Open / Close Advertisement

Siemens VAI Starts up Slab Caster with LiquiRob Robot for Cosipa

12/02/2008 - Siemens VAI recently started up a new slab caster equipped with the LiquiRob robot system as well as thickness-on-demand capability for the Brazilian flat-steel producer Companhia Siderúrgica Paulista (Cosipa).

Siemens VAI recently started up a new slab caster equipped with design features unique in South America for the Brazilian flat-steel producer Companhia Siderúrgica Paulista (Cosipa).
 
The new slab caster, which is capable of producing approximately 1.2 million tonnes of high-quality slabs per year, is equipped with the LiquiRob robot system as well as thickness-on-demand capability. Installation of the new slab caster took place simultaneously with ongoing operations of two adjacent slab casters. Plant start-up proceeded smoothly and all systems were fully operational from the first heat.
 
Cosipa’s new one-strand slab caster casts both high-quality carbon and low-alloyed steel grades in thicknesses from 210 to 260 millimeters and in widths from 1000 to 1900 millimeters. A LiquiRob robot is in operation on the casting platform—the first such application in a South American steel mill—to automatically perform steel sampling and temperature measurements in the tundish. The LiquiRob robot eliminates the need for these tasks to be carried out by caster personnel, which considerably improves operator safety.
 
Another South American first was the installation of “thickness-on-demand” capability, which facilitates quick, flexible adjustment of strand thicknesses and widths by combining a series of equipment and system solutions from Siemens VAI.
 
With the use of a cassette-type Smart Mold, the mold’s narrow sides can be exchanged to alter the strand thickness without the need to replace the entire mold. With the hydraulically width-adjustable mold (DynaWidth) the narrow sides can be laterally shifted to change the strand width during casting. In the caster’s bending, straightening and horizontal zones, the use of the Smart Bender and Smart Segments (which are controlled by DynaGap automation) facilitates remote adjustment of the roller-gap settings according to the required slab thicknesses.
 
Other special equipment and technological packages installed in
 
The Cosipa caster also incorporates Siemens VAI’s LevCon technology for improved automatic mold-level-control; MoldExpert for enhanced strand-break-out protection; DynaFlex for on-line adjustment of the mold-oscillation parameters; and I-Star Rollers (intermediately supported trans-axle rollers) for improved strand-shell support and slab quality. With the fully automatic and dynamic Level 2 Dynacs secondary-cooling model, the stand-temperature profile and the required secondary cooling-water quantities can be calculated at any position along the strand as the basis. These calculations facilitate the precise definition of optimum secondary-cooling setpoints and the final point of strand solidification.
 
The new caster also features DynaGap Soft Reduction technology for the improved internal strand homogeneity necessary for the highest-quality slabs. This is achieved through the precise adjustment of the roller taper in the area of final strand solidification according to the Dynacs-calculated setpoints. The integrated VAIQ quality management rounds off the Siemens VAI scope of supply.
 
Following caster start-up, a total of nearly 100,000 tonnes of steel were cast during the hot-commissioning period and all single performance tests were successfully carried out. The LiquiRob robot system was continually in operation from the start, fulfilling all of the required temperature measurements and steel sampling in the tundish. All other casting equipment functioned as designed during the performance test period, and the Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC) was issued eight weeks after the first heat was cast.
 
Cosipa had previously (November 2005) awarded a contract to Siemens VAI to dismantle and replace its No. 3 Slab Caster. The project was carried out by the Siemens VAI Brazilian-based company Voest Alpine Indústria Ltda (VAI-MS), with Siemens VAI headquarters in Linz, Austria, technologically responsible for the project. The contract included engineering, supply and turnkey installation of the single-strand slab caster.
 
Cosipa, a company of the Usiminas Group, is the largest flat-steel production facility in Latin America. Located in São Paulo, Brazil, the company produces a wide range of uncoated flat-steel products, including slabs, hot- and cold-rolled sheets and coils and also heavy plates for a wide variety of industrial applications.
 
The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is the world's leading supplier of production, transportation and building systems. The Sector comprises six Divisions: Building Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility, Drive Technologies and Osram. In fiscal 2007 (ended September 30), Siemens Industry generated sales of approximately EUR40 billion (pro forma, unconsolidated) with around 209,000 employees worldwide.
 
With the business activities of Siemens VAI Metal Technologies, (Linz, Austria), Siemens Water Technologies (Warrendale, Pa.), and Industry Technologies, (Erlangen, Germany), the Siemens Industry Solutions Division (Erlangen, Germany) is one of the world's leading solution and service providers for industrial and infrastructure facilities. Using its own products, systems and process technologies, Industry Solutions develops and builds plants for end customers, commissions them and provides support during their entire life cycle.