Multiple Slit Rolling at Hylsa
Authors: Ernesto Sanchez M.
Arturo Gonzalez ,B.
Abstract.
The ,North Wol!ks of Hylsa's Wire
Rod & Bar Divi'sion is home fora unique
technology for Multiple Slit Rolling.
Developed by Hylsa, this technology is
one of only a very few successful efforts
at this type of operation ina bar mill.
The rolling facility, originally a
cross COUlJtry mill, was first modified and
revamped for single slit rolling. In 1993 a
modern meltshop with a capacity for
450,000 tpy of billet was started up. ,Jt
thus became necessary to match the
mill's rolling ,capacity to the actual billet
production.
After studying potential processes
for mlJltiple slit rolling, 'Hylsa found that
with minor exceptions none of them had
been able to operate outside the
conditions of the particular plant in which
they were developed. The decision was
taken to develop the process in-mouse.
Table 1.- Effective 'Rolling Rate with Single Slit
R-bar No. of Speed Nominal HOlling Yield
dia. (mm) Strands mls ~Hate Ton/Hr. ' '%
9.5 2 11.5 44.8
12.7 2 8.8 59.9
15.8 1 10.0 54.3
(1) % of Working Time is based on 24 hrs/day. Actl:Jal Working! Time is 19.5 hrs/day due to electricity
cost at peak hours
39TH MWSP CONF. PROC., ISS, VOL. XXXV, 1998 - 749
Earlier Revamping of Rolling Mill.
Originally rated at 150,000 tpy
in one single strand, the cross country
type mill underwent a modification and
revamping program in 1980 to enable
semi..:continuous rolling with single slit
for 9.5 mm R-bar.
In 1'988, the rolling mill was
modified by Hylsa to full continuous,
with 14 stands, to roll 102xt02 mm
billets shipped from its Puebla Works.
R-bars of 9.5 and 12.7 mm dia. were
rolled by single slit. Higher sizes were
rolled in one single strand. Later, two
additional stands were installed to use
billet of 127x127 .mm. Capacity of the
reheatingfurna'ce was 55 tontHr.~
Maximum rolHng speed for the
revamped mill; was 12.5 mts however, it
was. limited by the cooling table
expUlsion system. Table 1 depicts
average figures for the effective rolling
rate during 1992 .
Working Effective Rolling
Time % (1) RatEfT()ntHr~'- ·--··1
92.0 72.0 29.7
92.0 72.0 39.7
92.5 72.0 36.1:
First Attempts for Quadruple Slit
Rolling.
The first attempts for in-house
development of quadruple slit rolling for
9.5 mm R-bar began in Hylsa in 1991
when a rolling process was started with
slitting in two stages: one single diviSion,
and two additional single divisions in the
next stand. Although it proved to be
perfectly feasible, the results did not
match wha,t Hylsa was aiming for
regarding equipment simplicity, process
flexibility and reliability, pass desi.gn
standardization and production rate to
cope with the new meltshop's billet
production capacity.
Alongside with the first in-house·
developments, Hylsa perfo,rmed a
worldwide survey and technical feasibility
analysis on the technologies available.
By 1992 and after uns.uccessful attempts
to implement one of them with full
supplier's support, the conclusion was
that they could not be adopted for the
particular conditions, production rate aAd
reliability required by Hylsa for quadruple
slit rolling of 9.5 mm R-bars.
Development and Implementation of
Multiple Slit Rolling.
The aim of any technological leap,
in processes or- equipment, is to bring
down both the capital and operational
cost as well as providing for simplicity
and reliability of the process' and
equipment. The pr.oduction·of, H-bar:is
very sensitive to manufacturing costs
because they are produced massively at
low profit margins.
With all these considerations in
mind and with the coming on stream of
the new meltshop in 1993, built with
750 - 39TH MWSP CO&. PROC., ISS, VOL. XXXV, 1998
direct hot billet charge to the reheating
furnace, it was decided to fully push
forward the in-house development and
implementation of the process
technology for multiple slit rolling best
fitted for the actual needs.
Constraints for Process Development.
For the development of the
Multiple Slit Rolling process at Hylsa's
North Works, the following objectives
concerning production and product mix
as well as equipment constraints had
to be taken into account.
• Production level in. excess of 400,000
tpy with constant quality at
international standards.
• 70% of mill output should be 9.5
mm and 15 % of 12.7 mm in S-60
grade.
• The existing 16 stands, or less, must
be used where and as they were.
• In the roughing. train, at stands 5 t01 0
all together coupled toone drive,
there was no chanc.e for modifications
• limited motors power.
• One flying, shear and cooling table
with a rather obsolete expulsion
system, with rotary kick off levers.
The Challenges.
The particular conditions of the.
facilities as well as the goals set forth
called for the development ofa unique
technology that ought to meet the
follOWing challenges :

• Standardization of daily production
rate for all R-bar sizes to capitalize
on the increased capacity of the
reheating furnace with hot 'billet charge.
• Fast implementation andleaming curve
to achieve maximum production rate
in tlile shortest time.
• Simple and reliable process capable to
be adapted to actual needs.
• Lowest transfonnatior:1 costs by :
improvement of working time aAd
yield with a simplified pass design
for ease in adjustment,minimum
use, oltooling and less rolls ar:1d
guides consumption.
• Higlilest productivity in 9.5 mm R . bar.
Table 2 shows th,e present
characteristics of the meltshQP and
rolling facilities. '

Table 2.- Present Characteristi~s of Hylsa ~s North Works

Meltshop
• Melting Furnace : AC, 5,900 mm dia., 90 tons/heat. 824 KVAltor:l,EBT, burner, lances.
• Ladle Furnace 1.S MVA, 4 oC heatir:lg rate, bottom/top gas rir:lsing, alloy trim., wire feed.
• Cont. Caster S strands, S.Om rad., 3.5 mlmin,1:01 to 152 sq. billet, high speed transfer.
• Automation Level 3 full automated process control.

ROiling F~Qllity
• Reheating Furnace: Pusher type, natural gas fired, 85% hot charge ratio at 500-S50 oC.
Capacity : 75 - 80 M ton/Hr. with hot charge, SO M tonlHr. with cold charge.
o Rolling 'Mill; Continuous type, 15 stands, 127x127 mm billet ·size.
Max. speed: 12.5 mls. (limited by furnace to 9.8 m/s)
• Cooling Table Wa:lkin,g beam type, 80 m long, fast expulsion system (Kicking type)
• Product handling High speed transfer, 3 ,automatic bundling machines.
, • Automation Level 2 full automated process control.

Process Implementation.

Project kickoff was in third quarter technology for mul\lP,I~d~ut rolling, as

of 1;993 starting witm the pass design ,for
which in-house devel'oped computer
programs were utilized. Basic and detail
engineering and fabrication of guides,
separating boxes, loopers and channels
followed.
project duration was f,ive months.
Normal operation wasacmieved in less
than one mQnth. By early 1994, the
effective rollir:1g rate increased almost
100%, as an average for R-bar sizes
processed with the in-house developed
compared with the ,fo'r:tAer;'results with
single slit.
This increase;'iwa's'fdue· mainly to
the contribution of roliln,g~the 9.5 mm R-
bar in four strands" ,:"the' 12.7 mm in
three strands and~\":1f5:8 - mm-rrllVilo----
strands, all slitting;\PJ~\U;'lg made in one
single step. YieIc1t~f~finished product
and working timef.i,were also improved.
Table 3 shows'tna figures for 1997" for
the same data as in Table 1, after the
implementation of Multiple Slit Rolling.

39TH MWSP CONF. PROC., ISS, VOL. XXXV, 1998 - 751

 Table 3.- Effective Rolling Rate with Multiple Slit

R..:bar No. of Speed Nominal Rolling Yield Working Effective Rolling

dia. (mm) Strands mls Rate Ton/Hr. % Time % Rate TonlHr.
9.5 4 11.5 89.6 93.5 84.0 70.4
12.7 3 9.0 92.0 94.0 86.. 0 74.3
15.8 2 1.0.0 108.5 94.0 86.,0 87.7
(1) % of Workir:1g Time is based on 24 hrs/day, Actual Working Time is 19$hrs/day due to electricity
cost at peak ·hours

Higher R"bar sizes up to 32.8 rom
continued to be rolled without slitting in
one strand as they were before.
Pass Design,
Desig n of passes from stand 1
down to 1'0 is· a .combination of squares
/ diamonds sequence being the same for
all R-bar sizes.
From stand 11 to finisher, passes
were speCifically designed for multiple slit
rolling. namely 4, 3 and 2 strands, taking
into consideration the constraints and
challenges as described above.
With the support of computer
software specifically adapted fOr the
purpose, 'it was designed the
geometric shape to solve a)1 rolling
variables for multiple slit, assuring
that all strands are identical and with
the closest deviation during the
rolling campaign for each size. Figure 1
depicts the shape ' s geometry for the
case of quadruple slit for each pass in
last six stands.

Figure 1.- Quadruple Slit Rolling for 9.5 mm IR-bar (Last 6 stands)

Pass design is same

from stand 1 to 10 for
all A·bar sizes ~
Stand 1?
I

<:X
.
Stand
10
,/7 00
\ .~

0
,
~~~~ "......,.
~~~~

+
Stand 14

0 Stand 150
, , 0

752 - 39TH MWSP CONF. PROC., ISS, VOL. XXXV, 1998

Rollingi :EQuipment Mbdifications.
Following modifications/additions
wefe performed in the rolling facility.
• Reheating Fce.: Elevated transfer ta:ble
for'direct hot billet charging.
• Rolling Stands: Only minor adaptations
were required. Former stand No. 11
was took off line leaving 15 operating
stands.
• Loopers : One looper was modified and
two added between present stands No.
10"11, 11-12 and 12-1'3.
o Separating Boxes: One Separating
Box for 9.5 mm, 12.7 mm or 15.8 mm
was incorporated in, stands 13-14. These
boxes were constructed based on tbe
design of the geometric shape which
allows for the continuous multiple slit
rolling of billets :into bars.
Minimum number of passes was
achieved without requiring tension
relieving stations between the separating
guide box and the finishing stand~ The
Figure 2.- ROiling Mill Configuration
Stand 10 11 12
39TH MWSP CONF. PROC., ISS, VOL. XXXV, 1998 - '153
box comprises two sets of slitting
rollers which, in the case of quadruple
slit, separates in one ,single stage ,the
outermost and the two inner strands.
Mill Control.
The particular disposition of mill
drives where: stands No.1, 2 and 11 to
15 were each coupled to akin motors;
stands No. 3 and 4 coupled both· to one
motor and stands No. 5 to 10 aU
together driven by one motor; required
the modification of the mill' control.
A fully automatic step down
control based on PLC's was designed
and installed for all motors converter to
i,lssure the reliability of the new rolling
process. Interruptions due to stranding
actually decreased by more than '50%.
Figure 2 schematically shows
the present rolling mill configuration.
~Last 6 stands)
13 l4 t5
Present Operating Results.
Hylsa's technology for Multiple,
Slit Rolling has been in continuous and
high reliable operation for almost four
years. Normally, 90% of the mill output is
produced with multiple slit rolling.
The North Works' rOiling facility is
working only 19.5 hrs/day due to
restrictions in energy at peak hours.
Besides, maximum effective
rolling rate for lighter R-bar sizes is
being limited, at the present hot
charge ratio, by the reheating furnace
capacity of 75-80 Ton/hr. 1997
expected production is 420,000 metliic
tons. Table ,4 depicts the average
figures for the present reswlts.

Table 4.- Present Results. (Hot billet charge)

R-bar % of Montt:Jly No. of Speed Furnace Yield Working Production
dia. (mm) Production Strands m/s Tonslhr % Time % Ton/day
9.8 70 4 9.7 76 93.5 84.0 1246
12.7 15 3 7.2 75 94.0 86.0 1251
15.8 5 2 6.8 74 94.0 '86.0 1248
19.1 1 9.4 73 94.5 87.0 1249
25.4 ~10 1 5.2 72 95.0 92.0 1251
32.8 1 3.3 72 95.0 77.0 1249

Summary.

By developing and implementing operational' cost with the fastest return

its own technology for Multiple, Slit
Rolling, Hylsa has been able to :
• Capitalize on the maximum available
capacity of the reheating furnace.
• Maximizeprodl!Jctivity of lighter R-bar
sizes.
• Simplify the pass design.
• Standardize production rate for all R-bar
Sizes.
o Decrease downtime, rolls and tooling
consumption ..~
• Increase its technological assets in
process and equipment for production
of long; products.
The overall result: Increase of the
rolling capacity at the lowest capital and
on investment, have permitted Hylsa
to make a new investrnent to further
upgrade this mill. Today is under
construction a whole new facility, with a
revamped reheating furnace of 80
mtons/hr capacity with cold charge. The
rnill' capacity will be 470,000 mtpy.
Following conclusions can be
derived from this experience :
• 111 technology ,there isno "one good;
for £1,11" answers.
• Tailor made, fitted to needs proven
solutions is the sure shot fortoday's
demands on cost savings through
process, operation and equipment
technology for long products.

754 - 39TH MWSP CONF. PROC., ISS, VOL. XXXV, 1998