Hot Strip Mills

Measuring Systems
in Hot Strip Mills
You can also find brochures on other products in the download section
of our internet site at www.ims-gmbh.de.

Photos courtesy of:

ArcelorMittal
Duferco Group
Salzgitter AG
SMS Demag AG
ThyssenKrupp Steel AG

© IMS Messsysteme GmbH, Heiligenhaus

All rights reserved. This publication is protected in all parts by copyright. Distribution and
reproduction without the prior written consent of IMS Messsysteme GmbH is strictly prohibited.
All company and product names used in this documentation may be registered trademarks.

AN 016-12-06/12.11
Contents

4 Measuring Technology in the Steel Industry

5 Development of new Measuring Systems – Continuity at IMS

Applications
6 Heavy Plate Mills
8 Hot Strip Millls
10 Continuous Casting Plants
12 Steckel Mills

System Description
14 Thickness Measurement
15 Profile Measurement Twinset
16 Profile Measurement Three-head
17 Profile Measurement MiniMaster
18 Profile Measurement MultiMaster
19 Width Measurement
20 Flatness Measurement TopPlan

21 Possible uses of Isotope and X-ray Radiation

22 Cooling of the Measuring Systems

23 Automation System MEVInet

24 MEVInet-M
MEVInet-V
25 Quality Management System – MEVInet-Q

26 Breaking Barriers through Optimisation

27 Our Experience – Your Advantage

IMS Messsysteme 3
 Measuring Technology
in the Steel Industry

The steel industry is a fascinating To meet these high demands, the

world of large material and energy steel industry needs innovative,
flows, high temperatures, large ton- high-precision on-line measuring
nages and high-speed production techniques with intelligent quality
plants. The steel industry is quintes- management and analysis systems.
sentially a 24/7 industry.
The measuring processes and tech-
Users expect not only excellent pro- nologies described in this brochure
cessing properties and usage char- are, together with optimised process
acteristics, but also high life­time, models, precision control loops and
long-term value and high quality appropriate regulating elements, the
from modern materials. Only techni- prime pre-requisites for achieving the
cally superior prod­ucts – steel prod- high level of product quality required
ucts of maximum precision – survive from high-speed continuous produc-
the competition in the market. tion processes. Maximum availability
and repro­ducible measuring results
Thanks to constant improvements in ensure the high process stability re-
its strength and formability, steel can quired for continuous operation.
be produced in ever smaller dimen-
sions – and with ever tighter dimen-
sional toler­ances. Finished coatings
on steel strip are becoming thinner
and more effective with ever more
complex layer structures. The strip
behaviour and mechanical dimen-
sions are virtually constant along
the complete length and width of a
rolled steel coil.

4 IMS Messsysteme
Development of new Measuring Systems
Continuity at IMS

IMS works tirelessly developing

measuring systems for the improve­­
ment of thickness, profile, width and
flatness in rolling mills.

In parallel with technical devel­

opments for equipment improve-
ment such as
• hydraulic adjustment
• fast work roll bending systems
• slide rolls in conjunction with
mathematical models for roll
force, profile and flatness
• TopPlan
IMS measuring systems also under-
Profile and flatness measuring systems from IMS worldwide • Profile
TopPlan measurement

go continuous optimisation in terms

• Profile measurement
of accuracy, resolution and dynamic
performance.

Output and profitability in the pro- product with constant thickness and Today IMS can offer multi-function
duction of heavy plate and hot wide width, and a constant prescribed measuring systems for the contin­
strip depends on, among other fac- profile along the complete length of uous measurement of the follow­ing
tors, compliance with the prescribed the coil – a product without flatness parameters:
tolerances for thickness, profile, errors and with minimised residual
• thickness
width and flatness. The ideal is a stresses.
• profile, wedge and crown
• height distribution, position,
cross and length contour
• flatness and shape
• temperature and temperature
profile
• width
• turn-up/turn-down, head and
tail shape
• camber
• speed and length

IMS Messsysteme 5
 Application
Heavy Plate Mills

Three-head 1
Thickness thickness
Centre thickness 2
Thickness profile
3
Width
Temperature 4
5
9
6
7
8
9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

TopPlan TopPlan
Flatness Flatness

Example of a typical configuration

of a heavy plate mill

Heavy plate, in the thickness range The result is a material whose

3-250 mm, is currently avail­able in mechanical-technological charac­
virtually all alloyed and non-alloyed teristics are tailored specifically for
steel grades. Highly technical pro- later use in the manufacture of oil
cesses such as normalising and rigs, pipelines, bridge gird­ers, exca-
thermo-mechanical rolling are used vator shovels, pressure tanks and
not only to produce sheet steel, with ships.
a maximum thickness of 3 mm, but
also heavy plate. Heavy plate must pass commen­
surately strict quality tests before
being approved. For all rolled prod-
ucts, the mechanical prop­er­ties and
dimensions must be kept constant
to the highest degree over the length
and cross section of the product.

6 IMS Messsysteme
1 Reaheating furnace
2 Mill stand
3 Cooling section
4 Hot leveller
5 Marking machine
6 Double trimming shears
7 Cut-to-length shears
8 Laser cutting machine
9 Inspection line / Final inspection

Mill stands
in heavy plate mills

The following measuring systems • optical width measurement Profile and flatness measuring sys-
are integrated into one overall gaug- after the Mill stand, focussed on tems are often installed in combina-
ing system in this example of a typi- the end product tion at the Mill exit.The thickness
cal Heavy Plate Mill config­uration: • in the Dressing and Straighten­ measuring range is usually 2 to 150
ing Line the cold plate dimen- mm at widths of up to 5.5 m and
• a thickness measuring system
sions are re-checked for quality speeds of up to 7 m/s.
is installed at the entry to the
Mill stand control purposes

• after the Mill stand a three-head

or multi-channel measur­ing
system is installed for the mea­ Detection method and measured variables
surement of thickness, profile,
wedge and crown, temper­ature
and temperature profile, speed Radiometric Optical Laser
and length Thickness Heigh value Speed
• the optical system TopPlan is Crown and wedges Ripple Length
installed to measure flatness, Flatness
camber and turn-up/turn-down, Turn-up/down, head shape
this system can be installed at Camber
the entry or exit of the Hot and/ Width
or Cold Leveller Temperature

IMS Messsysteme 7
 Application
Hot Strip Mills

MultiMaster
Width Width and Centre thickness
crop length Thickness profile
Width
Flatness LasCon
Temperature

1 2 3 4 5 2 6

Thickness

Example of a typical
hot strip mill configuration

IMS has been equipping Hot Strip • isotope profile measurement

Mills with strip profile measuring at the Roughing Mill exit
systems for more than 20 years. • width and crop length measure-
Modern and revamped Mills are ment and optimisation system
now equipped with fourth genera-
• multifunctional measuring
tion multi-channel profile measuring
sys­tem MultiMaster for the
systems. X-ray measuring technol-
meas­­ure­ment of centre line
ogy is used exclusively for these
thickness, profile, width and flat-
measurements. In addition, optical
ness at the Finishing Mill exit
sys­tems are used for the measure-
ment of position, width, contour and • TopPlan flatness measurement
flatness. at the finishing line
• width and flatness measure-
Although X-ray measurement has ments at the Coiler
significant advantages over iso­tope
measurement, it is restricted to a • temperature and temperature
profile measurements at the
maximum strip thickness: isotope
Roughing Mill, Finishing Mill and
measurement still have their uses.
Coiler
IMS has been using X-ray technol-
ogy in Hot Strip Mills since 1998. The width of the transfer bar is set at
the Roughing Mill. The input variable
The following IMS measuring sys- for width control is the measured
tems are integrated into one gaug- width with precise determination of
ing system in this example of a typi- the transfer bar location. For control
cal Hot Strip Mill configuration: of the Crop Shear, the head and tail
shapes of the transfer bar are meas-
• width measurement at the
ured during the last pass, and the
Roughing Mill entry
crop lengths calculated.

8 IMS Messsysteme
 1 Reaheating furnace
Width
2 High-pressure water descaler
3 Upsetting press
4 Four-high roughing stand
5 Cropping shears
6 Finishing mill
7 Cooling section
8 Coiler

7 8

TopPlan TopPlan
Flatness Flatness

Systems for the measurement of The configuration shown has

width and flatness are based on backup functions for strip flatness,
optical measuring techniques, while strip thickness and strip width. It is
thickness and profile are measured therefore possible to carry out main-
radiometrically. Isotope measuring tenance work while production is
systems are usually located after the running.
Roughing Mill and X-ray measuring
systems after the Finishing Mill. Roughing mill

Roller table

Profile and TopPlan flatness measurements Finishing Mill

IMS Messsysteme 9
 Application
Continuous Casting Plants

MiniMaster
Centre thickness
Thickness profile
Temperature

1 2

5 6 7

Example of a typical configuration 4

of a continuous casting plant 3

The introduction of continuous eliminated by suitable measures.

casting technology in 1989 laid the These days, the thickness tolerances
foundation for a fundamental change achieved in hot strip measurement
in the production of hot strip world- today are comparable with those
wide. This technology won accept- achieved in the cold rolling sector.
ance by the market in the early 90s.
This decrease in hot strip thick­ness
IMS has accompanied this tech­nol­ has made it necessary for the flat-
ogy from the start and contrib­uted ness to be improved radically in the
significantly to improving product production process.The measuring
quality. The measuring methods system MiniMaster was developed
known from conven­tional Hot Strip for installation at the entry section to
Mills are also used in Continuous the Finishing Mill. The systems used
Casting plants. Due to the thin di- in hot strip applications are used
mensions at high rolling speeds, for fast level 1 control loops and for
the measuring systems have been supporting mathematical models for
adapted to this technology. crown, width, contour and flat­ness.

Additional thermal stresses on the In future, these values will be mea­

measuring systems caused be sured and assessed directly on the
semi-continuous rolling have been thin slab during casting.

10 IMS Messsysteme
 1 Ladle turret
2 Casting machine

MultiMaster 3 Shears
Centre thickness TopPlan
4 Continuous furnace with swivel table
Thickness profile Flatness
Width 5 Emergency shears
Flatness LasCon
6 Water descaler
Temperature
7 Finishing mill with interstand cooling
8 Cooling section
9 Coiler

8 9

In this example of a Continuous • profile measuring system Multi­

Casting plant operation, possible Master for the measurement
locations for the different meas­ur­ing of centre line thickness, profile,
systems are shown: width, flatness and temperature
at the exit of the Finishing Mill
• profile measuring system Mini-
Master for the measurement of • TopPlan flatness measurement
centre line thickness, profile and at the entry to the Cooling Sec-
temperature at the entry to the tion
Finishing Mill

Casting machine

Twin-stand slab casting machine

IMS Messsysteme 11
 Application
Steckel Mills

Three-head MultiMaster
thickness Centre thickness
Centre thickness Thickness profile
Thickness profile Width
Width Flatness LasCon
Temperature Temperature

1 2 3 4

Thickness

Example of a typical
steckel mill configuration

A complete Steckel Mill plant usually to the Mill stand, IMS has success-
consists a four-high Roughing stand, fully installed specially adapted multi-
a Reversing Mill stand, and two Coil channel profile measuring systems in
Boxes (mostly gas-heated) in which various Steckel Mills.
the strip temperature is maintained
during the rolling process. These measuring systems are in-
corporated within one overall gaug-
Both heavy plate and hot strip prod- ing system providing simultaneous
ucts with manufacturing thicknesses measurement of thick­ness, profile,
similar to those of a wide Hot Strip width, temperature and flatness di-
Mill are often rolled in a Steckel Mill. rectly at the exit of the stand.

In spite of the confined space, due to

the close proximity of the Coil Boxes

12 IMS Messsysteme
 TopPlan 1 Reaheating furnace
Flatness 2 Roughing mill
3 Coil box 1
4 Steckel mill
5 Coil box 2
6 Cooling section
7 Coiler

5 6 7

Temperature

The following IMS measuring sys- • TopPlan flatness measurement

tems are integrated into one gaug- at the exit of the Steckel Mill,
ing system in the above example of before the Cooling Section
a Steckel Mill: • temperature and temperature
• three-head isotope profile meas- profile measurements can be
urement, after the Roughing Mill installed at every measuring
location
• isotope or X-ray thickness
measurement between Coil
Box 1 and the Steckel Mill
• multifunctional measuring sys- Roughing mill
tem MultiMaster for the meas-
urement of thickness, pro­file,
width and flatness between the
Steckel Mill and Coil Box 2

Coilbox

Cooling section

IMS Messsysteme 13
 System Description
Thickness Measurement

Profile measurement

The thickness measurement pro­ thick­ness variation along the length

vides precise measurement of strip of the coil must be neg­ligibly small.
thickness at the centre line position.
The measured thickness is transmit- Isotope or X-ray radiation may be
ted to the master AGC control sys- used as the source of radiation, de-
tem for thickness control along the pending on the measuring range. If
length of the coil. there is a free choice, X-ray sources
are preferred be­cause they contrib-
The thickness measurement can ute to higher accuracy measure-
also be designed to provide cross- ment.
strip profile data. In this case the
C-frame is made to scan the strip If X-ray sources are used, the thick­
width continually. ness measurement can ideally be
equipped with a strip position angle
For precision measurement of the compensation function. In this case
profile, it is necessary to take into the strip thickness is measured ac-
consideration the centre line thick- curately, even without strip tension,
ness variation along the length of when the strip may be oriented at
the coil. Since it is not possible to various angles and passline posi-
measure the centre line thickness tions within the C-frame measuring
and the profile at the same time, ei- gap.
ther the strip must remain stationary
during profile measurement, or the

14 IMS Messsysteme
System Description
Profile Measurement Twinset

Profile measurement Twinset

The Twinset profile measurement The profile is calculated from the relatively long control loop response
consists of two separate C-frames. difference between the strip centre time, on-line profile control is not
At the entry side of the Mill, one line thickness at the Mill entry and feasible. And, under certain circum-
C-frame measures the centre line the strip profile at the Mill exit. The stances, it is possible that changes
thickness of the strip. A second, distance between the entry C-frame in the profile – and therefore changes
scanning C-frame located at the exit and the exit C-frame is taken into in the wedge and crown over the coil
side of the Mill provides cross strip consideration. length – will not be measured accu-
profile data as it scans backwards rately.
and forwards across the strip. The Twinset profile measurement
provides an inexpensive method Depending on the radiation beam
This C-frame can also provide a of measuring correct strip profile geometry, one or two detectors are
measurement of strip centre line provided that the strip remains flat arranged in the strip length direc-
thickness, if it is positioned perma- on the roll table (i.e. at the correct tion in order to achieve the required
nently at the centre of the strip. passline). Any degree of non-flat­ measuring resolution, i.e. the small-
ness in the strip during scanning est measured width in the cross strip
The measuring system measures will lead to incorrect profile meas­ direction. The higher statistical noise
the following parameters: urement. obtained with a small number of de-
tectors is disregarded.
• centre line thickness
Furthermore, the number of cross
• strip centre line temperature profile scans is limited to between
• profile, wedge and crown one and five depending on the
length of the coil (or transfer bar),
• temperature profile and the transport speed. Due to the

IMS Messsysteme 15
 System Description
Profile Measurement Three-head

Three-head profile measurement

The three-head profile measuring The edge measuring heads are also In normal operation the edge heads
system is the standard IMS measure­ equipped with CCD cameras for the are positioned at prescribed fixed
ment for Heavy Plate Mill applica­ measurement of plate edge position. distances from the plate edges.
tions and measures the following The outputs from these cameras are Due to horizontal plate movements,
parameters: used for the measurement of plate camber formation and/ or changes
width. At plate temperatures above in the plate width, it is nec­es­sary to
• centre line thickness, edge
750°C, the CCD camera in each readjust the edge head posit­ions to
thickness, wedge and crown
edge head meas­ures the plate po- their prescribed nominal positions. In
• profile sition by detecting the infrared radia- order to achieve this, the posi­tions
• width tion from the plate. At temperatures of both plate edges are measured
below 750°C light from a backlight contin­ually by the CCD cameras and
• temperature situated under the roll table is used the edge heads repositioned as nec-
• length as the light source. essary. The plate width is calculated
from the differ­ence between edge
The three measuring heads are An adaptive laser device mounted head positions and the distance be-
built into one C-frame – one cen- in the upper section of the C-frame tween the edge heads.
tre head and two edge heads. The pro­vides a constant measurement
two edge heads are able to scan of plate length. With the plate length Usually, the plate speed and the
the plate width, but normally remain value it is possible to locate the thick- rela­tive­ly small plate lengths make it
in their respective edge positions. ness, width and temperature values impossible to carry out a complete
The centre head remains stationary in their correct positions along the cross profile scan during a single
at all times. Each measur­ing head length of the plate. pass. Therefore cross profile is only
is equipped with a temperature py- measured on station­ary plates.
rometer.

16 IMS Messsysteme
System Description
Profile Measurement MiniMaster

Profile measurement MiniMaster

The MiniMaster measuring system identified immediately, especially ing the drive unit, is located in a pro-
offers an inexpensive solution to the wedge and profile prob­lems in the tected area and is not exposed to
measurement of strip profile in Con- incoming bar. These errors, which the harsh environmental conditions
tinuous Casting plants and provides originate in the Roughing Mill, are at the measuring position.
the following measurements: also detected in conventional Hot
Strip Mills.
• centre line thickness
• profile, wedge and crown A special feature of the Mini­Master
• width measurement is the scann­ing C-
frame, which enables simultane­ous
• temperature measurement of centre line thick-
The top arm of the C-frame is ness and cross profile. Fur­ther­more,
equipped with an isotope radia­tion the scanning periods – and therefore
source, while the bottom arm con- the cycle times of the profile meas-
tains up to 13 ionisation chamber urement – are reduced by virtue of
detectors. the multiple detector arrangement
in the C-frame.
The measurement is located at the
entry to the Finishing Mill and pro- The C-frame is driven by a rack and
vides feed forward information to pinion device mounted on a drive
the Finishing Mill control computer. beam. The supports for this beam
In the Continuous Casting plant de- are located outside the roll table.
fects from the casting sec­tion are The complete drive system, includ- Profile measurement MiniMaster

IMS Messsysteme 17
 System Description
Profile Measurement MultiMaster

Profile measurement MultiMaster

The profile measuring system The upper arm of the C-frame con- These profile measuring systems are
MultiMaster is the most inclusive tains two X-ray sources and two used in modern Hot Strip and Steck-
of the multi-channel profile meas­ laser systems. The bottom arm el Mills where exacting demands are
urements, providing a truly multi- contains ionisation chamber detec- placed on product quality.
function capability. The earlier ste- tors arranged in a single line along
reoscopic arrangement of radi­ation the length of the C-frame, thereby MultiMasters in isotope version are
sources and detectors has been rendering it unnecessary to install an used in heavy plate mills and rough-
replaced by a laser-contour system apron plate between the two rolls ei- ing stands of hot wide strip mills.
(LasCon) consisting of two laser ther side of the C-frame.
lines projected on to the strip/plate
surface, and a CCD matrix camera. Further advantages of this system
The profile measuring system meas­ are:
ures the following parameters:
• precise determination of strip
• centre line thickness position and strip contour in
the strip longitudinal and cross
• profile, wedge and crown
directions
• width
• determination of the strip width
• flatness and side shift taking into account
the cross contour of the strip
• strip position and strip contour
in the cross and longitudinal • compensation for the effects of
(rolling) directions cross and length angles of the
strip – the only system in the
• temperature, and optionally,
world that measures and com-
temperature profile
pensates for the effects of vari­a­
• optionally, speed and length tions in strip length (pass) angle

18 IMS Messsysteme
System Description
Width Measurement

technology paired with high trans- Optical measuring systems are de­
mission speeds, as well as laser light signed and engineered for use in
sources, the following additional extreme environmental condi­tions.
functions can be integrated into the The cameras work at ex­treme­ly high
complete system: scanning rates so that water, steam
and scale have negligible influence
• detection of pin holes and edge
on the final measurements. Statisti-
cracks
cal analyses are applied for further
• 3D measurement of the strip checks of measured data plausibility.
Width measurement with
position in the measuring gap
scanning cameras • measurement of slab edge
contours
• detection of plate and transfer
Optical measuring systems have a
bar head and tail shapes for the
long tradition at IMS. We manufac-
determination of crop lengths
ture single and multi-camera sys-
tems to measure the width, position Numerous parameters are taken
and diameter of hot and cold rolled into account for the calculation of
products. The measur­ing methods crop length:
applied depend on the application.
• safety margins and allowances
CCD cameras are used as detec-
for samples
tors. They are either integrated in a
fixed position housing or mounted • min. and max. crop lengths
on a linear drive beam unit enabling • width profile, as well as various
variable positioning. head and tail shapes, e.g. fish-
tail and tongue shapes
For hot strip (> 750 °C), the infra- together with their symmetrical
red radiation from the strip pro­vides properties in the length and
the light source for the detec­tors. width directions
For lower strip temperatures (< 750
°C), the light source is provided by a
Material
backlight. In other optical measuring to be
systems, lasers are used for high- measured

lighting the contours of the measur-

ing object.

Thanks to the use of high-perform­

ance cameras, modern computer Temperature and speed
Flap
measurement

Air overpressure
in the measuring
house
CCD cameras,
Linear unit
Measuring house of a strip width
measurement at a Roughing Mill

IMS Messsysteme 19
 System Description
Flatness Measurement TopPlan

Flatness measurement TopPlan

For flatness measurement, IMS pro- measurement before the Coiler ten- Typical applications for flatness mea­
vides an optical measuring system sion comes into effect. The flatness surements are:
which works on the prin­ciple of the measured value must therefore be
• after the Reversing Mill
“projected fringe” technique. The available in a highly accurate form,
measuring system is referred to as immediately after the strip head en- • after the Hot Leveller
TopPlan topo­metric flatness meas- ters the measur­ing gap, so that the • after the Cold Leveller
urement. control system can react quickly.
Up to 60 software “fibres” are pro- • in Dressing and
In Hot Strip and Continuous Cast- duced across the width of the strip. Straightening Mills
ing plants flatness is measured af- This compares to typically 9 points of • at the Inspection stage
ter the Finishing Mill and the meas- meas­urement across the strip width
ured data transmitted to the profile with conventional laser systems. Very high demands are placed on the
and flatness control system. There accuracy of plate surface height dis-
is only a short time avail­able for In Heavy Plate Mills high demands tribution measurement in Dressing
are placed not only on the flat­ness, and Straightening Lines and at the
but also on the straightness of the plate inspection stages, as the end
plate. The aim is to achieve a flat- product is mani­pulated and verified
parallel plate without crown, ripple, according to prevailing standards.
turn-up/turn-down or twisting.

Flatness measurement TopPlan

20 IMS Messsysteme
Possible uses of
Isotope and X-ray Radiation

Isotope sources and X-ray tubes are X-ray systems from IMS are oper­ IMS uses only ionisation chambers
used as radiation sources. ated at a fixed high voltage for the because they offer the following ma-
following reasons: jor advantages:
Isotope sources emit monochro-
• maximum X-ray tube lifetime • very high sensitivity and there-­
matic radiation. X-ray tubes, by con-
by maintaining the tube under fore high signal yield across a
trast, emit an energy spectrum that constant load wide range of radiation energies
depends largely on the high-voltage – from ca. 5 keV to 1 MeV
applied to the tube. The maximum • low load on the X-ray tubes
thickness of steel that can be meas- through low operating param- • insensitivity to environmental
ured using X-ray radi­ation is 50 mm. eters; nominal values: influences including temperature
The use of X-ray technology for the 3 kW, 225 kV, 10 mA; variations
typical actual values:
measurement of higher thicknesses • long operating life – they are not
0.4 kW, 155 kV, 2.5 mA
is uneconomi­cal. subject to wear and tear
• no drifting of the tubes due to
• not affected by exposure to
In Hot Strip Mills, isotope measur­ing temperature changes on adjust-
maximum and direct radiation;
systems are used at the Rough­ing ment of the high voltage
the radiation intensity does
Mill stage, and X-ray systems at the not have to be attenuated by
Finishing Mill and Coiler locations. Isotope and X-ray radiation can be additional absorbers in order to
detected using different technol­o­ protect the ionisation
gies, e.g. with scintillation count­ chambers
ers, semiconductors and ionisa­tion
chambers. • design, chamber volume, gas
type, gas pressure, etc. can be
adapted to the measuring task

X-ray tube

Radiation source X-ray tube Isotope

Radiation energy 20 – 130 keV 662 keV
Max. thickness (steel) 0 – 50 mm 0 – 150 mm
Time constant 1 – 5 ms 25 ms
Measuring point 2 mm 25 mm
Ionisation chamber

Source holder

IMS Messsysteme 21
 Cooling of the
Measuring Systems

Three-head thickness measurement

Due to the high radiant heat from the separate cooling of the C-frame, X-
strip/plate during the rolling process ray tube and other components. The
in Hot Strip and Heavy Plate Mills, accumulated heat is removed by the
it is necessary to cool the measur- customer’s primary water as it flows
ing systems. To withstand the high through a stainless steel plate heat
thermal stresses reliably for many exchanger in the primary cooling
years of operation, IMS uses water- water circuit. The necessary cool­ing
cooled, double-walled C-frames flow rates are controlled thermostati-
and protective enclosures made cally. Tem­pe­rature, pres­sure and flow
usually of stainless steel. are monitored.

The use of X-ray technology in Thermocouples measure the ac-

measuring systems makes addi­ tual operating temperatures in the
tional cooling of the X-ray tubes C-frame and protective enclosures.
necessary because they operate at Alarms and fault conditions are
very high temperatures. transmitted to the main control sys-
tem when limit values are exceeded.
Gauges and X-ray tubes are cooled
by cooling water flowing in closed
secondary cooling water circuits in-
stalled in supply cubicles devel­oped Supply cubicle
and manufactured by IMS. Each
secondary circuit is designed for the

22 IMS Messsysteme
 Automation System
MEVInet

MEVInet is a standardised system • use of desktop, server and real

developed by IMS for use in the time operating systems from
fields of measurement and con- Microsoft
trol, data display and quality man­ • graphic configuration and
agement in automation systems in documentation of the measure­
rolling mills. ment and control functions to
EN 61131-3
The hardware consists of indus-
• diagnostics via online test and
trial PCs and field bus and Ethernet
oscilloscope function
technology. MEVInet consists of the
subsystems MEVInet-M, MEVInet-V • standardised communication
and MEVInet-Q depend­ing on the between the subsystems and
particular tasks required of the external systems (Ethernet,
gauging system. UDP and Fieldbus)
• process-compliant reaction
The main criteria taken into account times of the individual tasks
in the development of the systems
• remote diagnostics and main-
were:
tenance
• greatest possible hardware and
software transparency (modular
and scaleable design, multipro-
cessor system)

Cubicle
HMI

Network
Ethernet customer / IMS

Network
Ethernet IMS computer

Network
IMS measuring
Ethernet equipment

Measuring
system
Elementary computer and
network configuration MEVInet

IMS Messsysteme 23
 M-Client Client
MEVInet-M / MEVInet-V
V- Q -C t lien
Me Op Da
l a y t a
y
tro

la
su

la
er

ar
Dis p

Disp
re m
Con

a ti o

c h iv
ent

in g
Actua

evel

The measuring systems used in MEVInet-V provides the HMI and

rolling mills represent high-tech displays production data, operat­ing
rL
to

Ad solutions to the problems of high parameters and system faults.

ev justment
rl

R ports
so

el n precision emeasurement. Reports

Se Individual
measuring systems for the acqui­ Information for display is assem­bled
sition of measured values and pro- by selecting and configuring display
cessing & quality control are usually modules with the inte­grated editor.
combined to provide one complete In this way custom­ised user screens
V-Client Q-Cliemeasuring
nt
solution. Real time tasks can be created easily without the
Op Da
involving the processing of extremely need for programming skills.
y ta
y high quan­tities of data are performed
la

la
er

ar
Dis p

by MEVInet-M.
Disp
a ti o

c h iv
n

in g

MEVInet-M consists of the individ­ual

evel

systems, M-Server and M-Client.

rL

Reports R e p o rThe M-Server is the communication

so

n ts
centre between the real time com-
puters (M-Client), HMI (MEVInet-V)
and quality management system
(MEVInet-Q).

M-Clients are real time systems for

measurement and control.

Def
MEVInet-Q Qua
MEVInet-M-Server Com
MEVInet-M-Client Rea
MEVInet-V-Client HM

24 IMS Messsysteme
 Quality Management System
MEVInet-Q

IMS developed the automation The IMS DataViewer – for data pre­
system MEVInet-Q as a necessary sentation – provides immediate ac-
addition to conventional measur­ing cess to archived data for production
systems. and quality personal. It can present
single measured values and data se-
MEVInet-Q is the quality manage- ries (length, cross and error profiles)
ment system in the MEVInet product on freely configurable pages that are
M-Cliespe­
family. It was developed nt cifically managed centrallyVon -Cliaent
server or Q-Client
for analysis and archiving ofMproduc- locally at a user’s own workplace.
Da
l
tion data from rolling mills andeallows
a These pages can Op
y also be published y
ta
tro

la
su

the data store to be managed both on a company intranet, where they

la
er

ar
Dis p

Disp
re m
Con

a ti o

c h iv
at individual workplaces and on a are shown in a web browser.
company-wide network.
ent

in g
Actua

Performance features:
evel

The central component of the • quality management with data

rL
to

MEVInet-Q system
A consists tof one archiving, data analysis and
ve d j u s t m edatabase
or more edecentralised n
rl

Reports
so

n data logging Reports

l Se
servers. The servers are set up at
• maintenance and service
different production plants and re-
support
ceive their data from IMS sys­tems
and/or third-party systems. Data re- • production tracking, monitoring,
quests from individual workstations preview and documentation
are passed on to the basic systems • recording of other, third-party
through the data switching service signals and data
DCL (Data Con­nection Layer). A
decentralised information struc- • complaint assessment
ture can be built by using multiple • display of data via web browser
DCLs. Data from various produc- on a company intranet
tions plants can then be displayed
and edited.

Definition of the subsystems

Quality management system
er Communication centre
nt Real time computer
t HMI (Human Machine Interface)

IMS Messsysteme 25
 Breaking Barriers
through Optimisation

IMS measuring systems are used of the high level product quality
in rolling mills in the harshest of en- required in high-speed continuous
vironmental conditions and are re- production processes. An inter-plant
nowned for their very high availability. quality management system enables
inter-process optimisation.
By using modern X-ray technology
and fast, high-precision detectors, New goals are achieved through
IMS measuring systems achieve ex- permanent ongoing development.
tremely high measuring accuracies at What is technically feasible today
very low measuring time constants, may be accepted as every­day prac-
establishing their rightful place in the tice tomorrow, and possibly replaced
range of high-tech systems used in completely by new technologies the
industrial metrology. day after.

Together with optimised process You profit from our experience. Sat-
models and precision control tech- isfied customers around the world
nology, the measuring meth­ods and testify to our expertise.
technologies described are essen-
tial pre-requisites in the attainment

Walking beam furnace, Slab at pusher furnace,

Coil box, Roughing stands, Finishing mill,
Continuous casting plant (from top to bottom)
26 IMS Messsysteme
Our Experience
Your Advantage

= IMS offices and representatives

SERVICE is a subject close to our

heart. Consultation Service near you
and training
All service jobs worldwide are coor-
dinated centrally in Heiligenhaus so Cyclical maintenance
that we can react quickly and effec-
Remote maintenance
tively to all requests.
• early detection of faults
• speedy correction of faults
Service is supported by remote • minimisation of costs
maintenance from our different lo- Central service centre worldwide
Maintenance
cations (remote access). In this • hotline
and service
way, faults are identified quickly and • quick reaction by qualified experts
eliminated efficiently by our qualified Spare parts
service personnel. This helps to save • central management of stocks
costs. Our efficient service ensures • quick delivery through local stocks of spare parts
your measuring systems remain sta- Direct input of experience into the further
ble and reliable in operation. development of our products

For IMS, trustworthy cooperation

Regular communication
with our customers is the basis for
Modernisation IMS  Customer
long-lasting good relations. Our long
experience in providing support for and optimisation Early detection
of measuring of the need for modernisation
our measuring equipment benefits
systems
every new development. Constant continuing development
of products, especially software

IMS Messsysteme 27
IMS Messsysteme GmbH IMS distributor in China

Dieselstraße 55 Room 302 Three Xiang business building,

42579 Heiligenhaus
No. 25 Hualong Road, Ji'nan City,
Postfach 10 03 52 Shandong Province,
42568 Heiligenhaus
Germany China

phone: +49 2056 975-0 phone: +86 531 83170556

fax: +49 2056 975-140 fax: +86 531 83170558
e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]
internet: www.ims-gmbh.de internet: www.sjmc.net