Patents Assigned to SMS GROUP GMBH
  • Publication number: 20230214787
    Abstract: A maintenance planning system for a production plant comprises: a production planning system for determining a production sequence for the production plant; an automation system for controlling production in the production plant; a state monitoring system for acquiring states of the production plant and its components; and a business planning system for the economic management of production and maintenance in the production plant. The maintenance planning system is designed for determining maintenance measures for the production plant. When determining the maintenance measures, the maintenance planning system takes into account the information of the production planning system, the automation system, the state monitoring system and the business planning system and performs optimization with regard to an economic utilization of the production plant. The disclosure further relates to a method for determining maintenance measures for a production plant and corresponding computer programs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2021
    Publication date: July 6, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph HÄUSLER, Sebastian SCHULZ, Claus WILK, Christian MOHR
  • Publication number: 20230212708
    Abstract: A method for the recrystallisation annealing of a non-grain-oriented electric strip (2) in a continuous annealing and coating line (1) is presented. Therein, the electric strip (2) is heated in an induction furnace (5) to a temperature of at least 680° C. at a heating rate of at least 80 K/s and then, in an optional second continuous furnace (8), to a temperature of at least 820° C. at a heating rate of at most 20 K/s. The electric strip (2) is initially heated before the induction furnace (5) via a first continuous furnace (3) to a temperature of at least 300° C. at a heating rate of at most 60 K/s.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2021
    Publication date: July 6, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Frank MASCHLER, Andreas BÖTTCHER, Pierre-Yves HALLEUX
  • Publication number: 20230203612
    Abstract: A method for controlling or regulating the temperature of a steel strip in hot forming in a hot strip mill. A superordinate open-loop or closed-loop controller has a process model that predetermines the temperature development of the hot strip. The target values of the individual units are adjusted based on this predetermined temperature development.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2021
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph HASSEL, August SPROCK, Kai GRYBEL, Guido BUSCHHOFF
  • Publication number: 20230201900
    Abstract: A device for handling mandrel rods in a rolling plant for rolling seamless tubes comprises an inserter. The inserter moves a mandrel rod in a rolling direction such that the mandrel rod, starting from an initial state, is pushed into a tube blank situated upstream of the mandrel rod. A retaining device has a fixing unit that is movable along the rolling line and is designed to temporarily hold the mandrel rod at an action point at a rear end of the mandrel rod and to carry out a working stroke. The mandrel rod can be inserted into the rolling mill in the rolling direction and pulled out of the rolling mill counter to the rolling direction by the retaining device. The retaining device is designed such that the starting position of the fixing unit lies between the two ends of the mandrel rod in the initial state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Walter KIRCHNER, Paolo MARIN, Patrizio RINALDI
  • Publication number: 20230205185
    Abstract: A system for controlling a production plant includes a plant automation unit for monitoring and control of the production process within the production plant. A production planning system has information concerning the products to be produced. A model generator generates at least one prediction model for products produced in the production plant. The model generator takes into account the results of the monitoring of the production plant when generating the at least one prediction model. A production optimizer determines an optimized production process within the production plant on the basis of data from the plant automation unit, the production planning system, and the prediction model generated by the model generator. The production optimizer takes into account the production-related specifications of the individual plant parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2021
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventor: Carsten Andreas KLEIN
  • Publication number: 20230176554
    Abstract: In a system for optimizing production installations and/or processes of a metallurgical installation each production installation and/or process comprises a separate data management device. Entities of the metallurgical installation that are relevant for the respective part of the production installation and/or process are identifiable by local identifiers and the local identifiers can be used to retrieve data of separate data management devices. Within a central data management device each entity of the metallurgical installation has an associated global identifier. The applicable local identifiers of the separate data management devices are associated with the same entities of the metallurgical installation by the respective global identifier in the central data management device. Optimization involves at least some of the data from the separate data management devices being aggregated and evaluated by means of the global identifiers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph HÄUSLER, André PESCHEN, Sebastian SCHULZ, David MASTERNAK
  • Publication number: 20230175087
    Abstract: A method for producing liquid pig iron comprises: i) providing a DRI product with an iron content of at least 75.0 wt. %, a carbon content of at least 0.10 wt. % and a content of acidic and basic slag components, comprising CaO, SiO2, MgO and Al2O3 of max. 15.0 wt. %; ii) supplying the DRI product, adding slag formers, into an electrically operated smelting unit; iii) optionally supplying further iron and/or carbon components into the electrically operated smelting unit; iv) smelting the DRI product and optionally the further iron and/or carbon components in the presence of the slag formers, so that a liquid pig iron phase and a liquid slag phase are formed; v) adjusting the slag phase such that it has a basicity of (CaO+MgO/SiO2) from 0.95 to 1.5; vi) tapping the liquid pig iron phase; and vii) tapping and granulating the slag phase.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Jochen SCHLÜTER, Ralf NÖRTHEMANN, Thomas HENKEL, Paul TOCKERT
  • Publication number: 20230166939
    Abstract: A laying-pipe segment is produced using an additive manufacturing method, as part of a laying pipe for depositing a workpiece guided through the laying-pipe segment, with a laying-pipe segment length, with a laying-pipe segment axis deviating along the laying-pipe segment length from a straight line, with an outside diameter and an inside diameter, by the difference of which a wall thickness is determined, as well as with a laying-pipe segment cross section formed along the laying-pipe segment axis, wherein the wall thickness is determined at a particular height of the laying-pipe segment axis of the laying-pipe segment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2022
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Bodo VIELAND, Peter HAAK
  • Patent number: 11648597
    Abstract: A controller (2) and method for controlling a stretch-reducing mill (1) for rolling tubes are presented. The stretch-reducing mill (1) has several roll stands (10) arranged behind one another in a conveying direction (F) of the tubes (R) and at least one outlet-side wall thickness measuring device (20). The controller (2) is set up to receive measurement data from the wall thickness measuring device (20) which identifies one or more outlet-side wall thicknesses (sr) of a tube (R) exiting from the last roll stand (10) and one or more of the received measurement data wall thickness on the inlet-side (sl_t), preferably to determine an inlet-side wall thickness profile of the tube (R) before entering the first roll stand (10), and preferably to calculate and control one or more of the roll stands (10), taking into account the determined inlet-side wall thicknesses (sl_t).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Alexander Gohr, Peter Thieven
  • Patent number: 11638942
    Abstract: A metallurgical device, in particular a casting installation, rolling mill or strip processing installation, including at least one machine part rotating about an axis, wherein an energy consumer that is in electrical connection with an energy source is arranged in the machine part. To supply the energy consumer with energy on a sustained basis in spite of adverse ambient conditions, the energy source is designed as a generator which is in connection with the rotating machine part for rotation therewith, wherein the generator is otherwise free of any mechanical connection with the metallurgical device and wherein the generator has a housing element, on which at least one eccentric mass arranged at a location that is at a distance radially from the axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: SMS GROUP GMBH
    Inventors: Johannes Alken, Torsten Müller, Peter Sudau
  • Publication number: 20230130543
    Abstract: To provide methods, apparatuses and drawing mandrels in which the shaping process can be monitored as closely as possible, a drawing machine and a drawing method manufactures or processes tubes, which extend in the direction of longitudinal extent, from a semi-manufactured product, wherein the drawing machine includes a drawing device for drawing a hollow workpiece formed by the tube and the semi-manufactured product in the direction of longitudinal extent, a drawing ring and a drawing mandrel and acts on the workpiece in a shaping manner via the drawing mandrel and the drawing ring while the workpiece is drawn by the drawing device around the drawing mandrel and through the drawing ring. A sensor is located on the drawing mandrel, or physical properties are measured in the interior of the workpiece and/or on the drawing mandrel using a sensor on the drawing mandrel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Hardy JUNGEN, Ulf SERODE, Karl THOELKE
  • Publication number: 20230106710
    Abstract: A method for producing metal beams having a top-hat profile comprises the hot rolling of slabs (13), ingots (12), billets, preliminary profiles (14) or similar semifinished products in a rolling train. The rolling train comprises at least two roll stands. Using at least two shaping passes during a single rolling process in a number of rolling stations at hot-rolling temperature, preferably simple irregular pass design turns an entering cross section (10) of a one-part semifinished product into an exiting cross section having a top-hat profile (A), which corresponds geometrically more or less to the profile of the finished product.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2021
    Publication date: April 6, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventor: Thomas KOSAK
  • Publication number: 20230101959
    Abstract: A device (1) for rolling rings, comprising: a rolling device (10) with a main roll (11) and at least one mandrel roll (13a) onto which a ring is loadable, wherein the rolling device (10) is designed to roll the ring, with the mandrel roll (13a) impacting an interior face of the ring and the main roll (11) impacting an exterior face of the ring ;and a manipulator (20) comprising at least one robot (21) designed to manipulate the ring, comprising loading the ring onto the mandrel roll (13a) and/or unloading the ring from the mandrel roll (13a).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2021
    Publication date: March 30, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Dennis MICHL, Alexander NEUMANN, Andreas BRENNER
  • Patent number: 11612920
    Abstract: A device for adjusting an object, for example a roll in a roll stand including a rotatably mounted pressure spindle and a torque motor having a stator and a rotor for rotationally driving the pressure spindle. In addition, the device includes a fixedly arranged pressure nut, which is engaged with the pressure spindle in a rotationally coupled manner via a thread to generate an axial movement of the pressure spindle in case of its rotation. Due to the axial movement generated in this way, the device can generate an axial adjustment force and transmit it to the object to be adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Hans-Jürgen Bender, Volker Paersch
  • Patent number: 11612922
    Abstract: A cooling device for cooling a metallic item and a method for operating the cooling device. Such cooling devices having a plurality of cooling bars arranged in parallel in groups for applying a coolant to the metallic item are known in the prior art. In order to be able to set a desired distribution function of the coolant over the width of the metallic item as precisely as possible, the cooling device provides that similar application regions in at least two cooling bars within a group are each formed differently with respect to their contour and/or with respect to their surface area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: SMS GROUP GMBH
    Inventors: August Sprock, Christoph Hassel, Ulrich Cramer
  • Publication number: 20230093771
    Abstract: The invention relates to an intermediate stand guide (3) on a vertical roll stand (1) of a rolling line for guiding the rolled material into a horizontal roll stand (2) or out of a horizontal roll stand (2) having at least one guide element (4), which is mounted on the vertical roll stand (1) and is adjustable jointly with an adjustment movement of a vertical roll (6) assigned thereto and which follows the adjustment movement of the vertical roll (6), wherein the guide element (4) is arranged set back transversely to the rolling direction by a predefined offset dimension (X?) to the edge of the vertical roll (6) engaged with the rolled material, wherein the guide element (4) is connected to a traverse (5) of the vertical roll stand (1) and the offset dimension (X?) is pre-definable via an installation distance of the vertical roll (6) to the traverse (5) of the vertical roll stand (1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Applicant: SMS GROUP GMBH
    Inventors: Stefan WENDT, Ron BEUTER
  • Patent number: 11602779
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method for controlling a stretch-reducing mill. Tube ends of stretched tubes are optimized by controlling one or more motors of the stretch-reducing mill. The method includes at least one outlet-side wall thickness measurement and an automatic adjustment of the value of a speed change of the motors to the tube wall thickness profile. The progression of the speed changes over time of individual or all motors is also automatically adjusted on the basis of the tube wall thickness measured values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: SMS group GmbH
    Inventor: Alexander Gohr
  • Publication number: 20230076364
    Abstract: A rolling device has an upper and a lower work roll and at least one upper and one lower backup roll. The work rolls and the backup rolls are supported on a common rolling mill stand. The work rolls can be adjusted relative to each other in order to adjust a specified rolling gap. Each of the work rolls is operatively connected to at least one bending device. At least one first bending device is paired with die upper work roll, and at least one second bending device is paired with the lower work roll. The second bending device comprises bending cylinders which are arranged in a vertically fixed manner. The upper work roll can be readjusted or carried by the first bending device, thereby vertically adjusting die height of the rolling gap. The first bending device comprises bending arms that interact with bending cylinders arranged in a stationary manner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Publication date: March 9, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Christian DIEHL, Jörn SOHLER, Achim KLEIN
  • Publication number: 20230064480
    Abstract: A stitcher (1) for connecting an end portion of an outgoing metal strip to a starting portion of an incoming metal strip for a continuously operated strip processing system comprises a first punching tool (20), which is designed to connect metal strips having a first thickness range and/or strength range to one another, and a second punching tool (30), which is designed to connect metal strips having a second thickness range and/or strength range to one another. Both thickness ranges and/or strength ranges are different from one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2021
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Melanie DOHMEN, Manuel BENDLER
  • Publication number: 20230060110
    Abstract: A hot-rolling stand (10) for a hot-rolling mill comprises an adjusting device (12), which is intended for receiving a pair of work rolls (17) and for positioning work rolls (18, 19; 20, 21) of the pair of work rolls (17) in relation to one another to define a roll gap. In order to create a hot-rolling stand (10) that can be adapted as flexibly as possible, the adjusting device (12) is designed to interchangeably accommodate, in the pair of work rolls (17), different roll diameter ranges by means of mutually complementary work rolls (18, 19; 20, 21).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Applicant: SMS group GmbH
    Inventors: Jens KREIKEMEIER, Gokhan ERARSLAN, Stephan FISCHER, Joachim HAFER