The Ebros billet welding system is used to weld together the hot billets as they come out of the reheating furnace. This process makes ‘endless rolling’ possible, offering a considerable increase in productivity, material yield and plant utilization as well as guaranteeing a consistently high product quality.
Implementing Ebros in the existing wire rod mill, may increase Feralpi´s plant productivity by up to approximately 8 %. Furthermore, cobbles and head and tail end cropping can be eliminated improving the product yield by at least 3 %.
The latest system, which comes with an advanced transformer solution to yet better control the welding operations, includes an easier cleaning system, reduces maintenance and sparks and provides efficient deburring with a collecting bucket and a quick change system. A 2 MW induction furnace supplied by SMS Elotherm, a company of the SMS group, will be included in the supply to ensure billet temperature equalization at the entry into stand No. 1 in order to keep the rolling temperatures within the correct range and enhance final product tolerances.
The machine will exploit the furnace capacity of 130 t per hour and weld billets up to 150 mm square and 12 m length to be rolled on the existing mill. Commissioning of this plant is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020. This latest order sets the score to ten Ebros units supplied by SMS group worldwide. SMS group has already installed 543 rolling mils for wire rod, SBQ and special applications, bars and merchant products since 1950.
_{(source: SMS group)}