Patent GB-1034063-A (GB)
Title: Indication system
Inventor: CLYNE JOHN PETER
IPC: G01G17/02
Filed: 1961-11-16
Abstract: 1,034,063. Making billets; rolling. BRITISH IRON & STEEL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION. Feb. 15, 1963 [Nov. 16, 1961], No. 41032/61. Headings B3A and B3M. An indication system for a billet mill comprises means for weighing a hot bloom or billet, means for measuring the length of a hot billet as it leaves the mill, means for indicating the corresponding cold length of the billet, and means for indicating the weight unit length of the cold billet. A bloom is weighed (11), rolled (12) measured for length (13), (14) and divided by three saws 15, 16, 17 which each have an associated stopper 18, 19, 20. A selection 21a of a calculator 21 stores information regarding the loss of weight due to scale, the width of the saws, the size of normal discard, and the contraction factor, and receives in respect of each billet, the measured hot billet length, the bloom weight and the operator's instructions as regards weight and length. An arithmetic unit 21b calculates the billet weight by allowing for scale loss, divides by the calculated cold length to give weight/unit length, and then calculates the position of the saw stoppers 18, 19, 20 relative to the hot billet length. A control unit delays transmission of new information to the saw stoppers if the presence of a billet is indicated by hot-metal detectors 15a, 16a, 17a, and also has " Cancel " and " Repeat " facilities. The " Cancel " feature allows for the removal of a billet from the mill, and the " Repeat " feature enables the usable portion of a damaged billet to be cut to the same lengths as the preceding billet. The calculator may also include a printer which records the weight and weight per unit length of billet sections cut. A mill display unit 23 shows the weight per cold unit length and a saw display unit shows the net cold length, after subtraction of the total discard length, and the billet weight. The saw stopper control servo-mechanisms 25, 26 and 27 position the stoppers 18, 19, 20 in response to the operator's instructions by manual control unit and automatically allow for the loss due to the saw width, so that billets of a predetermined length (or weight, since the weight per unit length is controlled) are produced. The apparatus can also be used to produce billets of random lengths between specified minimum and maximum values. The selected discard length L D  and the number of equal length pieces N into which the billet is to be cut are set by the operator and from these instructions and a signal representing the total length L T  the apparatus calculates the hot length L H  of each billet, making due allowance for the number of saw cuts, and supplies a signal representing this length to the saw stopper control servomechanisms. The apparatus can also be used to produce billets of multiple lengths, i.e. billets which are specified multiples of a basic unit length, and in this case an indication will be given of the numbers of pieces of each length which should be cut to give minimum wastage. In order to provide a billet of predetermined weight per unit length a comparison of the actual weight of the leading billet with that required may be effected after the last rolling pass, as the mill adjusted accordingly. Incorrect weight per unit length of the first billet of each batch of blooms may be avoided by making this comparison immediately before the last rolling pass.