Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has won an order to revamp the bar mill of Brazilian steel company Gerdau S.A, located in Mogi das Cruzes for the production of flat bar. As part of the contract, Siemens will revamp the intermediate and the finishing trains and the cooling bed.
Bar rolling line with Red Ring stands from Siemens
The company will also supply the mechatronical packages, mechanical equipment and all the automation and electrical systems for the bar mill. The fully upgraded production plant is likely to commence operations by 2013.
The bar mill currently produces long rolling products, which are supplied to the construction industry at an annual capacity of 260,000 metric tons. After the completion of the upgrade, the facility will produce long flat bars with widths of 50-106.6 mm and a thickness of 5.4 to 51 mm. While the intermediate and finishing trains will have five Red Ring stands in HVHVH configuration, two crop shears, new roller tables and an automatic repeater, the entry point of the cooling bed will be equipped with a dividing shear. The cooling bed will also have devices to handle programmable stacks of the rolled flat bars, to control the cooling process as and when required. Due to this feature, the metallurgical properties of the steel bar can also be set in an accurate manner. Electronic and mechanical systems will include equipment such as low-voltage distribution, transformers, motor control centre and medium voltage switchgear.