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Masteel Purchases First Unilux Edge Tech for China
03/28/2013 - Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. (Masteel) has purchased China's first Edge Tech edge inspection system from Unilux for its new pickling line and tandem cold mill.
Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. (Masteel) has purchased China's first Edge Tech edge inspection system from Unilux. Installed on the new PLTCM (pickling line and tandem cold mill), the system is paying dividends before it has gone into operation.
"We saw immediately how the system helps the operators," said Frank Fang, technical services manager, Unilux China. "When the operators used the default settings to inspect the trim on both sides of the strip, the DS (drive side) photos on the Edge Tech system showed that the actual trimmer gap was bigger than the settings and would cause edge problems after the rolling mill. They were able to adjust the DS trimmer gap and solve the problem in one minute.
"Normally, they need to check the strip at the exit section and then adjust the side trimmer," he continued. "Sometimes, they need to stop the line, which runs at 350 to 400 meters per minute, to check edges, and one or more coils can be wasted before they can adjust the settings properly. I am sure they will have a faster return on investment from the Edge Tech after they put into full-time operation."
Masteel's system will go into operation after Fang helps mill engineers finish installing and calibrating the Edge Tracker system for Edge Tech. An add-on, Edge Tracker automatically moves the Edge Tech cameras to constantly maintain the distance from the camera to the strip edge required to stay in focus.
Edge Tech combines high-speed machine-vision digital cameras strobe lights with specially developed software to provide immediate feedback on trimmed edge quality. From video monitors in their pulpit, operators can view high-definition images on a grid to see if edge trimming is approaching tolerances or is out of spec. Using their knowledge of the process and product, they can adjust knives and tell immediately if the adjustment solved the problem or if the process must be stopped to prevent costly damage. Edge Tech can archive selected images to provide visual documentation of each coil's quality, and images can be used by mill engineers to correct process problems.
"When I visited Masteel two years ago to show the Edge Tech system, mill engineers said they had problems with the PLTCM trimming," Fang said. "They were taking photos of the strip edge when the line stopped. They liked Edge Tech because they didn't need to stop the line to get high-quality photos of the edges. They expect it will be a good tool for them to analyze edge-trimming problems and optimize the setting of the side-trimmer that came with the linebuilder."
Unilux Inc., headquartered in Saddle Brook, N.J., has more than 50 years of experience in designing and manufacturing industrial surface inspection lighting systems for the printing/converting/packaging, metals, papermaking and textile industries and heavy-duty strobe lighting systems for the film and video industry. Unilux LED and xenon-based stroboscopic inspection lights range from handheld, battery-powered units for spot or narrow-web inspection, maintenance and troubleshooting applications to fixed-mounted units capable of inspecting surfaces up to 12m wide. The company also designed and manufactures the Edge Tech edge inspection system for the steel industry. Unilux currently has sales representatives in 58 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa along with five service centers worldwide.
