London, August 28, 2015

Primetals Technologies to supply more Eco Slide Disc side guides for voestalpine coilers

• Eco Slide Discs have a service life of four weeks instead of two or three days
• Self-cleaning effect reduces the risk of deposits falling on the strip and damaging its surface
• Maintenance activities and time-consuming welding and grinding repair work eliminated
• Up to 75 percent cost saving on wearing parts
• Very short pay-back time

voestalpine Stahl GmbH has awarded Primetals Technologies the order to supply further side guiding beams with wear discs for its hot strip mill in Linz. The Eco Slide Disc systems will be installed at the entry side guides of coilers 3 and 4. Eco Slide Discs have already been in continuous, successful operation at one guiding side of coiler 3 since August 2014. The order was. placed in response to the positive operating results and cost savings potentials. Eco Slide Discs can be used continuously for four weeks, whereas conventional wear strips last only two or three days. The new side guides have an inherent self-cleaning effect. This reduces the risk of material deposits falling on the strip and damaging its surface.

The key components of the new strip guide system are the rotatable Eco Slide Discs mounted on a maintenance-free, rugged geared beam. These wear discs are installed vertically between the table rollers, and are automatically and synchronously rotated through a selectable angle after a variable number of strips have passed. The strip always cuts into conventional wear plates at the same point, whereas with Eco Slide Discs, the wear is distributed evenly around the entire surface of the circular ring. This does not only extend the service life of the wearing parts, but also the period of continuous operation of the entry side guides from the previous two or three days to four weeks. The periodic and gradual rotation of the discs means that only small amounts of rubbed off material from the guided strip edges adhere to the discs.  Such deposits are rubbed off by the following strips. This self-cleaning effect of the Eco Slide Discs eliminates the manual cleaning of the wear strips required for certain strip qualities to prevent deposits from the strip edges falling off and damaging the surface of the strip.

As has been proved by the bar used since August 2014, it is sufficient to rotate the Eco Slide Discs or replace them by new wear discs after four weeks maintenance-free operation during a planned downtime for repairs. The welding and grinding repair work to be done on the expensive wear plates by nearly all mill operators is eliminated.

Side guides with Eco Slide Discs from Primetals Technologies at the entry side of the down coiler in the hot strip mill of voestalpine Stahl in Linz, Austria.

Primetals Technologies, Limited, headquartered in London, United Kingdom, is a pioneer and world leader in the fields of engineering, plant building, and the provision of lifecycle services for the metals industry. The company offers a complete technology, product, and services portfolio that includes integrated electrics and automation, digitalization, and environmental solutions. This covers every step of the iron and steel production chain—from the raw materials to the finished product—and includes the latest rolling solutions for the nonferrous metals sector. Primetals Technologies is a joint venture of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and partners, with around 7,000 employees worldwide. To learn more about Primetals Technologies, visit the company website www.primetals.com.