Abstract: A laying head is disclosed for forming the longitudinally moving hot rolled product of a rolling mill into a helix. The laying head includes a housing carrying a cone assembly for rotation about an axis. The cone assembly has a support member with a three dimensional configuration curving around said axis. A plurality of clamp members are fixed to the support member at spaced locations along the length thereof. A plurality of discrete tubular guides are removably retained by the clamp members at operative positions collectively defining a guide path which is parallel to the curvature of the support member. Means are provided for receiving the product along said axis and for delivering the product into the first of the guides. Means are also provided for rotating the cone assembly, whereupon passage of the product along the guide path will result in the product exiting from the laying head in the form of a helix.

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.