Abstract: Disclosed is a system for automating and optimizing coil formation in a wire rod cooling conveyor comprising: (a) a speed measuring device (e.g., a laser velocometer) measuring a speed of a material entering a laying head; (b) a processor that: (1) receives, as input, the speed measured in (a), (2) computes an optimal speed of the laying head based on the received speed of the material entering the laying head; and wherein the processor dynamically computes the optimal speed of the laying head as the speed of the material changes. Also disclosed is a camera that monitors actual ring formation on the wire rod cooling conveyor at an exit point of the laying head, wherein the processor receives such monitored information from the camera and outputs a control signal to override the speed measuring device and to adjust a speed of the wire rod cooling conveyor.

Abstract: Disclosed within are various embodiments that provide for an automated rod coil cutting station for both ferrous and non-ferrous wire rod mills.

Abstract: An autonomous vehicle is described for use as part of a fleet of such vehicles used in coil handling. The autonomous vehicle has an on-board processor communicating with an external processor (e.g., an Artificial Intelligence (AI) processor) to receive and execute one or more instructions for automated operation of the autonomous vehicle, a robotic drive to move the autonomous vehicle based on the instructions received from the external processor; and a set of gripping mechanisms receiving the instructions and operating in one of two coil storage modes: a vertical mode and a horizontal mode. The instructions instructing the autonomous vehicle to handle one or more of the following coil handling tasks to move a coil: moving the coil after a reform stage, moving the coil after a trimming/inspection stage, moving the coil after a compacting stage, and moving coil to a storage location.