Abstract: A rolling mill has roughing, intermediate and finishing roll stands on a first side of a billet reheating furnace, and a breakdown mill on an opposite second side of the furnace. Billets are heated to an elevated rolling temperature in the furnace and are then ejected to the second side of the furnace for rolling in the breakdown mill before being directed back through the furnace for continued rolling into finished products at the first side of the furnace in the roughing, intermediate and finishing roll stands.

Abstract: The dimensions of a product passing through the finishing block of a roll rolling mill are measured. Where the dimensions of the product exiting the last finishing stand are out-of-tolerance, a calculation is made to determine the extent to which the roll parting of the work rolls of one of the two last finishing stands must be adjusted to bring the product into tolerance. Based on the calculated adjustment, progressively smaller adjustments are made to the roll partings of the work rolls of the upstream finishing stands to distribute the work which must be performed on the product to bring the product into tolerance.

Abstract: An apparatus for laterally arranging bars, particularly ferrous bars, moving longitudinally along a roller conveyor in a rolling mill. The bars are initially confined laterally into a compact group centrally located between the conveyor sides. The compact group is then subdivided into a plurality of laterally spaced bar packs which are then run over one or more magnetic separating rollers to achieve a desired lateral separation between each bar.

Abstract: An apparatus for laterally separating a group of elongated magnetic elements, for example steel bars which are moving longitudinally along a conveyor. A rotatable fanning roll extends transversally across the path of the bars. The fanning roll has a magnet associated therewith. The magnet attracts the bars towards the fanning roll while simultaneously creating repulsion forces tending to laterally separate the bars. A deflecting roll located in advance of the fanning roll is employed to deflect the bars out of their normal path of travel in relation to the surface of the fanning roll to thereby produce a momentary separation between the front ends of the bars and the fanning roll. During this momentary separation, the magnetically induced repulsion forces are not impeded by frictional resistance between the bars and the surface of the fanning roll, and this in turn improves the resulting lateral bar separation.