US3575028A

US3575028A - Rolling mills

Info

Publication number: US3575028A
Application number: US794598*A
Authority: US
Inventors: Werner W Eibe
Original assignee: Blaw Knox Co
Current assignee: Blaw Knox Co; Italimpianti of America Inc
Priority date: 1969-01-28
Filing date: 1969-01-28
Publication date: 1971-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 1988-04-13

Abstract

A multiple strand, multiple stand rolling mill for continuous cast billets and the like including a support housing arranged to receive four mill housings spaced equally apart in parallel positions to provide four parallel double roll stands. Two or more of the support housings are spaced apart to make up a tandem mill arrangement for four parallel pass lines.

Description

United States Patent l 13,575,028

[72] Inventor Werner W. Elbe [56] Ref ren e Cited glacCandless Township, Allegheny County, UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,013,452 12/ 1961 Hornbostel 72/249 133 2 3,477,268 1 H1969 Schoffmann 72/234 [45] Patented 1971 3,491,57] l/l970 OBrien 72/244 [73] Assignee Blaw-Knox Company FOREIGN PATENTS Pittsburgh, Pa. 875,035 3/1953 Germany 72/223 Primary ExaminerCharles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Robert M. Rogers [54] ROLLING MILLS Attorney- Busser, Smith & Harding 9 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs. [52] U.S. Cl 72/227, ABSTRACT: A multiple strand, multiple stand rolling mill for 72/201, 72/245 continuous cast billets and the like including a support [51 Int. Cl B2lb 41/00, housing arranged to receive four mill housings spaced equally B2lb 27/06, B2lb 31/32 apart in parallel positions to provide four parallel double roll [50] Field of Search 72/237, stands. Two or more of the support housings are spaced apart 245, 235, 241, 243, 199, 221,249, 226, 227, 234, to make up a tandem mill arrangement for four parallel pass 244; 241/232 lines.

Patented A ril 13, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

WERNER w. EIBE his ATTORNEYS Patented April 13, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

M J E w m N W R n v E J W his ATTORNEYS Patented April 13, 1971 3,575,028

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. WERNER W. EIBE BY his ATTORNEYS v Patent 'ed A ril 13, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. WERNER W. EIBE his ATTORNEYS Patented April 13, 1971 5 heets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR, WERNER w. EIBE his ATTORNEYS ROLLING MILLS This invention relates to rolling mills and particularly to multiple strand, multiple stand mills for continuous cast billets and the like. The invention has particular utility for reducing billet size strands from continuous casting machines.

The use of continuous casting machines is well known in the art. Generally continuous casting machines are designed to deliver a multiplicity of parallel strands, frequently four or more. These parallel strands leaving the casting machine have a predetermined close spacing which must be matched by the billet mill. This, of course, creates a problem of installing pairs of rolls in a limited space as measured transverse to the line of travel of the billet. A second problem is created bythe necessity of installing such pairs of rolls within a short distance along the length of the line of travel. Both of these problems are complicated by the fact that in every case the rolls must be driven and controlled by independent driving means. Prior art mills available for use with such continuous cast billets are complex and cumbersome and the poor accessibility to the rolls makes changing them a major operation. The rolling mill of the present invention overcomes these problems and provides a mill which is compact and relatively simple and in which the rolls are readily accessible and easily changed.

If the billet going to the mill is of square cross section the pass design of the rolls is preferably of the diamond to square sequence. Preferably the stands are preceded by a scale removal system of known mechanical or hydraulic design. Where the billets going to the mill are rectangular, the first stands are preferably of conventional vertical design with the drive means at 90 to the pass line followed by mills with the drive means intersecting the pass line at 45. The mill of the present invention, provided with enough stands along the pass line and with the proper pass design, permits the rolling of small sections within the casting heat or following reheating.

Compact induction or other type furnaces-may be placed between stands to maintain rolling temperatures if necessary. Such furnaces could be located at the guide troughs and could be readily inserted and removed.

The present invention could also be readily adapted for quick automatic stand changing without the use of overhead cranes. In order to accomplish this the guide troughs between the stands could be mounted on a car on rails between the stands so that they could be pulled out and a similar car with roll stand changing apparatus mounted on the same rails could be moved into place to receive a row of opposing stands, then shifted and new stands inserted.

My invention permits a layout of many stands, necessary for small size billets, to be placed in a comparatively small floor area including the modern features of automatic stand changing as outlined above.

In a preferred form of my invention I provide a support housing having a plurality of spaced apart apertures surrounding spaced generally parallel pass lines lying in a common horizontal plane, a plurality of roll housings, each having a support neck adapted to enter an aperture in the support housing and having a guide passage generally axially thereof, roll journal anns pivoted on each said housing, a pair of rolls on said roll journal arms, one on each side of a pass line, means moving said rolls and anns relative to said pass line to open and close said rolls, drive means on said support housing for each pair of rolls, said drive means lying in spaced generally parallel planes intersecting the plane of the pass lines and connecting means connecting each drive means with a pair of rolls. Preferably the drive means lie on two sets of parallel planes on opposite sides of the vertical centerline of the support housing which sets of planes intersect each other on the centerline at an included angle of 90. The planes of the drive means preferably intersect the plane of the pass lines at 45. A hydraulic cylinder is preferably attached to the ends of the roll journal arms remote from their pivot on the housing and the arms are connected by interfitting gear teeth at the pivot end so as to cause them to rotate uniformly on their pivots under the influence of the hydraulic cylinder. Preferably I an'ange successive support stands with rolls on the pass lines so that successive reductions may be accomplished in a single pass. Guide troughs are placed between successive support stands to guide the strands of steel on the pass line from one set of rolls to the next. Preferably cooling means are provided for each roll in the form of a water-cooled central shaft and journal. The support neck is preferably held in the support housing aperture by means of a sliding pin having an inclined face engaging a mating inclined surface on the periphery of the neck.

In the foregoing general statement of my invention l have set out certain objects, purposes and advantages of my invention. Other objects, purposes and advantages will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a top plan view of a four-stand, four-strand mill according to my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the mill of FIG. I viewed from the bottom of FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the mill of FIG. I viewed from the right of FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a section on the line lV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section on the line V-V of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line Vl-VI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a section on the line VII-VII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a section on the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the rolls and support trough of FIG. 1',

FIG. 10 is a section on the line X-X of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the support trough of FIG. 9.

Referring to the drawings I have illustrated a pair of spaced support housings I0, each having four passages 11 extending therethrough parallel to each other, the passages of one housing being aligned with those of the other. Each passage 11 receives the support neck 12 of a mill housing 13 in each open end, so that each passage carries two mill housings one at each end. Each mill housing 13 is provided with two pairs of

roll journal arms

14 and 15 each provided with a

roll

16 and 17 respectively. The roll journal arms 14 and I5 are pivoted at one

end

14a and 15a on the housing on shafts l8 and 19 and are uniformly and symmetrically rotated thereabout by means of hydraulic cylinder 20 and piston 21 at their

free ends

14b and 15b and by meshing gear teeth 22 at their

pivoted ends

14a and 15a. Each of the housing necks 12 is provided with an inclined surface 23 lying within the passage 11 and engaged by a wedge 24 operated by a hydraulic cylinder 24a to move the wedge 24 into and out of engagement with inclined surface 23 so as to lock the housing in position. Each of the rolls l6 and 17 is driven by

separate spindles

25 and 26 through a spindle coupling 27 which is splined to the spindle and movable by a yoke 28 into and out of connection with the roll end. Each

spindle

25 and 26 is driven by the same motor 29 through gearbox 30 mounted in one end 31a of a removable drive housing 31, mounted on the spaced support housing 10 at a convenient angle, preferably of about 45 from the horizontal. Each such drive housing 31 is provided at the opposite end 31b with a second gearbox 32 and drive motor 33 driving a like set of

spindles

34 and 35 and

rolls

36 and 37 for the next adjacent pass line. Preferably each of the rolls is cooled by a water jet 38 which extends into the axis of the roll and is connected to inlet 39 and discharge 40 water lines through a rotary joint 41.

As shown in FIG. 1 the support housing 10 is arranged to receive four mill housings in generally equally spaced apart parallel positions at each side so as to provide four parallel double roll stands, with two or more such support housings spaced apart making up a tandem mill arrangement for four parallel pass lines A, B, C and D as illustrated on the drawings. Preferably the drive housings 31 are arranged on the support housings 10 in two groups, one on each side of a centerline, each group lying on spaced parallel planes at to the base of the support, the planes of one group intersecting the planes of the other on the centerline at a right angle as shown in FIG. 3. This arrangement permits the drives to be compactly mounted on the support housings with the pass lines through the support housings being equally spaced apart within a reasonably short distance transverse to the pass lines. At the same time it provides an extraordinarily compact multipass mill arrangement along the length of the pass line.

A guide trough 50 is removably placed between adjacent support housings on each pass line to receive the steel from one mill for delivery to the next. A fixed guide 51 is fixed to each housing at the outward end of roll journal arms 14. A guide passage 52 in the housing neck 12 acts as a guide on the side of the rolls opposite the fixed guide 51. The fixed guide 51 and guide passage 52 act alternately as entry guides or exit guides depending upon the direction of movement of the steel therein.

In the foregoing specification l have set out certain preferred practices and embodiments of my invention. lt will be understood that this invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims:

lclaim:

l. A rolling mill comprising a support housing having a plurality of spaced apart apertures surrounding spaced generally parallel pass lines lying in a common horizontal plane. a plurality of roll housings each having a support neck adapted to enter an aperture in the support housing and having a guide passage generally axially thereof, roll journal arms pivoted on each said housing. a pair of rolls on said roll journal arms, one on each side of a pass line, means moving said rolls and arms relatively to said pass line to open and close said rolls, drive means on said support housing for each pair of rolls, said drive means lying in spaced generally parallel planes intersecting the plane of the pass lines and connecting means connecting each drive means with a pair of rolls.

2. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 1 wherein the drive means lie on two sets of parallel planes on opposite sides of the vertical centerline of said support housing, said two sets of planes intersecting each other on the said vertical center at an included angle of about 90.

3. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least two support housings are placed successively on the pass lines, and removable guide means are placed therebetween.

4. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 1 wherein the roll journal arms are connected by a hydraulic cylinder and piston acting to move the rolls and arms relatively to said pass line.

5. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 4 wherein the roll journal arms are connected by intermeshing gear teeth adjacent their pivot on the roll housings.

6. A rolling mill comprising a support having an aperture therein, a roll housing having a neck adapted to enter said aperture, said neck having a guide passage generally axially thereof defining a pass line, roll journal arms pivoted at one end on said housing, a pair of rolls mounted for rotation intermediate the ends of said arms, one on each side of said pass line extending through the guide passage and pressure means connecting the other ends of said journal arms urging said arms toward each other against roll separating forces.

7. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 6 wherein the housing neck is held in the aperture of the support by a removable wedge engaging adjacent surfaces of each.

8. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 7 wherein the wedge is moved into and out of engagement with the neck by a fluid operated cylinder on the support. t

9. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 6 wherein the pressure means connecting the journal arms is a hydraulic cylinder and piston.

Claims

1. A rolling mill comprising a support housing having a plurality of spaced apart apertures surrounding spaced generally parallel pass lines lying in a common horizontal plane, a plurality of roll housings each having a support neck adapted to enter an aperture in the support housing and having a guide passage generally axially thereof, roll journal arms pivoted on each said housing, a pair of rolls on said roll journal arms, one on each side of a pass line, means moving said rolls and arms relatively to said pass line to open and close said rolls, drive means on said support housing for each pair of rolls, said drive means lying in spaced generally parallel planes intersecting the plane of the pass lines and connecting means connecting each drive means with a pair of rolls.

2. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 1 wherein the drive means lie on two sets of parallel planes on opposite sides of the vertical centerline of said support housing, said two sets of planes intersecting each other on the said vertical center at an included angle of about 90*.

8. A rolling mill as claimed in claim 7 wherein the wedge is moved into and out of engagement with the neck by a fluid operated cylinder on the support.