Primetals Technologies recently secured an order to modernize a wire rod mill for metal manufacturer AFV Beltrame Stahl Gerlafingen, who is based in the Swiss canton of Solothurn. The scope of supply includes an intelligent driver winder and a high-speed coil layer.
Improved Output
Stahl Gerlafingen expects an improvement of production output throught the new equipment, which ensures a uniform finish of the wire coils. Improved wire coil consistency will fully utilize the reheating furnace and facilitate subsequent transport. The new driver roll and high-speed coil laying unit is scheduled to be commissioned in the summer of 2023.
Reduced Vibration
The bar mill has an annual capacity of 80,000 tons, while the wire rod mill produces 600,000 tons of coils per year. Both parts of the plant are fed by the same roughing and intermediate rolling mill. The modernization of the plant allows for lower vibration levels at the coiler, which in turn results in lower attrition. In addition, AFV Beltrame Stahl Gerlafingen is improving the positioning of the wire ends and starts.
Technical Innovations in Electronics
Primetals Technologies is also supplying new AC motors for the driver pulley and the winder. Low-voltage frequency converters with active front-end rectifier drive the motors. This technological innovation is performed using a Simatic S7.1500 PLC control system.
Stahl Gerlafingen is part of the AFV Beltrame Group, Europe's leading producer of steel bars. The company mainly produces reinforcing steels for the national and international market and is the largest producer of recycled steel in Switzerland.
