Telescopic Coiler Mandrel for Variable Thickness Metal Strip Rolling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rolling mills face challenges in handling metal strips with significantly changing thickness without risking cracking, particularly when using reversing coiler devices with only one reel dome, as they require complex and costly gear systems for multiple mandrels to manage varying diameters.
Innovation Solution
A winding tube changing device that allows the winding tube to be quickly assembled and disassembled on a single coiler dome, enabling the use of a larger diameter for thick strips and a smaller diameter for thinner strips, using a telescopic and pivoting mechanism to adapt to varying thicknesses, thereby reducing the need for multiple coiler domes and gear systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple coiler mandrels with different diameters are used to handle metal strips of varying thickness, then the risk of cracking is reduced, but the device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The coiler mandrel is divided into two functional segments: a fixed inner mandrel and a movable telescopic tube. The telescopic tube can extend to increase the outer diameter for thick strips and retract for thin strips, eliminating the need for multiple separate mandrels and their associated complex gear switching mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The coiler mandrel transitions from a static structure to a dynamic one through the telescopic tube that can extend and retract. This dynamic adjustment of the outer diameter allows the system to adapt to different strip thicknesses in real-time without requiring complex gear systems to switch between multiple fixed-diameter mandrels.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple coiler mandrels with different diameters are used to handle metal strips of varying thickness, then handling flexibility is improved, but investment and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic coiler mandrel serves multiple functions: it can handle both thick and thin metal strips with a single device configuration. The telescopic tube extends to provide a larger outer diameter for thick strips and retracts for thin strips, making one mandrel as versatile as multiple mandrels would be, thereby reducing investment costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescopic tube is nested within the fixed inner mandrel structure. When extended, it provides the necessary outer diameter for thick strips; when retracted, it allows thin strips to be wound directly on the inner mandrel. This nested configuration eliminates the need for multiple separate mandrels, reducing both investment and maintenance costs while maintaining handling flexibility.
3Device complexity
If a single coiler mandrel is used for all strip thicknesses, then device complexity is reduced, but the risk of cracking increases for thick strips
Solution Approach 1:
The single coiler mandrel is made dynamic through the telescopic tube that can extend to increase the outer diameter when handling thick strips, thereby preventing cracking, and retract when handling thin strips. This maintains device simplicity while eliminating the cracking risk associated with fixed-diameter mandrels.
4Quantity of substance
If the outer diameter of the coiler mandrel is reduced for thin strips, then coil weight is increased, but cracking risk increases for thick strips
Solution Approach 1:
The coiler mandrel's outer diameter is made dynamically adjustable through the telescopic tube. For thick strips, the tube extends to provide a larger diameter that prevents cracking during winding. For thin strips, the tube retracts to reduce the diameter, enabling higher coil weight with the same outer dimensions, thus resolving the contradiction between preventing cracking and maximizing coil weight.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a rolling plant (100) and to a method for its operation. Known rolling plants (100) typically comprise a reversing stand (110) for rolling a metal strip (200) in a plurality of rolling operations until the metal strip has reached the desired thickness. The reversing stand (110) is typically assigned at least one reversing reel device (130), which has a reel mandrel (132), for temporarily storing the metal strip (200) after individual rolling operations. The known rolling plants (100) also have a sensor device for determining the thickness of the metal strip. In order to cost-effectively achieve high flexibility in the use of primary materials of different strip thicknesses, it is proposed according to the invention that the rolling plant has a winding sleeve exchange device (140) for placing a winding sleeve (134) onto the reel mandrel (132) before the metal strip (200) is temporarily stored and for removing the winding sleeve from the reel mandrel between two rolling operations when the thickness of the metal strip determined by the sensor device (120) is still greater than the desired thickness but is already lower than a predetermined thickness threshold value.