www.abb.com/pressductor

Reliable force and dimension measurement in the rolling mill
ABB Force Measurement is your single source provider

ABB Force Measurement, a business unit within ABB Sweden, has the global responsibility for force measurement and control products and systems in the ABB Group. We provide a comprehensive range of force measurement products designed to improve control, productivity and quality in a wide variety of processes and industries. Our products measure mechanical and geometrical variables. Dominating technologies are in the field of magnetics (Pressductor^® Technology) and pulsed eddy current (PEC).

Timeline of Stressometer System 40 years click to enlarge

In 2007, ABB Force Measurement celebrated the 40th anniversary of the launching of Stressometer^® Flatness Measurement & Control System. In that year, in 1967, ASEA/ABB installed the first Stressometer roll in an aluminium rolling mill in Canada, Alcan Kingston. Since then, ABB has introduced a number of versions for different applications in the metals industry.

Pressductor technology

Pressductor sensors and load cells are based on the magneto-elastic effect, where the magnetic properties of a ferro-magnetic material are influenced by mechanical forces acting on it. A typical Pressductor sensor has four holes through which two windings pass at right angles to one another. One of the windings serves as a primary and the other as a secondary winding. As long as there is no load on the sensor, there will be no coupling between the two windings. As soon as a mechanical load is applied, the permeability of the sensor material for magnetic flux is changed and a voltage is induced in the secondary winding. The induced voltage is proportional to the applied force up to a given value. The sensors/load cells now supplied are normally in the form of a solid block of specially developed electro-steel material machined to its final shape.

Force Measurement Products and Systems

ABB has long experience and genuine application know-how from the rolling mill industry and in addition to the Stressometer^® Flatness Control Systems ABB supplies a complete range of force and dimension measurement products and systems including:

	Millmate Roll Force Systems
	Millmate Strip Tensiometer Systems
	Millmate Thickness Gauging Systems
	Millmate Strip Scanner Systems

• Millmate Roll Force measuring systems

Millmate Roll Force Systems, rugged and reliable, is providing a high overload capacity, surviving harsh environment.

Over the years ABB has delivered over 20,000 roll force load cells to most of the rolling mills in the world, representing a major share of the market. The systems supplied today, the Millmate series, have undergone extensive improvements relating to the sensor material and the development of microcomputer-based signal processing equipment.

• Millmate Strip Tension measurement and control systems

PillowBlock load cells for strip tension measurement

Today, ABB is marketing a complete range of strip tension measurement systems for cold strip mills and processing lines including radial and PillowBlock strip tension load cells and electronics.

Compared with the traditional strain gauge technology, the ABB load cells, based on the Pressductor technology, have a number of advantages:

• Very high tolerance to shock loads, high temperatures and the harsh environment encountered in, for example, rolling mills
• High overload capability, up to 500% without change of calibration
• Stable high-power, low-impedance output AC signals, immune to noise pick-up
• Good precision over the entire measurement range
• No frequent recalibration required

• Stressometer^® flatness measurement and control systems

Stressometer System 7.0, the most recent generation of the flatness measurement and control system include following features:

• Flatness Server Architecture (FSA), which facilitates upgrading in an open and standardized way
• Accurate flatness control right from the start of the rolling
• Improved real-time control and reduced need for constant supervision

An obvious benefit of the Stressometer system is improved quality (strip flatness), but the most important feature is the productivity improvement, as the pass times can be considerably decreased.

Today, ABB has over 50% of the installed base of heavy applications, which represents about 700 installations and almost 1000 measuring rolls.

• Millmate Thickness Gauging System (MTG)

Millmate Thickness Gauging System, MTG Foil (left) & MTG Standard (right) gauges

The Millmate Thickness Gauge, based on the Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) technology, opens up new dimensions in non-ferrous strip gauging. Weak magnetic fields are used for the measurement and the gauge is completely safe to use. The technology is completely insensitive to anything in the measuring zone, except the metal strip. The gauge will therefore measure true strip thickness unaffected by coolant, dirt, steam, air temperature variations, etc. Since the MTG is material-independent there is no need for alloy compensation and calibration.

Measurement can be done close to the roll gap, without removal of emulsion.

The installed Millmate Thickness Gauging Systems worldwide have shown very stable and accurate thickness measurement results leading to a number of clients coming back with repeat orders.

• Millmate Strip Scanner System

One of the most important parameters in modern rolling mills is the position of the strip. If this is not correctly measured, there is a great risk of rolling the strip under incorrect presumptions. This leads to poor flatness, especially at the edges, and to a final product of inferior quality or even strip breakage.

The Millmate Strip Scanner System is a system for continuous, contact-free measurement of edge position/off-center and strip width in cold rolling mills and process lines such as pickling, annealing and galvanizing lines.

Contrary to optical, camera-based technologies, the Millmate Strip Scanner is immune to such substances as oils, water and other coolants, as well as steam and dirt.

ABB AB
Force Measurement
S-721 59 Västerås
Sweden

For further information please visit our website, www.abb.com/pressductor

 

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