After the last roughing stand, the 1.35-in. 7 finishing mills are powered by 7000-hp motors. No. 2 and 3 finishing mills were repowered with 9000-hp motors in 1982. Maximum delivery speed out of No. 7 finishing mill is 3715 fpm. This system has been completely modified by the new GEC process automation control system.
All stands have an x-ray monitor feedback loop to assist in keeping the gage constant.
The system locks onto a gage setup and maintains gage over the length of the bar. This is accomplished by head-end load cell measurements. The runout table is approximately 480 ft long and is equipped with a water curtain cooling system. The system is controlled by a Digital microprocessor control, based on strip cooling functions in the process automation control system. Coils are transferred from the downcoilers by hydraulically operated coil cars, upended, automatically banded and weighed, and moved by a 188-ft runout conveyor to a truck station for delivery to the coil storage area.