The development of the first strip thickness gauge worldwide, that could measure the thickness of the strip during the rolling process in cold mills with an accuracy of µm, was the start of our company in 1963.
Vollmer America
First Isotope Thickness Gauge Application in Mexico
During this past fall, we installed our first two – Model A3000 Isotope Thickness Gauges in Mexico. The application was for stainless steel on a heavy-duty reversing mill with 24/7 operation. Figure 1 shows the right side gauge in operation including the yellow protection plates for the upper arm and the blue protection piece for the lower arm.
In this case, the protection pieces were designed and fabricated by our mechanical engineers. The plant staff coordinated the removal of the old equipment and under our supervision, installed the new unit.Â
The material specifications for the line included a measurement range of from 0.25 – 4.00 mm and a maximum width of 1,340 mm. The mill reaches a maximum rolling speed of 540 meters per minute. The output of the gauge is connected to a feed forward AGC system supplied by the mill drive manufacturer.
The changeover from the old gauge system to the new was coordinated by our staff and was completed right on schedule. From shutdown to start up was only 4 working days.
The gauge was supplied with the ability to scan the thickness of the strip as well as to make normal centerline of edge measurements coordinated by our control package.
Figure 2 shows the electronics panel as installed at the customer site. The main measurement software is run on a standard Windows®-based PC that interfaces to the gauge head drive and PLC controller over a Profibus DP industrial network. The customer wanted some special reporting software that was accommodated in the design. The normal control logic is programmed into a Siemens S7-300 series PLC also seen in the photo of the control enclosure. The customer requested the ability to print reports from previously run coils while the system was collecting data from the running coil. To accomplish this, we wrote a simple printer server program that runs in the motor room on a separate PC, supplied by the customer. This PC is used to review previously run data and to retrieve and print reports as needed without effecting the operation of the coil in the mill.
You can see in the figure 2 that the interface to the mill components is done over remote I-O that greatly reduces field wiring and reduces troubleshooting time as well. You will see in the figure as well that there are simple test points brought out that are used for set up. All of the components in the cabinet are standard ones that are available commercially.Â
The entire control enclosure is protected with a UPS power supply that interfaces to the PC to shut down gracefully if there is a power outage on the line, for example.Â
Figure 3, shows the operator interface monitor, keyboard and mouse that give the user to operate the gauge and monitor the entry and exit gauge trends.Â
Let our staff see whether the A3000 system satisfies your measurement needs. If not, we have a complete line of contact and non-contact thickness gauges and a group of measurement engineers that know your needs and can suggest the best solution. Contact any of our sales offices worldwide to get started.
In this case, all of the operator interface screens were translated to Spanish. Any language can be accommodated in our database system that switches easily from one to any of the other installed languages. Should titles need to be changed in the future, it can be done easily in the database scheme. The customer has been very satisfied with the overall accuracy and use of the gauge in operation.Â
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VIP 08 Flatness Measurement System
While the strip thickness tolerances were a significant criterion for the quality assessment of strip material in the eighties and nineties, significant improvements in controls and automation have made good thickness control a given among suppliers.
First Isotope Thickness Gauge Application in Mexico
During this past fall, we installed our first two – Model A3000 Isotope Thickness Gauges in Mexico. The application was for stainless steel on a heavy-duty reversing mill with 24/7 operation.
Quality and Yield Optimization on Cold Rolling Mills
In order to accommodate for the high demand in accuracy, quality and yield, it is essential to optimize the existing operating equipment. In the past Vollmer has supplied and been known for their high performance thickness gauges in conjunction with the automation of the screwdown system.
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