British Steel descaling system
British Steel’s goal was to increase the rolling mill product quality of the Skinningrove mill to address an increasingly competitive market.
After an international bid, given the positive outcome experienced with Inoxihp products installed in Scunthorpe, BS decided to continue the partnership for new requirements.
The project was a challenge from the beginning: a wide variety of products, request for high quality and a short installation time frame.
Inoxihp suggested creating two billet descaling stations at the exit of the main furnace and the re-heat furnace. Mobile guides were designed to allow the descaling headers to be set according to the position and shape of the ingots to be descaled. The guides are automatically positioned by a production tracking system which checks the compliance of the ingot with laser measuring tools.
The pumping station consists of 3+1 PF480 pumping groups, loaded by valve lifters and variable speed motors, to adapt to the different flow rates required and to minimise energy consumption.
Special care was taken over the quality control process. BS and Inoxihp worked together to define a control procedure based on capturing the descaled surface image with high-definition cameras which was then analysed using in-house specially developed software.
The integral handling system of the guides and ramps and the quality control process are the subject of a joint patent application by Inoxihp and BS.
