Temper Mill and Stretcher Leveler Integration for Steel Coil Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cut-to-length and blanking lines face challenges in achieving optimal surface finish and preventing coil breaks, particularly with thinner gauges, while also requiring efficient processing that balances capital investment and operational efficiency between stretcher leveler and temper mill technologies.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a temper mill into a stretcher leveler cut-to-length processing line, allowing for configuration based on material thickness and requirements, enabling the use of both temper mill and stretcher leveler in a single line to achieve improved surface finish, flatness, and reduced coil breaks, with a reduced capital investment compared to a traditional temper mill line.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a temper mill is used to process thin gage materials, then surface finish and coil break prevention are improved, but capital investment and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a temper mill and stretcher leveler into a single integrated processing line, allowing the system to leverage both technologies for thin gage materials. The temper mill provides surface finish improvement and coil break prevention, while the stretcher leveler handles flatness correction, creating a comprehensive solution that addresses multiple processing needs simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated line is designed to handle multiple material thicknesses and processing requirements through a single system. The temper mill is configured to process thin gage materials (16-9 gauge) while the stretcher leveler can be engaged for thicker materials or specific flatness requirements, making the line universally applicable across a wide range of steel coil specifications.
2Manufacturing precision
If a stretcher leveler is used for thin gage materials, then flatness is improved, but processing speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects which processing device to use based on material thickness and quality requirements. For thin gage materials where the stretcher leveler would be too slow, the temper mill is activated to provide faster processing. For thicker materials or when maximum flatness is required, the stretcher leveler is engaged, creating a dynamic, adaptive processing system.
3Productivity
If a traditional temper mill line is used, then processing speed and productivity are improved, but capital investment increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than implementing a complete traditional temper mill line which would require significant capital investment, the patent integrates a temper mill section into an existing stretcher leveler line. This hybrid approach provides the high-speed processing capabilities of a temper mill for thin gage materials while avoiding the full capital cost of a dedicated temper mill line, as the stretcher leveler can handle thicker materials.
4Manufacturing precision
If the temper mill is configured for thin gage materials, then surface finish is improved, but the ability to process thicker materials is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated processing line is designed with universal capability to handle a wide range of material thicknesses. The temper mill is optimized for thin gage materials (16-9 gauge) where it provides superior surface finish, while the stretcher leveler is configured to process thicker materials (9 gauge to 3/4 inch). The system can adaptively route materials through the appropriate device based on thickness specifications.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances surface finish, prevents coil breaks, and reduces capital costs by allowing for flexible processing options that leverage the strengths of both temper mill and stretcher leveler technologies, achieving better flatness and stress relief across various material thicknesses.
Implementation Method 1
A temper mill eliminates randomly trapped internal stresses by elongating the material beyond its yield point by squeezing the material between two rolls with enough force to reduce its thickness.
Implementation Method 2
The temper mill may be configured to generate 75 kpsi maximum rolling stress and 2.5% elongation.
Implementation Method 3
The stretcher leveler stretches the material sufficiently to exceed the yield point in all the fibers of the strip from top to bottom and from edge to edge thus equalizing internal trapped stresses throughout the material.
Implementation Method 4
A stretcher leveler completes its work with usually only 0.3 to 0.5% elongation.
Data Source
AI summary
A cut-to-length steel coil processing line has an un-coiling reel, a temper mill, a stretcher leveler, a shearer, and a stacking apparatus arranged to sequentially process a continuous length of sheet metal. The line may be configured such that the continuous length of the sheet metal is directed from the uncoiling reel through the temper mill to the stacking apparatus without processing through the stretcher leveler when a determined thickness of the continuous length of sheet metal is at or below a selected measurement criteria. In the alternative, the line may be configured such that the continuous length of the sheet metal is directed from the uncoiling reel through the stretcher leveler to the stacking apparatus without processing through the temper mill when the determined thickness of the continuous length of sheet metal is greater than the selected measurement criteria.