, Steel
=========
Contact us: Please scan the figure below to add
Wechat (e.g. myQQfriend); Tel: 13400064848 or 13430699003; E-mail
BLi68@QQ.com. See
Profile of the
key consultant.
 
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