Cold rolling mill with full entry hot oil spray

Abstract

A rolling system for a metal substrate includes a workstand having an entry side and an exit side. A hot oil spray header is provided at the entry side for applying a hot oil on a surface of a work roll of the workstand and to approximately 50% or more of a width of the work roll. The rolling system also includes at least one of a coolant spray header or a lubrication spray header. The coolant spray header may be provided at an exit side of the workstand for applying a coolant on the surface of the work roll. The lubrication spray header may be provided at the entry side of the workstand for applying a lubrication oil on the surface of the work roll and at least partially into a roll gap of the at least one workstand.

Description

COLD ROLLING MILL WITH FULL ENTRY HOT OIL SPRAYREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 504,023, filed on May 24, 2023, and entitled COLD ROLLING MILL WITH FULLY ENTRY HOT OIL SPRAY, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This application relates to systems and methods for processing metal strips, and, more particularly, to processing of metal strips with a rolling mill.BACKGROUND

[0003] Many metalworking processes involve manipulating and processing of continuous metal strips. Processing metal as strips allows for long lengths of metal to be processed quickly but requires that the metal strip remain centered within a certain variance from the desired passline of the processing equipment. If the strip wanders too far off the desired passline of the equipment, the strip may make undesired contact with edges of the equipment, the strip may not be processed correctly (e.g., not heated or cooled evenly), or other undesirable, dangerous, or costly effects may result.SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various embodiments and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim.

[0005] According to certain embodiments, a roll control system for a rolling system includes a hot oil spray header and a coolant spray header. The hot oil spray header may be at an entry sideof a workstand of a rolling mill for applying a hot oil on a surface of a work roll of the rolling mill at the entry side and to a majority of a width of the work roll. The coolant spray header may be provided at an exit side of the workstand of the rolling mill for applying a coolant on the surface of the work roll of the rolling mill at the exit side. The roll control system may also include a controller for controlling the application of hot oil from the hot oil spray header and the application of coolant from the coolant spray header.

[0006] According to various embodiments, a rolling system includes a workstand with an entry side, an exit side, an upper work roll, a lower work roll, and a roll control system. The roll control system includes a hot oil spray header and a coolant spray header. The hot oil spray header may be at the entry side and proximate the upper work roll and / or the lower work roll, and the hot oil spray header may apply a hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll and / or the lower work roll at the entry side and to a majority of a width of the upper work roll and / or the lower work roll. The coolant spray header may be at an exit side of the workstand and proximate to the same upper work roll / andor the lower work roll as the hot oil spray header, and the coolant spray header may apply a coolant on the surface of the upper work roll and / or the lower work roll at the exit side.

[0007] According to some embodiments, a rolling system includes a workstand with an entry side, an exit side, an upper work roll, a lower work roll, and a roll control system. The roll control system includes a hot oil spray header and a lubrication spray header. The hot oil spray header may be at the entry side and proximate the upper work roll and / or the lower work roll, and the hot oil spray header may apply a hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll and / or the lower work roll at the entry side and to a majority of a width of the upper work roll and / or the lower work roll. The lubrication spray header may be at the entry side of the workstand and proximate to the same upper work roll and / or the lower work roll as the hot oil spray header. In various embodiments, the lubrication spray header may apply a lubrication oil on the surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and at least partially into a roll gap defined by the upper work roll and the lower work roll.

[0008] A method of controlling a flatness of a metal substrate includes receiving the metal substrate at a roll gap of a workstand of a rolling mill that is defined by an upper work roll and a lower work roll. The method includes controlling an application of a hot oil and a coolant on at least one of the upper work roll or the lower work roll using a roll control system.

[0009] Various implementations described herein can include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which cannot necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The specification makes reference to the following appended figures, in which use of like reference numerals in different figures is intended to illustrate like or analogous components.

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a rolling system for rolling a metal substrate according to embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of controlling a work roll according to embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Described herein are rolling systems with at least a full width hot oil spray for top and / or lower work rolls at an entry side of a workstand of the rolling system. In various embodiments, the rolling systems with the full width hot oil spray are cold rolling mills with one or more workstands, each having an upper work roll and a lower work roll.

[0014] In certain embodiments, the rolling systems include a coolant spray for the top and / or lower work rolls at an exit side of the workstand. The rolling system may include rolling or lubrication oil spray for the top and / or lower work rolls at the entry side and at least partially into a roll gap formed by the upper work roll and the lower work roll. The rolling systems with the full width hot oil spay at the entry side and the coolant spray at the exit side may allow for improved flatness control of a metal substrate being rolled by the rolling system. Such improved flatness control in turn by increase productivity of the rolling system and metal processing system, increase material handling (e.g., by reducing poor coil build up due to poor flatness), improve downstream processing (e.g., by reducing trimming and / or threading issues due to poor flatness), and / or improve customer processes (e.g., allowing for a can body to be processed at a high speed), among other benefits.

[0015] The rolling systems with the full width hot oil spray at the entry side and the coolant spray at the exit side may also provide improved flexibility for the rolling system to perform variousprocesses as desired. In various embodiments, the fully width hot oil spray may have a high flow capacity, such as but not limited to up to about 1800 L / min, which may further provide improved flexibility to the rolling system. As non-limiting examples: the full width hot oil spray and the coolant spray may be activated for a metal substrate to be used for can body and / or can end processing; the full width hot oil spray may be provided at different temperatures (e.g., a lower temperature for a first automotive process and a higher temperature for a second automotive process and / or texturizing process), optionally with or without activation of the coolant spray header; and / or the full width hot oil spray may be provided for warming up or preheating the work rolls between processing of coils of metal substrate. Various other benefits and advantages may be realized with the systems and methods described herein, and the aforementioned benefits and advantages should not be considered limiting.

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a rolling system 100 for rolling a metal substrate 102 according to embodiments. In various embodiments, the metal substrate 102 may be various metals as desired, including but not limited to aluminum, aluminum alloys, steel, or other metals as desired. In some examples, metal substrate 102 may be aluminum or an aluminum alloy in the Ixxx series, 2xxx series, 3xxx series, 4xxx series, 5xxx series, 6xxx series, 7xxx series, 8xxx series and / or any other aluminum or aluminum alloy.

[0017] The rolling system 100 includes a rolling mill 104 with at least one workstand 106. In the embodiment illustrated, the rolling mill 104 is a cold rolling mill with a single workstand 106; however, in other embodiments, the rolling mill 104 may have any number of workstands 106 as desired. As non-limiting examples, the rolling mill 104 may include two workstands 106, three workstands 106, four workstands 106, and / or any other desired number of workstands 106.

[0018] Each workstand 106 has an entry side 108 and an exit side 110 and includes a pair of vertically aligned work rolls - an upper work roll 112A and a lower work roll 112B. A roll gap 116 is defined between the work rolls 112A-B, and during rolling of the metal substrate 102, the metal substrate 102 moves in a processing direction (represented by arrow 107) such that the metal substrate 102 enters the roll gap 116 on the entry side 108 and exits on the exit side 110. Upper and lower backup rolls 114A-B may support the top and lower work rolls 112A-B, respectively, and supply forces to the work rolls 112A-B such that the work rolls 112A-B reduce the thickness of the metal substrate 102 during rolling.

[0019] In certain embodiments, the rolling system 100 optionally may include a flatness sensor 117 for measuring or detecting a flatness of the metal substrate 102 exiting the workstand 106. In the embodiment illustrated, the flatness sensor 117 is a flatness measurement roll 119, although in other embodiments, the flatness sensor 117 may be other suitable sensors for measuring or detecting the flatness of the metal substrate 102. The particular location of the flatness sensor 117 should not be considered limiting, and in other embodiments, the flatness sensor 117 may be provided at other locations relative to the workstand 106 as desired.

[0020] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the rolling system 100 additionally includes roll control system 120 for controlling one or more of the rolls of the workstand 106. In embodiments where the rolling system 100 includes a plurality of workstands 106, the roll control system 120 may be provided with each workstand 106, although it need not in other embodiments. In one non-limiting example, the rolling system 100 includes at least two workstands 106 - a first, upstream workstand and a second, downstream workstand - and the roll control system 120 is provided at least on the second workstand.

[0021] The roll control system 120 includes at least one hot oil spray header 122 for applying a hot oil (represented by horizontal lines in FIG. 1) to at least one of the work rolls 112A-B and at least one coolant spray header 124 for applying a coolant (represented by vertical lines in FIG. 1) to the corresponding work roll 112A-B.

[0022] In the embodiment illustrated, a hot oil spray header 122 is proximate to both the upper work roll 112A and the lower work roll 112B. In various embodiments, various characteristics about the hot oil spray header 122 may be controlled as desired, such as but not limited to a number of nozzles of the hot oil spray header 122, a type of nozzle of the hot oil spray header 122, an aim of the spray from the hot oil spray header 122, a spray pattern from the hot oil spray header 122, a spray intensity, a location of the spray from the hot oil spray header 122 on the work rolls 112A- B, combinations thereof, and / or other characteristics as desired.

[0023] In some embodiments, the hot oil spray header 122 may be a high flow capacity spray header. As a non-limiting example, the hot oil spray header 122 may have a high flow capacity up to about 1,800 L / min., although in other embodiments the hot oil spray header 122 may have other high flow capacities as desired. As discussed in detail below, the hot oil spray header 122 with a high flow capacity may provide flexibility to the rolling system 100 such that the same rollingsystem 100 and / or workstand 106 may be used for different processes, such as but not limited to can rolling (e.g., rolling the metal substrate 102 for can end and / or can body processing), automotive rolling, texturizing rolling, other specialty rolling, etc.

[0024] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the hot oil spray headers 122 are provided on the entry side 108 of the workstand 106. In various embodiments, each hot oil spray header 122 may apply the hot oil to the corresponding work roll 112A-B along a majority of (e.g., approximately 50% or more) the width of the work roll 112A-B. As non-limiting examples, the oil spray header 122 may apply the hot oil along at least 50% of the width of the work roll 112A-B, such as along at least 60% of the width of the work roll 112A-B, such as along at least 70% of the width of the work roll 112A- B, such as along at least 80% of the width of the work roll 112A-B, such as along at least 90% of the width of the work roll. In certain embodiments, the oil spray header 122 may be a full width oil spray header 122 that applies the hot oil along substantially the entire width of the work roll 112A-B (e.g., about 90% of the width, about 91% of the width, about 92% of the width, about 93% of the width, about 94% of the width, about 95% of the width, about 96% of the width, about 97% of the width, about 98% of the width, about 99% of the width, and / or about 100% of the width).

[0025] The hot oil applied by the hot oil spray header 122 may be various oils as desired. In certain embodiments, the temperature of the hot oil is greater than a temperature of the coolant. In some non-limiting examples, the hot oil may be at a temperature from about 30 °C to about 95 °C., such as about 35 °C, about 40 °C, about 45 °C, about 50 °C, about 55 °C, about 60 °C, about 65 °C, about 70 °C, about 75 °C, about 80 °C, about 85 °C, about 90 °C, and / or about 95 °C. In one non-limiting example, the temperature of the hot oil may be from about 32 °C to about 95 °C. In certain embodiments, a temperature of the hot oil may be adjusted (e.g., by a controller 126, an operator, etc.) to provide a desired heating to the work roll 112A-B.

[0026] As mentioned, the roll control system 120 includes the at least one coolant spray header 124 proximate to at least one of the work rolls 112A-B of the workstand 106. In the embodiment illustrated, the roll control system 120 includes coolant spray headers 124 proximate to both the upper work roll 112A and the lower work roll 112B. The coolant spray headers 124 are provided at the exit side 110 of the workstand 106 such that the coolant from the coolant spray headers 124 and the hot oil from the hot oil spray headers 122 are applied on opposing sides of a given work roll 112A-B. The coolant applied by the coolant spray headers 124 may be various types ofcoolants as desired suitable for providing cooling to the work rolls 112A-B. As non-limiting examples, the coolant may be water, oil, emulsions, and / or other coolants as desired. Various characteristics about the coolant spray headers 124 may be controlled as desired such that the coolant provides a desired cooling. As non-limiting examples, a number of nozzles of the coolant spray header 124, a type of nozzle of the coolant spray header 124, an aim of the spray from the coolant spray header 124, a spray pattern from the coolant spray header 124, a spray intensity, a location of the spray on the work rolls 112A-B, combinations thereof, and / or other characteristics may be controlled as desired. In certain embodiments, and as discussed in detail below, the coolant spray headers 124 and the hot oil spray headers 122 may be controlled (e.g., by the controller 126) to provide improved flatness control to the metal substrate 102 during rolling.

[0027] In various embodiments, the roll control system 120 also includes one or more lubrication spray headers 128 for providing rolling or lubrication oil (represented by diagonal lines in FIG. 1). In certain embodiments, at least one of the one or more lubrication spray headers 128 may be provided at the entry side 108 of the workstand 106 for applying the lubrication oil on at least one of the work rolls 112A-B and at least partially into the roll gap 116. In the embodiment illustrated, the roll control system includes lubrication spray headers 128 proximate to the upper work roll 112A and the lower work roll 112B, respectively, at the entry side 108. Optionally, one or more lubrication spray headers 128 may provide the lubrication oil for the interface between the work rolls 112A-B and the corresponding backup rolls 114A-B. In the embodiment illustrated, the roll control system 120 includes entry-side and exit-side lubrication spray headers 128 for providing the lubrication oil for the interface of each of the work rolls 112A-B and the corresponding backup rolls 114A-B.

[0028] In certain embodiments, the controller 126 (e.g., processor and / or memory) is provided as a component of the roll control system 120, although in other embodiments, the controller 126 need not be a dedicated controller for the roll control system 120 and instead may be a controller for controlling various devices of the rolling system 100. When the controller 126 is included, it may be communicatively or operably coupled (e.g., via wireless communication, wired communication, etc.) to the various spray headers 122, 124, 128 of the roll control system 120 for controlling the application of the hot oil, coolant, and / or lubrication oil to the rolls of the workstand

[0029] In some embodiments, the controller 126 may control one or more of the spray headers 122, 124, 128 based on a received (e.g., via a user interface, device, or other input) or detected desired process capabilities such as but not limited to can body processing, can end processing, automotive processing, texturizing processing, combinations thereof, and / or other processing as desired. As a non-limiting example, the controller 126 may activate the hot oil spray headers 122 and the coolant spray headers 124 for rolling of metal substrates 102 for can body processing and / or can end processing. As another non-limiting example, the controller 126 may active the hot oil spray headers 122 to provide hot oil at a first temperature for rolling of metal substrates 102 for certain automotive processing and a second, increased temperature for rolling of metal substrates 102 for other automotive processing and / or texturizing processing. As a further non-limiting example, the controller 126 may dynamically control the hot oil spray headers 122 and the coolant spray headers 124 to provide a desired thermal gradient to the work rolls 112A-B for rolling of metal substrates 102 for can body processing and / or can end processing. In certain embodiments, the controller 126 may activate and control the hot oil spray headers 122, optionally together with the coolant spray headers 124, at various processing stages such as but not limited to between coils, during acceleration or threading of the metal substrate 102, steady-state rolling of the metal substrate 102, and / or deceleration or tailing out of the metal substrate 102.

[0030] Optionally, the controller 126 is communicatively coupled to the flatness sensor 117 and based on a measured or detected flatness of the metal substrate 102 from the flatness sensor 117, the controller 126 may control one or more of the spray headers 122, 124, 128 to control the flatness of the metal substrate 102. FIG. 2 illustrates a non-limiting example of such control.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 2, in certain embodiments, a method of controlling a flatness of the metal substrate 102 being processed by the rolling system 100 may be at least partially performed by the controller 126, and in certain embodiments, may be fully performed by the controller 126.

[0032] In a block 202, the method may include receiving the measured or detected flatness of the metal substrate 102 from the flatness sensor 117.

[0033] In block 204, the method includes determining a control response based on the flatness measurement received in block 202, which may include determining a control response for one or more of the spray headers 122, 124, 128 and / or providing an alert or notification to the operator. In various embodiments, block 204 may include comparing the measured or detected flatness to adesired flatness of the metal substrate 102. In such embodiments, the desired flatness may be received by the controller 126 (e.g., via a user interface, remote device, or other input) and / or determined by the controller 126 based on other inputs (e.g., desired subsequent processing of the metal substrate 102, etc.). In various embodiments, based on a difference between the detected flatness and the desired flatness, the controller may determine a thermal gradient of the work rolls 112A-B such that the detected flatness matches or is within a predefined tolerance of the desired flatness. In such embodiments, based on the determined thermal gradient, the controller may determine a control response for one or more of the spray headers 122, 124, 128. Determining the control response for one or more of the spray headers 122, 124, 128 may include, but is not limited to, determining a temperature of the hot oil, determining a spray pattern for the hot oil spray headers 122 and / or the coolant spray headers 124, determining a spray intensity for the hot oil spray headers 122 and / or the coolant spray headers 124, determining an activation and / or deactivation time for the hot oil spray headers 122 and / or the coolant spray headers 124, combinations thereof, and / or other control responses for one or more of the spray headers 122, 124, 128 as desired.

[0034] In a block 206, the method includes generating the control signal for implementing the control response determined in block 204. In various embodiments, block 206 includes generating the control signal for controlling the one or more spray headers 122, 124, 128 and / or generating the control signal for generating the alert or notification. As non-limiting examples, block 206 may include generating the control signal for controlling the hot oil spray headers 122 to provide the hot oil at a first flow rate and for controlling the coolant spray headers 124 to provide the coolant at a second flow rate.

[0035] In other embodiments, controlling the flatness of the metal substrate 102 may be based on information from additional and / or alternative sensors as desired. As non-limiting examples, the method illustrated in FIG. 2 further may be based on information measured or determined by a roll temperature sensor, a roll camber sensor, a hot oil temperature sensor, and / or a coolant temperature sensor. %

[0036] A collection of exemplary embodiments is provided below, including at least some explicitly enumerated as an “Illustration” providing additional description of a variety of example embodiments in accordance with the concepts described herein. These illustrations are not meantto be mutually exclusive, exhaustive, or restrictive; and the disclosure not limited to these example illustrations but rather encompasses all possible modifications and variations within the scope of the issued claims and their equivalents.

[0037] Illustration 1. A roll control system for a rolling system, the roll control system comprising: a hot oil spray header at an entry side of a workstand of a rolling mill, the hot oil spray header configured to apply a hot oil on a surface of a work roll of the rolling mill at the entry side and to a majority of a width of the work roll; a coolant spray header at an exit side of the workstand of the rolling mill, the coolant spray header configured to apply a coolant on the surface of the work roll of the rolling mill at the exit side; and a controller configured to control application of hot oil from the hot oil spray header and application of coolant from the coolant spray header.

[0038] Illustration 2. The roll control system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the hot oil is at a temperature from about 32 °C to about 95 °C.

[0039] Illustration 3. The roll control system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil at a flow rate up to about 1800 L / min.

[0040] Illustration 4. The roll control system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, further comprising a lubrication spray header at the entry side of the workstand, wherein the lubrication spray header is configured to apply a lubrication oil on the surface of the work roll at the entry side and at least partially into a roll gap defined at least partially defined by the work roll.

[0041] Illustration 5. The roll control system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the controller is configured to control the application of the hot oil and the application of the coolant based on a subsequent process for a metal substrate being processed by the rolling mill.

[0042] Illustration 6. The roll control system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the subsequent process comprises at least one of a can body forming process, a can end forming process, a texturizing process, or an automotive component forming process.

[0043] Illustration 7. The roll control system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the controller is configured to control the application of the hot oil and the application of the coolant based on a detected flatness of a metal substrate being processed by the rolling mill.

[0044] Illustration 8. A rolling mill comprising a first workstand and a second workstand, wherein the second workstand comprises the roll control system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations.

[0045] Illustration 9. A rolling system comprising a workstand, the workstand comprising: an entry side; an exit side; an upper work roll; a lower work roll; and a roll control system comprising: a hot oil spray header at the entry side and proximate the upper work roll or the lower work roll, the hot oil spray header configured to apply a hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and to a majority of a width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll; and a coolant spray header at an exit side of the workstand and proximate to the same upper work roll or the lower work roll as the hot oil spray header, the coolant spray header configured to apply a coolant on the surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the exit side.

[0046] Illustration 10. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil at a flow rate up to about 1800 L / min.

[0047] Illustration 11. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the hot oil is at a temperature from about 32 °C to about 95 °C.

[0048] Illustration 12. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the rolling system is a cold rolling mill, wherein the workstand is a second workstand of the cold rolling mill, and wherein the cold rolling mill further comprises a first workstand upstream from the second workstand.

[0049] Illustration 13. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, further comprising a controller configured to control at least one ofthe hot oil spray header or the coolant spray header based on a processing stage of the rolling system.

[0050] Illustration 14. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, further comprising a controller configured to control at least one of the hot oil spray header or the coolant spray header based on a measured flatness of a metal substrate processed by the rolling system.

[0051] Illustration 15. A rolling system comprising a workstand, the workstand comprising: an entry side; an exit side; an upper work roll; a lower work roll; and a roll control system comprising: a hot oil spray header at the entry side and proximate the upper work roll or the lower work roll, the hot oil spray header configured to apply a hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and to a majority of a width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll; and a lubrication spray header at the entry side of the workstand and proximate to the same upper work roll or the lower work roll as the hot oil spray header, wherein the lubrication spray header is configured to apply a lubrication oil on the surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and at least partially into a roll gap defined by the upper work roll and the lower work roll.

[0052] Illustration 16. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil at a flow rate up to about 1800 L / min.

[0053] Illustration 17. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the hot oil is at a temperature from about 32 °C to about 95 °C.

[0054] Illustration 18. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil along the entire width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll.

[0055] Illustration 19. The rolling system of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein the rolling system is a cold rolling mill.

[0056] Illustration 20. A method of controlling a flatness of a metal substrate, the method comprising: receiving the metal substrate at a roll gap of a workstand of a rolling mill, wherein theroll gap is defined by an upper work roll and a lower work roll; and controlling an application of a hot oil and a coolant on at least one of the upper work roll or the lower work roll using a roll control system, wherein the roll control system comprises: a hot oil spray header at an entry side of the workstand and configured to apply the hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and to a majority of a width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll; and a coolant spray header at an exit side of the workstand and configured to apply the coolant on the surface of the upper work roll or the work roll of the rolling mill at the exit side.

[0057] Illustration 21. The method of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein controlling the application of the hot oil and the coolant is based on a measured flatness of the metal substrate.

[0058] Illustration 22. The method of any preceding or subsequent illustration or combination of illustrations, wherein controlling the application of the hot oil comprises controlling a flow rate of the hot oil up to about 1800 L / min.

[0059] As used herein, the terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention,” and “the present invention” are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent application and the claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below.

[0060] In this description, reference is made to alloys identified by AA numbers and other related designations, such as “series” or “5xxx.” For an understanding of the number designation system most commonly used in naming and identifying aluminum and its alloys, see “International Alloy Designations and Chemical Composition Limits for Wrought Aluminum and Wrought Aluminum Alloys” or “Registration Record of Aluminum Association Alloy Designations and Chemical Compositions Limits for Aluminum Alloys in the Form of Castings and Ingot,” both published by The Aluminum Association.

[0061] Hot rolling generally refers to a rolling process where the temperature of the metal is above the recrystallization temperature of the metal. Cold rolling generally refers to a rolling process where the temperature of the metal is below the recrystallization temperature of the metal. Warm rolling generally refers to a rolling process where the temperature of the metal is below the recrystallization temperature but above the temperature during cold rolling.

[0062] All ranges disclosed herein are to be understood to encompass any and all subranges subsumed therein, and the recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, or gradients thereof, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. For example, a stated range of “1 to 10” should be considered to include any and all subranges between (and inclusive of) the minimum value of 1 and the maximum value of 10; that is, all subranges beginning with a minimum value of 1 or more, e.g., 1 to 6.1, and ending with a maximum value of 10 or less, e.g., 5.5 to 10. The terms “about” or “approximately” include the exact value.

[0063] As used herein, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes singular and plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0064] The subject matter of embodiments of the present disclosure is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described. Directional references such as “up,” “down,” “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “lateral,” “longitudinal,” “front,” and “back,” among others, are intended to refer to the orientation as illustrated and described in the figure (or figures) to which the components and directions are referencing.

[0065] The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention, and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[0066] The above-described aspects are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects or combinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by the present disclosure. Moreover, although specific terms are employed herein, as well as in the claims that follow, they are used only in a generic and descriptive sense, and not for the purposes of limiting the described embodiments, nor the claims that follow.

Claims

CLAIMSThat which is claimed:

1. A roll control system for a rolling system, the roll control system comprising: a hot oil spray header at an entry side of a workstand of a rolling mill, the hot oil spray header configured to apply a hot oil on a surface of a work roll of the rolling mill at the entry side and to approximately 50% or more of a width of the work roll; a coolant spray header at an exit side of the workstand of the rolling mill, the coolant spray header configured to apply a coolant on the surface of the work roll of the rolling mill at the exit side; and a controller configured to control application of hot oil from the hot oil spray header and application of coolant from the coolant spray header.

2. The roll control system of claim 1, wherein the hot oil is at a temperature from about 32 °C to about 95 °C.

3. The roll control system of claim 1, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil at a flow rate up to about 1800 L / min.

4. The roll control system of claim 1, further comprising a lubrication spray header at the entry side of the workstand, wherein the lubrication spray header is configured to apply a lubrication oil on the surface of the work roll at the entry side and at least partially into a roll gap at least partially defined by the work roll.

5. The roll control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the application of the hot oil and the application of the coolant based on a subsequent process for a metal substrate being processed by the rolling mill.

6. The roll control system of claim 5, wherein the subsequent process comprises at least one of a can body forming process, a can end forming process, a texturizing process, or an automotive component forming process.

7. The roll control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the application of the hot oil and the application of the coolant based on a detected flatness of a metal substrate being processed by the rolling mill.

8. A rolling mill comprising a first workstand and a second workstand, wherein the second workstand comprises the roll control system of claim 1.

9. A rolling system comprising a workstand, the workstand comprising: an entry side; an exit side; an upper work roll; a lower work roll; and a roll control system comprising: a hot oil spray header at the entry side and proximate the upper work roll or the lower work roll, the hot oil spray header configured to apply a hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and to approximately 50% or more of a width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll; and a coolant spray header at an exit side of the workstand and proximate to the same upper work roll or the lower work roll as the hot oil spray header, the coolant spray header configured to apply a coolant on the surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the exit side.

10. The rolling system of claim 9, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil at a flow rate up to about 1800 L / min.

11. The rolling system of claim 9, wherein the hot oil is at a temperature from about 32 °C to about95 °C.

12. The rolling system of claim 9, wherein the rolling system is a cold rolling mill, wherein the workstand is a second workstand of the cold rolling mill, and wherein the cold rolling mill further comprises a first workstand upstream from the second workstand.

13. The rolling system of claim 9, further comprising a controller configured to control at least one of the hot oil spray header or the coolant spray header based on a processing stage of the rolling system.

14. The rolling system of claim 9, further comprising a controller configured to control at least one of the hot oil spray header or the coolant spray header based on a measured flatness of a metal substrate processed by the rolling system.

15. A rolling system comprising a workstand, the workstand comprising: an entry side; an exit side; an upper work roll; a lower work roll; and a roll control system comprising: a hot oil spray header at the entry side and proximate the upper work roll or the lower work roll, the hot oil spray header configured to apply a hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and to approximately 50% or more of a width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll; and a lubrication spray header at the entry side of the workstand and proximate to the same upper work roll or the lower work roll as the hot oil spray header, wherein the lubrication spray header is configured to apply a lubrication oil on the surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and at least partially into a roll gap defined by the upper work roll and the lower work roll.

16. The rolling system of claim 15, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil at a flow rate up to about 1800 L / min.

17. The rolling system of claim 15, wherein the hot oil is at a temperature from about 32 °C to about 95 °C.

18. The rolling system of claim 15, wherein the hot oil spray header is configured to apply the hot oil along the entire width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll.

19. The rolling system of claim 15, further comprising a coolant spray header at an exit side of the workstand and proximate to the same upper work roll or the lower work roll as the hot oil spray header, the coolant spray header configured to apply a coolant on the surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the exit side.

20. A method of controlling a flatness of a metal substrate, the method comprising: receiving the metal substrate at a roll gap of a workstand of a rolling mill, wherein the roll gap is defined by an upper work roll and a lower work roll; and controlling an application of a hot oil and a coolant on at least one of the upper work roll or the lower work roll using a roll control system, wherein the roll control system comprises: a hot oil spray header at an entry side of the workstand and configured to apply the hot oil on a surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll at the entry side and to approximately 50% or more of a width of the upper work roll or the lower work roll; and a coolant spray header at an exit side of the workstand and configured to apply the coolant on the surface of the upper work roll or the lower work roll of the rolling mill at the exit side.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein controlling the application of the hot oil and the coolant is based on a measured flatness of the metal substrate.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein controlling the application of the hot oil comprises controlling a flow rate of the hot oil up to about 1800 L / min.

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