Patent ID: 7854155

Claim:
A method of operating a rolling system having at least three roll stands that grip a metal strip and advance it in a feed direction with each stand having a service side and a drive side spaced transversely apart relative to the direction, the method comprising the steps of: during a typical rolling operation with the strip extending through all three of the stands, varying the pressure applied at each stand to the strip at the drive side and at the service side so as to keep the strip centered in the roll stands, whereby the pressure applied in any of the stands can be different between the respective drive and service sides; shortly before a trailing end of the strip moves downstream through the stands, measuring the pressure applied by each stand at each of the respective sides and calculating for each stand a difference between the pressure applied at the respective service side and the respective drive side to the strip; generating for each stand a pivot-angle correction value corresponding to the respective difference and a pivot-direction correction value corresponding to which side is applying the greater force; and applying correcting force at each stand in accordance with the respective correction values when the trailing end of the strip passes through such that the pressure applied to the strip by each stand is generally equal between the respective service and drive sides.