Widthwise-compressing machine and rolling mill provided with the same machine

Abstract: A widthwise-compressing machine for applying a compression force through press tools to a material (1) to reduce a width of the material while applying vibrations to said material (1) to forcibly vibrate said material has a compression unit (3) for producing a compression force forming a working force, and a vibration-applying unit (4) for applying the vibration to said material (1). The vibration-applying unit (4) is provided independently of the compression unit (3). In the widthwise-compressing machine, when the material (1) is plastically worked, the material can be vibrated at an extremely high frequency to make it possible to resonate the material, thereby allowing the plastic-deformation thereof to be promoted.

Description: This invention relates to a sizing press for reducing the width of hot rolled slabs according to the first part of claim 1 and to a method for reducing the width of such slabs. In a sizing press disclosed in the JP-A-61-262401 there is provided a sizing press in which anvil blocks are located in contact with widthwise sides of a slab material, and a force is applied to the anvil blocks in a compressing direction while vibrating the anvil blocks. With this sizing press, the width compression is effected while applying vibrations to the anvil blocks to forcibly vibrate the sheet material. Thus, the width compression is carried out while keeping the thickness of the sheet uniform. In order to plastically deform a slab material to compress its width as in this known technique, an extremely large compressive force and an extremely large displacement amount are required. On the other hand, vibrations, applied in order to promote the plastic deformation of the material, are required to provide only a small thrust and a small displacement amount, but need to be produced at a high frequency, and particularly an extremely high frequency is required in order to resonate the material. For example, for hot compressing the width of common steel, a compressive working force of several thousands of tons and a displacement amount of several hundreds of mm are required, and in order to resonate the material, vibrations need to be applied at a high frequency on the order of several kHz. However, it is difficult to produce the vibration force of a high frequency by load means which applies a large thrust and a large displacement amount, since moving parts of the load means have a large mass. And besides, it is difficult to vibrate the material through the anvil blocks, which are rigid and large in mass, as in the above conventional technique. Particularly when a fluid pressure cylinder is used as the load means, it is necessary to increase the bore of the cylinder in order to obtain a large thrust, and at the same time its stroke must be increased in order to obtain a large displacement amount. Therefore, the mass of the moving parts including the anvil blocks is large, and besides the volume of an operating fluid in the cylinder is increased, and therefore the natural frequency, determined by compression properties of the operating fluid, the dimensions of the cylinders and piping, and so on, is low. Since the cylinder does not respond at a frequency beyond this natural frequency, the vibration can not be effected at a high frequency, and particularly the vibration can not be effected at a high frequency corresponding to the resonant point. Namely, it is extremely difficult to achieve the function of the compression means, requiring a large thrust and a large displacement amount, and the function of the vibrating means, requiring a high frequency, at the same time by the common load means, and it is impossible to apply vibrations of a high frequency through the anvil blocks. Therefore, according to the above conventional technique, sufficient vibrations to promote the plastic deformation of the material can not be applied, and particularly it is virtually impossible to resonate the material. Therefore, there has been encountered a problem that the effects, such as the increase of the compression amount, the reduction of the force and energy required for the working and the improved working accuracy, can not be sufficiently achieved. US 3 534 578 discloses a method and an apparatus for hot forming metal bars, in which the bars are heated at a chosen position by flame or induction. Prior to the heating a vibratory energy is applied directly to one end of the bar having a sinusoidal stress level near the elastic limit. Upon the heating the elastic stress limit of the bar material is lowered in the hot area, so that the sinusoidal stress level exceeds the elastic limit, and the heat generated by the mechanical hysteresis will maintain and regulate the temperature of the bar before or during its forming operation. Further, the basic deformation of the hot material will be done by the dynamic vibrational stress waves caused by sonic power transducers directed in the longitudinal axis of the bar. In JP-A-60-121 001 there is disclosed a sizing press for reducing the width of hot rolling slabs having pressing tools on each long side of the slab. The pressing faces of both tools comprise an inclined entrance portion and a main portion in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slab. Both pressing tools are reciprocally driven in the widthwise directions of the slab for applying upsetting forces to the slab. A pair of transport rolls are provided on the entrance side and another pair of transport rolls are disposed on the discharge side of the sizing press. A control system is connected with the driving units of said transport rolls and the pressing tools, so that the transport rolls are driven during an outward stroke of the pressing tools and are stopped during an upset operation by an inward stroke of the tools. In AT-B 363 894 there is disclosed an apparatus for rolling metal sheets, rods, wires, etc. by an application of ultrasonics of large amplitudes, in which a vibrating roll contacts the rolling material and transfers the ultrasonic vibrations into the material to be rolled. The distance between said vibrating roll and both working rolls is equivalent to a multiple of the half-wave length of the vibrations. It is an object of this invention to provide a sizing press which overcomes the above problems, achieves a high working accuracy and can be reduced in size. The above object will be achieved according to the invention by the featurs of claim 1 and 9, resp. The sizing presses and control methods thereof according to the invention are in accordance with by the following features: (1) In a sizing press wherein a compressive force is applied to a material through press tools to reduce a width of the material while applying vibrations to the material to forcibly vibrate the material, there is provided compression means for producing the compressive force forming a main working force, and vibrating means for applying the vibrations is provided independently of the compression means. (2) In a sizing press wherein a compressive force is applied to a material through press tools to reduce a width of the slab material while applying vibrations to the material to forcibly vibrate the material, the compressive force forming a main working force is of a magnitude insufficient to compress the material into a desired width by itself, and vibrating means for applying the vibrations is provided independently of the compression means. (3) In a sizing press wherein a compressive force is applied to a slab material to reduce a width of the material while applying vibrations to the material to forcibly vibrate the material, there is provided compression means for applying the compressive force, forming a main working force, through the press tools to the material, and vibrating means for applying the vibrations not through the press rolls is provided independently of the compression means. (4) In a sizing press wherein a compressive force is applied to a slab material to reduce a width of the material while applying vibrations to the material to forcibly vibrate the material, there is provided compression means for applying the compressive force, forming a main working force, through the press tools to the material, and vibrating means for applying the vibrations through the press rolls is provided independently of the compression means. (5) In a control method for the above items (1) to (4), a frequency of the vibrations applied by the vibrating means is varied in accordance with a change in size of the material. (6) In a control method for the above items (1) to (5), the vibrating means applies the vibrations of which frequency is close to a resonance frequency of the material. (7) In any one of the above items (1) to (4), the press tools comprise anvil blocks, respectively. In a control method according to another aspect of the invention the vibration forces applied by the vibrating means are exerted in the same or in a different direction as the direction of the compression forces. Advantagely the vibrating means are fluid pressure devices, wherein a first fluid pressure device serves as compression means for producing the compressive force forming a main working force, and a second fluid pressure device serves as vibrating means for applying the vibrations. Different operating fluids can be used respectively in the first and in the second fluid pressure devices. According to the invention the function of the compression means, requiring a large thrust and a large displacement amount, and the function of the vibrating means requiring a high frequency can be achieved at the same time. As a result, the material can be worked with high precision. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a structural view of a sizing press using pressing tools according to an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a characteristic diagram of a change of the ratio of a dynamic strain at a slab end to a dynamic strain at a central portion of the slab in accordance with a frequency of applied vibrations; Fig. 3 is an illustration of an operation of the sizing press according to the invention; Fig. 4 is a characteristic diagram of a relation between a compression amount and a compressive force in the sizing press of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 to 14 are structural views of a sizing press according to other embodiments of the invention; Fig. 15 is a structural view of rolling facilities according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT One embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a slab whose width is to be compressed, and in this embodiment this slab has a sheet-like form. Reference numeral 2 denotes anvil blocks, which constituts press tools, for applying upsetting or compressive forces respectively to the side surfaces of the slab 1, and reference numeral 3 denotes compression means for generating said compressiv forces. Each compression means 3 includes a cylinder 3a, a piston 3b mounted in the cylinder 3a, and a piston rod 3c connected to a respective one of the anvil blocks 2. The anvil blocks 2 are so arranged as to hold the material 1 therebetween, and the compression means 3 are provided outwardly of the anvil blocks, respectively. Reference numeral 4 denotes vibrating means for applying vibrations directly to the side surfaces of the slab 1, respectively. Each vibrating means 4 includes a roller 4a in contact with the side surface of the slab 1, a piston rod 4b supporting the roller 4a, a piston 4c, and a cylinder 4d. The rollers 4a of the vibrating means 4 are provided independently of the compression means 3 at the inlet side for the slab 1 in the anvil blocks 2. At least two sets of vibrating means 4 are provided at the inlet side of the anvil blocks 2 so as to hold the slab 1 therebetween. The pistons 3b of the compression means 3 are controlled by a control valve 5, and the pistons 4c of the vibrating means 4 are controlled by a control valve 6. The control valves 5 and 6 are connected to a power unit 7 which supplies an operating fluid to the control valves 5 and 6, and receives the operating fluid discharged therefrom. The control valves 5 and 6 are driven respectively by control instructions fed respectively from controllers 8 and 9. The controllers 8 and 9 are controlled by a host controller 10. As shown in Fig. 1, the compression means 3 are driven by the control valve 5 controlled by a monotonic signal. The vibrating means 4 are driven by the control valve 6 controlled by an oscillation signal. For hot compressing the width of the slab made, for example, of common steel, a large compressive force of several thousands of tons and a large displacement amount of several hundreds of mm are required, and therefore the bore and stroke of the cylinder 3a of the compression means 3 need to be increased. On the other hand, the vibration to be applied to the slab material 1 can be small in force and displacement amount, but need to have a high frequency of several kHz in order to resonate the slab material. With the above construction, the compressive force serving as the upsetting force, and the vibration force for vibrating the slab 1 which totally differ in required properties can be applied to slab 1, respectively. The reason is that the construction can be made most suitable in the dimensions and specification, as well as the driving and control systems, for achieving the required performance. A fluid pressure mechanism for the compression means or the pressing means and a fluid pressure mechanism for the vibrating means can be designed into respective suitable constructions independently of each other. As described later, the compression means 3 is constituted by an electrically-operated mechanism having a crankshaft mechanism, and the vibrating means 4 is constituted by a fluid pressure mechanism using a cylinder. Alternatively, systems most suitable for various requirements can be used in combination. For example, the compression means 3 can be constituted by a fluid pressure mechanism, and the vibrating means 4 can be constituted by an electrically-operated mechanism using a crankshaft mechanism, a cam mechanism or a link mechanism. For example, the compression means 3 and the vibrating means 4 are constituted by fluid pressure mechanisms, respectively, and if the compression means 3 requiring a large thrust and a large displacement amount uses a system in which the cylinder, having a large bore and a large stroke, is controlled by the control valve having high pressure and a high flow rate while the vibrating means 4 requiring a high frequency uses a system in which the cylinder, having a small stroke, is controlled by the high-response control valve, the following operation is effected: The natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism which vibrates the load with a mass M by the cylinder having a pressure-receiving area A is expressed by formula 1 if the sum of the volume of the operating fluid in the cylinder and the volume of the operating fluid in a pipe extending from the control valve to the cylinder is represented by V, and the bulk modulus of the operating fluid is represented by K. f n = 1 2π 4A 2 K vM The pressure-receiving area A is large since the compression means requires a large thrust, and therefore the required flow rate is high, and in order to reduce a pressure loss, the diameter of the pipe is large, so that the volume in the pipe extending from the control valve and the cylinder is large. And, since the stroke is large in order to obtain a large displacement amount, the volume in the cylinder is large. As a result, the sum V of the volume of the operating fluid in the cylinder and the volume of the operating fluid in the pipe extending from the control valve to the cylinder is large, and the mass M is large. Therefore, the natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism is small. On the other hand, if the vibrating means 4 are provided independently, the thrust and stroke can be small, and therefore the mass M is small, and the sum V of the volume of the operating fluid in the cylinder and the volume of the operating fluid in the pipe extending from the control valve to the cylinder is small. Therefore, the natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism can be increased. Therefore, there can be achieved the vibrating means 4 capable of vibrating the material at an extremely high frequency corresponding to the resonance frequency of the material. Further, if the vibrating means 4 are provided separately from the compression means 3, and the slab material is vibrated not through press tools having a large mass, then the mass of the moving parts of the vibrating means 4 can be made smaller. Therefore, the natural frequency can be made higher, and the limit value of the frequency of the applied vibration is further enhanced, so that the vibration can be effected at a higher frequency. For example, if the required thrust in the vibrating means of the sizing press is 1/10 of the trust required in the means for effecting both compression and vibration in the conventional technique, and the stroke is 1/50, then the pressure-receiving area A is 1/10, and the sum V of the volume of the operating fluid in the cylinder and the volume of the operating fluid in the pipe is 1/500. Therefore, if the mass of the moving parts is 1/30, the natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism is about twelve times higher. Actually, in accordance with the decrease of the required flow rate, the diameter of the pipe is decreased, and the volume in the pipe extending from the control valve to the cylinder is decreased, and therefore the sum V of the volume of the operating fluid in the cylinder and the volume of the operating fluid in the pipe is further decreased, so that the natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism becomes higher. Therefore, the natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism can be made higher several tens of times or more, and the limit vibration frequency is greatly increased. If Young's modulus of the material is represented by E, and its density is represented by ρ, the resonance frequency f W in the direction of the width of the sheet is expressed by formula 2. For example, the resonance frequency f W of a material (which has a sheet width of 1200 mm, and is to be hot processed) in the direction of the width of the sheet is about 1.6 kHz. Therefore, if the limit vibration frequency which has heretofore been up to about 100 Hz at best is increased as described above, the material can be resonated. f w = 1 2W E ρ On the other hand, if the area of contact between the anvil block and the sheet material is represented by S, a strain ε C at a widthwise central portion of the sheet and a strain ε E at the side edge portion of the sheet are expressed respectively by formula 3 and formula 4 when an elastic vibration force Psin(2πft) (where P represents a half amplitude of the elastic vibration force, f represents the frequency or the applied vibration, and t represents time) is applied to the material having a sheet width W. ε C = P AE cos 2πf E ρ · W 2 sin(2πft) ε E = P AE sin(2πft) Therefore, the ratio of the strain ε C at the central portion of the sheet to the strain ε E at the sheet side edge portion is expressed by formula 5, and varies relative to the ratio of the frequency f of the applied vibration to the resonance frequency f W as shown in Fig. 2. ε C ε E = 1 cos 2πf E ρ · W 2 Namely, as the frequency f of the applied vibration becomes closer to the resonance frequency f W in the direction of the width of the sheet, the dynamic strain at the central portion of the sheet becomes larger as compared with the strain at the sheet side edge portion. The larger the dynamic strain is, the more easily the deformation goes beyond the elastic range when the compressive force is applied from the compression means, so that plastic deformation is liable to occur. Therefore, as the frequency f of the applied vibration becomes closer to the resonance frequency f W in the direction of the width of the sheet, the plastic deformation at the central portion of the sheet becomes more promoted, so that the plastic deformation does not localize on the sheet side edge portions, but is uniform. This enhances the working precision of the width compression. As a result, a dog bone phenomenon D, in which the sheet thickness after the width compression is larger at the sheet side edge portions than at the central portion of the sheet as shown in Fig. 3 is less liable to occur, and a width return phenomenon E, in which the thickened side edge portion of the sheet is caused to flow outwardly to increase the sheet width during rolling by the rolling mill A at a later stage, is also less liable to occur. Therefore, the working precision after the rolling is enhanced, is also less. Further, an improper shape, such as a fish-tail F developing at leading and trailing ends of the material, is less liable to occur, so that a crop loss is reduced, and the yield is increased. The compression means 3 and the vibrating means 4 may use different operating fluids, respectively, and therefore if the vibrating means 4 uses the operating fluid greater in the bulk modulus K than the operating fluid for the compression means, the limit frequency of the vibration produced by the vibrating means 4 can be further increased. Moreover, a surge pressure Δp, abruptly produced, for example, upon striking of the material against the press tools, can be reduced because the surge pressure Δp, expressed by formula 6, increases with the increase of K, so that the surge pressure Δp can be reduced if the compression means use the operating fluid having a small value of k. Δp = ρ k ρ · Δv Thus, in the present invention, the slab material 1 can be vibrated at a higher frequency, and can be vibrated at an extremely high frequency close to the resonance frequency of the material. Therefore, the effect of promoting the plastic deformation by the vibration is enhanced, so that the material can be plastically deformed more uniformly. Therefore, the compression amount increases, and the force and energy required for the working can be reduced, and the widthwise-compressing machine and the rolling mill can be reduced in size, and the working precision can be enhanced. The natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism is represented by the above formula 1, and the cylinder will not respond at a frequency above this natural frequency, so that the displacement amount decreases. The compression means 3 has the large pressure-receiving area A and the large stroke, so that the volume of the cylinder is large. In addition, since the required flow rate is high, the diameter of the pipe is large so as to reduce the pressure loss, and the sum V of the volume of the operating fluid in the cylinder and the volume of the operating fluid in the pipe from the control valve to the cylinder is extremely large. Further, since there are provided the anvil blocks as press tools which are rigid and have a large mass, the mass M is large. Therefore, in the compression means 3, the natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism is low, and the material 1 can not be vibrated at such a high frequency as to resonate the material 1. However, in this embodiment, the vibrating means 4 are provided independently of the compression means 3, and further vibrations are applied not through the anvil blocks 2, and therefore the bore and stroke of the cylinder 4d of the vibrating means 4 can be reduced, and the sum V of the volume of the operating fluid in the cylinder and the volume of the operating fluid in the pipe from the control valve to the cylinder, as well as the mass M, can be reduced, so that the natural frequency f n of the fluid pressure mechanism can be increased. Therefore, the material 1 can be vibrated at such an extremely high frequency that the material can be resonated. This promotes the plastic deformation, so that the sheet material 1 is deformed uniformly up to the central portion thereof. Characteristics indicated in a broken line in Fig. 4 are obtained when compressing the material without applying vibrations thereto, whereas characteristics indicated in a solid line are obtained when compressing the material while vibrating the same at a high frequency. Namely, when the slab material 1 is compressed while being vibrated at a high frequency, the compressive force required for achieving the same compression amount is smaller as compared with the case of compressing the slab material without vibrations. Therefore, there can be realized a sizing press in which the compression amount can be increased, and the force and energy required for the working can be reduced, and the size of the machine can be smaller than the conventional machine. And, the working precision of the sheet width is enhanced. Particularly, the material is deformed uniformly up to the central port on thereof without causing the dog bone phenomenon, in which the deformation concentrates on those portions of the material near to the anvil blocks, thus thickening these portions, so that the sheet thickness after the width compression is uniform. Therefore, the width return phenomenon is less liable to occur at a later rolling step, and the precision of the sheet width after the rolling operation is enhanced, and further the leading and trailing end portions of the processed material having an undesirable shape such as a fish-tail shape are shortened. Therefore, the yield is improved. Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of the sizing press of the invention. The same reference numerals in Figs. 1 and 5 denote identical or corresponding parts, respectively. This is the same with the other Figures showing the following embodiments of the invention. In this embodiment, the amount of compression of a material 1 is detected by a displacement sensor 11 provided on one of anvil blocks 2, and is fed back to a host controller 10. In accordance with the increase of the compression amount to narrow the sheet width, the host controller 10 controls a controller 9 of vibrating means and pistons 4c of the vibrating means 4 so that the frequency of the vibration can increase. The resonance frequency increases with the decrease of the sheet width of the material 1. However, in this embodiment, the frequency of the applied vibration can be varied in accordance with the change of the resonance frequency due to the change of the sheet width, so that the material is always kept in a proper condition and preferably in a resonant condition during the widthwise-compressing operation. Therefore, the effects, such as the increase of the compression amount, the reduction of the force and energy required for the working, and the improved working precision, can be further enhanced. Fig. 6 shows a further embodiment of the sizing press in which rollers 4a of vibrating means 4 are provided downstream of anvil blocks 2 in a direction of supply of a material 1. In this embodiment, similar effects as described in the above embodiments are achieved. Fig. 7 shows yet an embodiment in which two pairs of vibrating means 4 are provided upstream and downstream of anvil blocks 2, respectively. In this embodiment, similar effects as described in the above embodiments are achieved. Fig. 8 shows an embodiment in which cylinders 4d of vibrating means 4 are fixedly mounted on downstream-side ends of anvil blocks 2, respectively. In this embodiment, similar effects as described in the above embodiment are achieved. Fig. 9 shows an embodiment in which each of vibrating means 4 is incorporated or built in a piston 3b and a piston rod 3c of a respective one of compression means 3. In this embodiment, similar effects as described in the above embodiments are achieved, and the structural parts of the apparatus can be arranged in a compact manner, so that the size of the apparatus can be reduced more effectively. Fig. 10 shows an embodiment in which a power unit 12 for compression means 3 and a power unit 13 for vibrating means 4 are provided separately from each other, and the compression means 3 and the vibrating means 4 are incorporated respectively in two fluid pressure circuits independent of each other. Different operating fluids are used in the two independent fluid pressure circuits, and with this arrangement the following effects are achieved. Firstly, if the operating fluid for the vibrating means 4 is larger in K, i.e. the bulk modulus, than the operating fluid for the compression means 3, the natural frequency f n , representing the limit vibration frequency of the vibrating means 4, can be further increased. Secondly, a surge pressure Δp, abruptly produced upon striking of the pressing tools 2 against the slab material 1, is expressed by the above formula 2, and the larger the value of K is, the higher this surge pressure is. Therefore, if the operating fluid having a small value of K is used for the compression means 3, the surge pressure Δp, abruptly produced upon striking of the pressing tools 2 against the material 1, can be reduced, so that the lifetime of the apparatus can be prolonged. The vibrating means in all of the above embodiments are of such a construction that the operating fluid, supplied from the power unit to the cylinder and discharged from the cylinder to the power unit, is controlled by the control valve, thereby controlling the movement of the anvil block or blocks. However, instead of the power unit and the control valve, there can be used a vibration fluid pressure-generating source such as a kind of pump which alternately effects the suction and discharge of the operating fluid by mechanical movement achieved by a rotating drive source such as an electric motor. The control valve or the vibration fluid pressure-generating source may be connected to each of cylinders 4d of the vibrating means 4, or may be connected to one of the cylinders 4d. Fig. 11 shows an embodiment in which a mechanism for driving each of rollers 4a, disposed so as to hold a slab material 1 therebetween, of the vibrating means 4 comprises a support member 4e supporting the roller 4a, guide means 4f for guiding the support member 4e, a crankshaft mechanism 14a, and a drive motor 14b for driving the crankshaft mechanism 14. In this embodiment, similar effects as described in the above embodiments are achieved. Fig. 12 shows an embodiment in which each of a pair of compression means 3 comprises a crankshaft mechanism 15. The vibrating means and the compression means may comprise crankshaft mechanisms 14 and 15, respectively, as shown in Fig. 13, and may comprise any other suitable mechanisms. With the use of such mechanisms, if the vibrating means and the compression means are provided independently of each other so as to provide a small thrust, small-stroke construction, the limit vibration frequency of the vibrating means can be increased. Therefore, the plastic deformation is further promoted, effects, such as the increase of the compression amount, the reduction of the force and energy required for the working, the compact design of the apparatus, and the improvement of the working precision, can be obtained as in the above embodiments. Vibrating means 17 may be so provided as to vibrate the material in a direction of the thickness of the material, as shown in Fig. 14. With this arrangement, vibrations propagate in the material in various directions, thus producing widthwise components of the vibration forces, and therefore similar effects as described above are achieved. In this embodiment, the vibrating means are provided respectively on the upper and lower sides of the material, and anvil blocks 2 are held respectively against lateral side edges or surfaces of the material 1, and compression means 3 are disposed outwardly of the anvil blocks 2, respectively.

Claims: Sizing press for reducing the width of hot rolling slabs moved in the length direction thereof, comprising pressing tools (2) disposed on both length sides of the salb (1) and reciprocally driven in the widthwise directions of the slab (1) for applying upsetting forces to the slab (1), vibrating means (4) for applying vibrations to the slab (1), control means (5 to 10) for actuating the driving mechanism (3) of the pressing tools and of the vibrating means (4), characterized in that the vibrating means (4) are disposed and actuated independently of the pressing tools (2) and comprise at least two members (4a) for holding the slab (1) therebetween and for introducing controlled high frequency vibrations in said slab (1). Sizing press according to claim 1, characterized in that said pressing tools are anvil blocks (2) reciprocally driven in transverse directions of the slab (1) by hydraulic cylinder units (3) or crankshaft mechanism (15). Sizing press according to one of the claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the vibrating means (4) comprise two rollers (4a) for applying the vibrations to the slabs (1) which are mechanically supported by and connected with hydraulic cylinders (4d) or crankshaft mechanisms (14a) for generating the vibrations. Sizing press according to at least one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the vibrating means (4) are disposed in front and/or behind the compressing means (2). Sizing press according to at least one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the vibrating forces applied by the vibrating means (4) are exerted to the slabs (1) in the same direction as the direction of the width reducing forces of the compressing means (2, 3; 31, 32). Sizing press according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the vibrating forces applied by the vibrating means (4) are exerted to the material (1) in the direction of the thickness or in the supply direction of the slabs (1). Sizing press according to at least one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a displacement sensor (11) for detecting the amount of the width reduction of the material (1) is connected with a host controller (10) for controlling a controller (9) of the vibrating means (4) so that the vibration frequency will be increased when the width of the material is decreased. Sizing press according to at least one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the hydraulic cylinders (3a) of the pressing tools (2) and the hydraulic cylinders (4d) of the vibrating means (4) are supplied with different operating fluids by power units (12, 13), respectively. Method for reducing the width of hot rolling slabs, moved in the length direction thereof, comprising the steps of: upsetting the slab (1) by compression forces directed in the widthwise direction of the slab generated by a pair of pressing tools (2) reciprocally driven in the widthwise directions of the slab (1), introducing vibrations into the slab by vibrating means (4), controlling the upsetting and the vibrations by control means (5 to 10), characterized in that the controlled high-frequency vibrations are introduced into the slab (1) independently of the compression forces. Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the frequency of the vibrations will be controlled in accordance with the width reduction of the slab (1). Method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the vibrations generated by the vibrating means (4) are directed in the same or in a transverse direction as the compression forces. Method according to at least one of the claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the vibrations are directly applied to the slab (1) by rollers (4a). Method according to one of the claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the frequency of the vibration will be controlled to be close to the resonance frequency of the material.

Inventors: HIRAKU KENJI, HORII KENJI, NAKAMURA ICHIIRO, NARITA KENJIRO, NOGAMI TADAHIKO, SADAMORI HIROYUKI, SHIMOGAMA HIRONORI, YASUDA KENICHI, HIRAKU, KENJI, HORII, KENJI, NAKAMURA, ICHIIRO, NARITA, KENJIRO, NOGAMI, TADAHIKO, SADAMORI, HIROYUKI, SHIMOGAMA, HIRONORI, YASUDA, KENICHI
Applicants: HITACHI LTD, HITACHI, LTD.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B21B1
IPC codes: B21B1, B21B11, B21B15, B21B37