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By: Eric Theis, Contributing Writer



Most flat-rolled coil processing operations use some sort of roller leveling technology.
Operations people understand what these machines can do to improve the quality of the
product they produce. In the competitive marketplace, customers demand and get more
that just flat sheets or slit coils.

   

 
Some coil processing lines now add
tension to the leveling process. This
process extends the lower capacity range
of the precision roller leveler, produces
greater stability in the metal, and may
even make the metal flatter.

In a roller leveler, the material is

alternately bent up and down, stretching c
the outside and comressing the inside of The different colors shown here indicate how
each bend. On the first bend, the bottom much force or stretching is involved in
is stretched and the top is compressed; on bending metal over a roll without strip tension.
the second bend, the bottom is compressed and the top is stretched, and so on. The
neutral area in the middle is neither elongated nor compressed past the yield point.
Permanent change in the metal is strictly on the surfaces.

A computer analysis of tension and compression forces is shown in c. The

different colors indicate how much force or stretching is involved in bending the metal
over that particular roll diameter. The stresses or force, and therefore the strain or
stretching, are symmetrical about the center of the cross section.

The yellow, green, and purple areas are completely symmetrical about the neutral fiber
(the center part that is neither compressed nor stretched). The yield point is exceeded in
the red areas. Where it is yellow, the material is right at yield point. In the blue and green
areas, the material is in the elastic range, and no permanent change has been made.
Putting the material under tension as it
goes through the flattener or leveler
moves the neutral fiber toward the inside
of the bend. The strip tension adds to the
bending tension on the outside of the
bend. It subtracts from the bending
compression on the inside of the bend.
There is less compression on the inside
and more tension on the outside.
Therefore, less elongation occurs on the
inside of the bend, while more occurs on
the outside of the bend. The neutral fiber
moves toward the inside radius of the c
bend. The computer analysis shown here indicates
the level of force or stretching that is found
cshows the computer analysis when tension is applied to the strip.
again, this time with tension on the strip. This time the stress pattern is not symmetrical.
With the material under tension, the neutral fiber moves toward the inside of each bend,
first toward the top surface, then toward the bottom surface in the next bend, then toward
the top surface again, and so forth. The process is reversed again and again as the
material progresses through the flattener or leveler. By the time the metal exits the
machine, it has exceeded its yield point on more or possibly all of the cross section, not
just the top and bottom surfaces.

Leveling with tension assist can go up to 1/2-inch or even 5/8-inch

thickness capacity, which would be difficult with a tension leveler. The
depth into the cross section at which the yield point is exceeded
depends on the amount of tension. In the installation shown in c
, a pair of large, driven pinch rolls provides tension immediately
following the leveler. An on-the-fly cut-to-length shear follows the c
A pair of large
pinch rolls.
driven pinch
rolls provides
On-the-fly shearing eliminates the need to stop the line for the cut. For
tension
example, it may not be practical to loop heavy plate coil, but if the line
immediately
is stopped for cutting, whether under tension or not, a set mark could
following the
be made on the material surface. Also, tension in the leveler would be
leveler.
loosened, resulting in leveling discontinuity. This can be avoided by
using on-the-fly, nonstop shearing. The line in the lead-in photo completes a 5,000-pound
sheet lift in less than 30 seconds.

   

What about leveling in slitting lines? If a coil that has a typical crown or thick center is
slit, the center mults on the recoiler will have a larger diameter than the outer mults. That
makes the center mults wind quicker, while the outer mults wind slowly and more
loosely, with the apparent excess hanging down into a loop.
Öears ago, paper would be stuffed into these loose outer mults so that they would act as
though they were the same diameter as the center cuts, winding tightly in the process.
Today, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B11.14 standards for slitting
safety, applying to line owners and operators alike, prohibit paper stuffing unless the line
is stopped or the operator is protected. Stuffing paper or cardboard is no longer necessary
because slitting technology has eliminated the need to do it.

Thirty years ago, friction drag devices were developed to put tension on all the strands or
mults going onto the rewind mandrel.

The apparent excess strand on the outer, looser mults was allowed to hang down into a
looping pit between the slitter and drag device. That solved the differential strand rewind
issue but introduced new problems. Aside from having to dig, clean out, and walk around
the pit, any dirt or grit in the friction drag devices could scratch or imprint the coil
surface.

In addition, coil shape and straightness could not be better than the master coil, and was
often worse. Leveling individual narrow mults after slitting was neither mechanically nor
financially feasible.

Slitter-induced cross bow is another problem. It will not occur in a perfect setup: the male
and female stripper rings are exactly right, the slitter knives are sharp and set up
correctly, and the slitter arbors do not deflect. Of course, most setups are not perfect.

An imperfect slitter setup puts alternating up/down cross bow into each piece. The first
cut pushes from the male down into the female. The second cut pushes from the male up
into the female, then down, up, etc. The result is individual mults with alternating edges
up and edges down. This is a problem for critical stamping applications, roll forming, and
tube making because the up-bow mults do not run parts quite the same as the down-bow
mults do.

Stampers, tube makers, and roll formers sometimes ask the slitter to rotate every other slit
mult 180 degrees so all the burrs and cross bows are in the same direction, in hopes that
this will solve the problem, at least on narrow strands. What actually happens is that the
master coil comes from the mill with cross bow, and that cross bow adds to the cross bow
from the slitter on the first cut, subtracts from it on the second cut, adds to it on the third
cut, etc. The result is one mult that is bowed, one that is flat, one bowed, one flat, and so
on. Rotating or twisting alternate slit mults 180 degrees will not eliminate this problem,
but it will put all the slitter burrs in the same direction.
   

  
Leveling with tension assist of each
strand immediately after slitting and
before recoiling can help eliminate these
problems. That is what Strand
ExtensionerTM, a proprietary slitting c
process developed by the author's Leveling with tension assist of each strand
company, does. This particular slitting immediately after sliting and before recoiling
line configuration was originally can help contrpl many of the problems
developed to elongate the thicker center associated with cross bow.
strands that would otherwise recoil faster
and tighter. When this process is used, all strands rewind tightly without dangerous paper
stuffing or a friction drag device and looping pit. Most of these lines sit on a flat floor.

With this process, the line operator stands at the main control panel, away from the
dangerous recoiler nip, and changes the amount of elongation in the tight mults by
flipping a control lever. Just as with a roller leveler, the operator can elongate some parts
of the coil relative to other parts by adjusting the backup roller flites to deliberately vary
the sink or penetration of the upper and lower work rolls (see c ) at different points
along the face of the machine.

On a conventional slitter, splitting a coil with a thick or crowned center results in two
cambered strips curving toward each other on the recoiler. They squeal as they bind
against the overarm separator on a pull-through line. Sometimes, a scrap center cut can
prevent this problem. The slit mults can be steered onto the recoiler with a drag and pit
line, but there are still two cambered halves. With this proprietary process, the center can
be stretched, steering the two halves on the recoiler, without the help of a separator at the
recoiler and without making a scrap
center cut.

Figure 5:
In tension leveling, the coil is put under
significant tension between pull and drag
bridles placed before and after the roller-
   leveling device.

In tension leveling, the coil is put under significant tension between pull and drag bridles
placed before and after the roller leveling device (see c!). With tension leveling,
all parts of the metal are pulled past the yield point, top to bottom and edge to edge. All
the previous history of trapped stress should be deleted. The material should be perfectly
flat and relatively free of internal stresses.

Tension leveling usually is restricted to the gauge thickness of metal. Because of the
massive equipment and horsepowers involved, full tension leveling usually is not
practical for thicker hot-rolled plate coils. However, more and more tension leveling lines
are being found processing cold-rolled steel and aluminum products in toll processors and
service centers.



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A temper mill and matched precision
leveler (see c) can produce plates
that are entirely flat and stay that way.
That is an important issue for working
with heavy material.

Fabricators who use laser burning tables c

A temper mill and matched precision leveler
or turret punch presses want to ensure
can produce plates that are entirely flat and
that their parts will stay flat. If trapped
stay that way.
stresses are released by cutting or
heating, the material will not stay flat. A temper mill in a cut-to-length line is primarily
for surface effect, but used in conjunction with roller leveling, it can affect part stability
and surface quality.

A temper mill can be used to flatten material, although not as effectively as a leveler. The
temper mill primarily hardens the surface, raising its yield point without elongating it
lengthwise, resulting in a better, smoother hot-rolled plate surface. It also increases the
amount of elongation required to get beyond the elastic limit at the surface.

When plate is bent in a leveler, the surfaces are stretched or compressed in direct
proportion to the distance from the neutral centerline. When the plate is unbent, that
stretching and compression are reversed, also in direct proportion to the distance from the
centerline. The problem with this reversal process is that where the metal surface has
been forced past its yield point, it does not want to go back to zero, which means trapped
internal stresses have been added. The random trapped stress in the received mill material
may have been traded for a more consistent trapped stress, but it has not been eliminated.
The temper mill, on the other hand, raises the surface hardness of the metal, without
lengthwise elongation, before the roller leveling process. Now, when the plate coil is bent
over the leveling rolls, the extension required to exceed the yield point and permanently
change the length of the surface relative to the core is higher than that required below the
surface. Thus, the surfaces have no problem reverting to their original semiflat condition,
and the remaining trapped stresses are minimized. The result is flat plate and stability.

The trapped stresses that come from the mill are variable and random. They are not
consistent from one edge of the coil to the other, or from one end of the coil to the other.

A nonbacked-up flattener is used primarily for controlling coil set or longbow, an outer
surface effect. Trapped stresses remain in the middle, so the metal is not stable. With a
precision leveler, the yield point is exceeded about 80 percent of the way from the top
and bottom surfaces toward the center. Only the 20 percent of the thickness in the middle
has not exceeded the yield point, and thus it is much more stable. The addition of tension
assist to the leveling process increases the depth of the yielding effect in the metal cross
section. Adding a temper mill to a heavy cut-to-length line further reduces the remaining
trapped stresses.

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Measuring, or even describing, flatness
has been a tricky issue. In the past,
ASTM flatness tolerances have described
a maximum height of wave in 8 feet,
without any mention of the number of
waves in those 8 feet. In fabrication fit-
up, it makes a lot of difference whether
there is a 1/8-inch rise in 8 feet, or in
every 8 inches. Recently, the I-unit of c' Recently, the I-unit of flatness
flatness designation (see c'), designation, which takes into account both
which takes into account both wave wave height and wave length, has been
height and wave length, has been gaining gaining more acceptance.
acceptance.

A cold mill can get less than 15 I-units of flatness. Coming off a temper mill, material
may have less than 10 I-units. With a roller leveler, tension-assisted leveler, or tension
leveler, the number may be 5 I-units, and possibly less than 1 I-unit. That is a big
difference.

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Keeping leveling equipment cleaned and well maintained is important. Options are
available to help simplify maintenance work on these machines.
Most manufacturers offer optional work roll nest cassettes. These leveler cassettes can be
pulled in and out of the leveler as a unit. More than one cassette may be used, sometimes
with different roll diameters. Different cassettes can be put in, or they can be flipped open
for cleaning, off-line. This option is recommended for production lines that will run
continuously for three or four shifts. It is also recommended when leveling with tension
assist of each strand after slitting because this method runs more coil in a given period of
time. For a conventional service center cut-to-length line, this option may not be
necessary. For a toll processor, it may be more attractive.Another option is a leveler with
a roll-open top. The top frame opens like a book, either mechanically in the case of
smaller machines or with hydraulic lifts. It is quick and exposes both the upper and lower
roll banks for easy cleaning.

The simplest roll cleaning aid is an extra-high, wide-opening top frame. The upper
leveler frame opens vertically to about a 4-inch gap so that cleaning equipment can work
on the rolls.

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The basic roller leveler is a four-high configuration. This is the most flexible from a
shape control point of view. The back-up rollers will not wear grooves in the glass-hard
work rolls under normal use, but they can burnish the surfaces of the work rolls. This
burnish mark may leave an impression on the surface of soft, polished, or other flat-rolled
materials. Although the impression is too small to measure, it is visible.

If such marking is a problem, a six-high leveler might be an appropriate choice. Full-

length intermediate rolls support full-length work rolls, and they in turn are supported by
flites of back-up rollers. A burnish mark on the intermediate roll does not transfer to the
work roll. This configuration can be very stiff, and roll bend control may not be sufficient
for optimum shape control.

On a five-high leveler, on which the back-up roller flite adjustment wedges usually are
found, the intermediate rolls are eliminated but retained on top. On the bottom, the work
rolls and their back-up roller flites give better roll bend flexibility for improved flatness
control. On the top, the full-length intermediate rolls are retained between the work rolls
and the back-up rollers to avoid striping. This means that the top surface of the coil will
not be striped, but the bottom may be. Usually, however, only one side of a coil is
critical.

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Many of the newer levelers include operator's stations that hang from pendants or are
mounted on swing-out hinges for easy control positioning at the machine exit. Other
control features may include the following:
1. Automatic roll positioning "remembers" settings. It can remember specific coils if the
operator wants to do re-books. The operator can ask the machine to go to 10-gauge cold-
rolled steel, the coil from the second shift at a certain mill, and the control will remember
the settings from the last time the operator ran that material and will go to that position
automatically.

2. Automatic calibration simplifies recalibration after roll changes to adjust for changes
in roll diameter. A properly designed leveler should not need recalibration between roll
changes.

3. Computer fault finding diagnostics show on a screen what is wrong with a coil line.
They generally indicate, on some items, what is going to go wrong before it does. For
instance, if the oil level or pressure is low, the diagnostics will indicate that before
lubrication runs out.

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The addition of tension assist to the leveling process in cut-to-length or slitting lines can
extend the capacity range and improve material stability. A temper mill paired with a
leveler can also improve surface condition and hardness and further enhance stability. A
number of options on newer equipment are designed to make operation, maintenance, and
roll cleaning easier.