Method of wire rolling and rolling mill

Abstract: To enable production of wires of various diameters from one round rod material supplied from rough rolling step without necessity of roller change of block mills, which needs long period of time and much labour. In the rolling mill a mini block mill (MBM) is installed between a block mill (BM) and a sizing mill (SM) as a reducer for intermediate rolling. The block mill (BM) is so constructed that it is possible to use both the front group (BM1) and the rear group (BM2) of the rollers, or only the front group by passing the rear group with a dummy past, or to by-pass both the front and the rear groups. The mini block mill (MBM) is shuntable from the pass line. The sizing mill is so constructed to be two sets of rollers (SMI, SM2) that either both the sets may be used, or only one of the sets (SM1) may be used and the other (SM2), by-passed. By choosing combinations of use and non-use of the rollers it is possible to produce wires of various diameters, maximum 19 different diameters, from a round rod material of one diameter.

Description: The present invention relates, according to the preambles of method claim 1 and apparatus claim 2, to improvements in rolling metal rods, particularly, steel rods, to produce steel wire (see e.g. JP07096301 A). According to the present invention it is possible to produce wires of various diameters starting from a rod of one diameter without changing rollers. Production of wires of diameters in the range of several millimeters to ten to twenty millimeters by rolling of steel rods has usually been carried out by using a round rod having a diameter of 20mm or so supplied from rough rolling step, rolling the material in a block mill equipped with eight rollers as an intermediate rolling mill, and then finish rolling the wire with a sizing mill equipped with two sets of rollers. The structure of such a rolling mill is as shown in Figure 1. There is a strict requirement to sizes of steel wires depending on the ultimate use thereof. For example, in the range of diameter of 5-10 mm, products having the sizes of each 0.5mm increase are required, and in the range of diameter 10- 20mm, those having the sizes of each 1.0 mm increase are required. Recently, a demand has arisen for hot rolled wire products of various calibres which precisely conform with the required cross-section. A conventional method for satisfying this demand is the sequence of the following rolling steps which are illustrated in Figure 2. *In the range of "very fine" (diameters 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5mm) wire rolling starts from a round rod of diameter 16.4 mm supplied from a roughing line (Figure 2). The rod material is first rolled by a block mill (F1-F8) having the first roller group to diameter 6.5mm, then the rolled material is passed to the sizing mill to be rolled by both the front group of the rollers and the rear group of the rollers (5.5mm), or by only the front group of the rollers (6.0mm). *In the range of "fine" (diameters 7.0, 7.5 and 8.0mm), a round rod of diameter 20.5mm is used as the starting material from the rough intermediate line. In order to switch to this range, it is necessary to shut down the line to carry out roller change of all the stands, and form a block mill (F1-F8) having the second roller group. After rolling the round rod material of diameter 20.5mm to 8.4mm, the rolled material is passed to the sizing mill so that it may be rolled by both the front group and the rear group (7.0mm), by only the front group (7.5mm), or by only the front group of changed rollers. *In the range of "intermediate fine" (diameters 8.5, 9.0, 9.5 and 10.0mm), rolling also starts from the same round rod material of diameter 20.5mm.as above (Figure 3). The round rod material is rolled by a part (F1-F6) of the block mill having the second group of rollers to diameter 10.5mm. For this purpose it is also necessary, after shutting down the line, to remove the rollers of F7 and F8 stands, and to install a dummy guide. The rolled material coming out of the dummy guide is passed to the sizing mill so as to use both the front and the rear groups of rollers (8.5mm), only the front group (9.5mm), or only the rear group (10.0mm). *In the range of "intermediate bold", (diameters 11.0 and 12.0mm), the rolling also starts from the round rod material of diameter 20.5mm (also Figure 3). The material is rolled by a part (F1-F4) of the block mill having the second group of rollers to diameter 13.5mm. Also in this case the rollers of F5 and F6 stands are removed and replaced with a dummy guide. The rolled material of diameter 13.5mm is passed to the sizing mill, and rolled by both the front group and the rear group of the rollers (11.0mm), or by only the front group (12.0mm). Production of wires in the thickness range of "bold', (diameters 13.0, 14.0, 15.0 and 16.0m) starts also from the round rod of diameter 20.5mm, which is first-rolled by a part (F1-F2) of the second group of rollers to diameter 16.4mm. Block mill rollers of F3 and F4 stands are also removed. The rolled material of diameter 16.4mm is passed to the sizing mill and rolled by both the front and the rear group of the rollers (13.0mm), or by only the rear group (15.0mm). Alternatively, the rolled material is rolled, after changing rollers, by both the front and rear groups (14.0mm) or by only the roar group (16.0mm). Wires in the thickness range of "very bold" (diameters 17.0, 18.0 and 19.0mm) are produced, also starting from the round rod material of diameter 20.5mm, by not using the block mill but directly using the sizing mill. Both the front and the rear groups of the rollers are used (17.0mm), only the front group is used (19.0mm) or both the front and the rear groups with changed rollers are used (18.0mm). In Figure 2 to Figure 4 demarcation with lines indicates that rollers are used in the areas and that no roller is used in the other area. The round forms illustrate that calibres of the rollers (consequently, the sections of the rolled material coming therefrom) are round, and the spindle form, oval sections of the rolled materials. The numerical figures annexed to the round forms show the diameters of the material coming out of the round calibre rollers. Change of sizing mill rollers is easy, and even the whole rollers can be changed. However, because ratios of rotating speeds of the rollers are the same in the block mills, it is necessary to use continued stands. Also, because the roller axes are set fixedly to the passing line, it is necessary to carry out roller changing after interrupting the rolling operation in which the block mill is involved. In regard to the above described examples, in the thickness ranges of "very fine" and "fine" whole the rollers of the block mill are changed. Changes between the thickness range of "fine" and "intermediate fine", "intermediate fine" and "medium bold", and "medium bold" and "bold" necessitates mounting and demounting of the rear group rollers. Thus, attempts to produce steel wires of various sizes by the conventional technology requires troublesome preliminary work for roller change, and this lowers efficiency of production. If, however, large scale production of one size at once is done for the purpose of avoiding the above problems, then, too much stock of the wire product must be kept. Additional problems such as scratching at handling and transporting and rusting during storage may occur. The object of the present invention is to solve the above discussed problems relating to wire rolling, and to provide a method of rolling which enables production of wire products having various diameters from a round rod of one diameter without changing of block mill rollers, which is a lengthy and laborious process. The invention also provides a rolling mill for carrying out the rolling method. According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of rolling wire rods having selected final diameters from a rod of a single diameter supplied from a roughing mill along a pass line wherein the mill includes an intermediate block mill for receiving rod from the roughing mill, the block mill having rollers arranged in a front group and a rear group, each of which can be dummied, a mini block mill for receiving rod from the block mill which is shuntable from the pass line and a sizing mill for receiving rod from the mini block mill, the sizing mill having plural sets of rollers, at least one of which sets is shuntable from the pass line, said method comprising selecting combinations of the block mill roller groups, mini block mill and sizing roller sets and rolling rod through the selected combination so as to produce a wire rod having a desired final calibre. In another aspect there is provided a rolling mill for rolling wire rod having selected final diameters from a single diameter supplied from a roughing mill along a pass line, said rolling mill comprising an intermediate block mill for receiving rod from a roughing mill, the block mill having a front group of rollers and a rear group, each of which can be independently dummied, a mini block mill for receiving rod from the block mill which can be shunted between an operative position on the pass line and a non-operative position away from the pass line and a sizing mill comprising at least two sets of rollers, at least one of which sets is capable of being shunted between an operative position on the pass line and a non-operative position away from the pass line, the rollers of the block mill, mini block mill and sizing mill being selectable in various combinations to produce wire rod of desired calibre from a single diameter wire rod supplied by the roughing mill. Brief explanation of the drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing roller distribution in a conventional wire rolling mill. Figure 2 is an explanation for rollers used, sections and diameters of the material in the process of rolling when wires of various sizes are produced by using the wire rolling mill shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an explanation similar to Figure 2 for the steps subsequent to Figure 2. Figure 4 is an explanation like Figure 2 for the steps subsequent to Figure 3. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram corresponding to Figure 1 showing roller distribution in a wire rolling mill according to the present invention. Figure 6 is an explanation similar to Figure 2 for rollers used, sections and diameters of the material in the process of rolling when wires of various sizes are produced by using the wire rolling mill shown in Figure 5. Figure 7 is an explanation similar to Figure 5 for the steps subsequent to Figure 5; and Figure 8 is an explanation similar to Figure 5 for the steps subsequent to Figure 7. The method of rolling according to the present invention which achieves the above object is a method of wire rolling of metal rods supplied from rough rolling step by intermediate rolling with a block mill and finish rolling with a sizing mill to form wire products. The method uses a rolling mill, which comprises, as illustrated in Figure 5, a block mill (BM), a sizing mill (SM) and a mini block mill (MBM) installed between the BM and the SM as a reducer. Rollers of the block mill (BM) are divided into two groups, the front group and the rear group, so as to make it possible either to use both the front and the rear groups, to use only the front group by dummy passing the rear group, or to use no block mill (BM) by by-passing the material to be rolled through another guide. The mini block mill (MBM) is shuntable from the pass line. The sizing mill (SM) consists of plural sets of rollers, and at least one of the sets is shuntable from the pass line. Combinations of use and non-use of the rollers can be chosen so that it may be possible to produce wires of different diameters from a material round rod of one diameter. The rolling mill for carrying out the above described method of rolling is the rolling mill for wire rolling of metal rods supplied from rough rolling step by intermediate rolling with a block mill and finish rolling with a sizing mill to form wire products. The rolling mill comprises, as illustrated in Figure 5, a block mill (BM), a sizing mill (SM) and a mini block mill (MBM) installed between the block mill and the sizing mill as a reducer. Rollers of the block mill (BM) are divided into two groups, the front group and the rear group (BM1 and BM2), so as to make it possible either to use both the front and the rear groups or only the front group by passing the rear group with a dummy pass (DP1); and a guide or guides for by-passing (BP) the material to be rolled. The mill also has another dummy pass (DP2), and thus, the mini block mill is shuntable from the pass line. The sizing mill consists of plural sets of rollers, and at least one of the sets is shuntable from the pass line. Combinations of use and non-use of the rollers can be chosen so as to make it possible to produce wires of different diameters from a material round rod of one diameter. The by-passes for the rollers can be provided by installing guides to pass the rolled wires or the material wires to be rolled in suitable positions in close vicinity to the centre of the rolling line without interference to the rollers or to changing the rollers. Combinations of paths through which the material rods and the rolled wires run are tabulated below. In the following table, "Case A" contains the cases with use of the block mill, and "Case B", without use. The abbreviations in the table have the following meanings: BM block mill BM1 front group of rollers of the block mill BM2 rear group of rollers of the block mill MPM mini block mill SM1, 2 sizing mills BP by-pass DP1-3 dummy pass a-t roller pair of the sizing mill Case A Case Block Mills Reducer Sizing Mills 1 BM1 BM2 MBM SM1(a) SM2(b) 2 BM1 BM2 MBM SM1(a) DP3 3 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(c) SM2(d) 4 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(e) DP3 5 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(f) SM2(g) 6 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(f) DP3 7 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(h) SM2(i) 8 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(h) DP3 9 BM1 DP1 MPM SM1(j) SM2(k) 10 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(j) DP3 11 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(l) SM2(m) 12 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(l) DP3 13 BP1 MBM SM1(o) SM2(p) 14 BP1 MBM SM1(o) DP3 15 BP1 MBM SM1(q) SM2(r) 16 BP1 MBM SM1(q) DP3 17 BP1 DP2 SM1(r) SM2(c) 18 BP1 DP2 SM1(r) DP3 19 BP1 DP2 SM1(s) SM2(t) Case B Case Intermediate Block Mills Producer Sizing Mills 1 H21 V22 BM1 BM2 MBM SM1(a) SM2(b) 2 H21 V22 BM1 BM2 MBM SM1(a) DP3 3 H21 V22 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(c) SM2(d) 4 H21 V22 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(e) DP3 5 H21 V22 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(f) SM2(9) 6 H21 V22 BM1 BM2 DP2 SM1(f) DP3 7 H21 V22 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(h) SM2(i) 8 H21 V22 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(h) DP3 9 H21 V22 BM1 DP1 MBM SM1(j) SM2(k) 10 H21 V22 BM1 D121 MBM SM1(j) DP3 11 H21 V22 BP1 MBM SM1(l) SM2(m) 12 H21 V22 BP1 MBM SM1(f) SM2(p) 14 H21 V22 BP1 DP2 SM1(o) DP3 15 H21 V22 BP1 DP2 SM1(q) SM2(r) 16 H21 V22 BP1 DP2 SM1(q) DP3 17 DP1 BP1 DP2 SM1(r) SM2(s) 18 DP1 BP1 DP2 SM1(r) DP3 19 DP1 BP1 DP2 SM1(s) SM2(t) Round rods of a carbon steel having diameter 20.5mm were used as the starting material, and rolling was carried out in accordance with the sequences shown in Figures 6, Fig. 7 and Figure 8 to obtain wire products having diameters as shown in the Figures. In these Figures, the parts demarcated with lines, round circles and spindle shapes, and the numerical figures added thereto have the meanings as explained in regard to Figure 2 to Figure 4. The rolling mill combinations shown diagrammatically in Figure 6 show, for example, the sequences employed in cases 1 to 6 in Table 1. In case 1, all rollers in the two groups of the block mill BM1 and BM2 are employed. also, the mini block mill (MBM) is operational and all sets of rollers of the sizing mill (SM1 and SM2) are in use. Case 2 is the same as case 1 except that the final sizing mill set (SM2) is dummied by shifting the set (SM2) from the pass line. Case 3 is achieved by employing different roll sets (SM1(c) & SM1(d)) on the sizing mills and dummying the MBM. Case 4 is the same as case 3 except that the second set of sizing rolls (SM2) are dummied. In case 5, the MBM remains dummied and different rolls (SM1(f) & SM2(g)) are employed as the sizing mills. Case 6 is the same as case 5 except that the second set of sizing rolls (SM2) are dummied. In analogous manner, Figures 7 and 8 show other combinations for rolling specific calibre wire rod which are also listed in Tables 1 and 2. By wire rolling in accordance with the present invention, which uses reducers and by-passes, it is possible to produce wires having various diameters from one starting material without changing rollers of the block mill. Because changing rollers of the block mill requires, as noted before, considerable time and labour, elimination of the necessity of changing rollers results in not only increased production efficiency but also decreased number of rollers to be, used. The fact that the product sizes can be easily changed covers drawback of the conventional technology that it is forced to produce, once the rollers are changed, a considerable quantity of products at once and realizes "many grades-small quantity" production without undesirable increase of costs. This merit contributes also to lighten the problems of scratching at handling and rusting during storage mentioned before.

Claims: A method of rolling wire rods having selected final diameters from a rod of single diameter supplied from a roughing mill along a pass line wherein the mill includes an intermediate block mill BM for receiving rod from the roughing mill, the block mill BM having rollers arranged in a front group BM1 and a rear group BM2 characterised in that : each of said front and rear groups can be dummied, the mill further including a mini block mill MBM for receiving rod from the block mill BM which is shuntable from the pass line and a sizing mill SM for receiving rod from the mini block mill MBM, the sizing mill having plural sets of rollers SM1,2 at least one of which sets is shuntable from the pass line, said method comprising selecting combinations of the block mill roller groups BM1,2, mini block mill MBM and sizing roller sets SM1,2 and rolling rod through the selected combination so as to produce a wire rod having a desired final calibre. A rolling mill for rolling wire rod having selected final diameters from a single diameter supplied from a roughing mill along a pass line, said rolling mill comprising an intermediate block mill BM for receiving rod from a roughing mill, the block mill BM having a front group BM1 of rollers and a rear group BM2 characterised in that : each of said front and rear groups can be independently dummied, the mill further including a mini block mill MBM for receiving rod from the block mill BM which can be shunted between an operative position on the pass line and a non-operative position away from the pass line and a sizing mill SM comprising at least two sets SM1,2 of rollers, at least one of which sets is capable of being shunted between an operative position on the pass line and a non-operative position away from the pass line, the rollers of the block mill BM, mini block mill MBM and sizing mill SM1,2 being selectable in various combinations to produce wire rod of desired calibre from a single diameter wire rod supplied by the roughing mill.

Inventors: TADAHIRO NAGASE
Applicants: MORGAN CONSTRUCTION CO, MORGAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B21B1
IPC codes: B21B37, B21B1