Patent ID: 7137434

Claim:
A method of continuously elongating the grains of a metal strip, the method comprising the steps of: providing a deflection-free mandrel driven by a motor for receiving the metal strip; providing a reverse bending roll station that engages the metal strip upstream of the mandrel; providing an equalizer roll assembly upstream of the reverse bending roll station; providing an upstream roll to monitor the strip speed, the upstream roll being located upstream of the reverse bending roll station and downstream of the equalizer roll assembly whereby the upstream strip speed monitor monitors the speed of the strip as it enters the reverse bending station; providing a downstream strip speed monitor located downstream of the reverse bend station whereby the downstream strip speed monitor monitors the speed of the strip as it exits the reverse bending station; and controlling the tension exerted on the metal strip as a function of the difference between the speed of the strip entering the reverse bending station and the speed of the strip exiting the reverse bending station.