BETHLEHEM'S SMART� STEELMAKING SYSTEM WHAT IS SMART� ?
SMART stands for Steckel Mill Advanced Rolling Technology, Bethlehem's new state-of-the-art manufacturing system for alloy and carbon steel. Located at a company facility in Conshohocken, Pa., SMART is North America's only flexible system that can manufacture alloy and carbon sheet and plate steel products.
HOW SMART WORKS Bethlehem's SMART system combines advanced technologies in a configuration unique to the steel industry. The system has four key components: a world-class roughing mill, a Steckel rolling mill, an on-line, laminar flow cooling system and an advanced cut-to-length line. SMART products are manufactured in large, wide coils, resulting in reduced handling costs and increased productivity and yield.
The Roughing Mill After being heated to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit in energy efficient, reheat furnaces, steel slabs travel to one of the world's finest roughing mills. This fully automated, 110-inch-wide mill has hydraulic automatic gauge control and slab shape correction. These systems allow the rolling of steel slabs into a top-quality transfer bar, which is then processed on the Steckel Mill.
The Steckel Mill After exiting the roughing mill, the transfer bar travels to the keystone of the SMART system -- a 110-inch-wide, four-high, reversing Steckel mill. Powered by two 6,000 horsepower electric motors, the Steckel mill features full computer control, hydraulic gauge control, work roll bending and shifting, automated drum cleaning and a wide array of other features designed to manufacture products at new quality standards. On each side of the Steckel mill, mandrels housed in heated chambers continually wind and unwind the ribbon of steel as it passes back and forth through the rolling mill. The goal is to reduce radiant heat loss so the steel can be rolled longer and thinner. Keeping the steel hot during rolling improves surface quality, gauge uniformity and product shape. Finally, when the steel has reached the desired thickness, it is transferred to the on-line, laminar flow cooling system.
Laminar Flow Cooling System Steel's metallurgical properties are influenced by the rate at which the material is cooled after rolling. SMART's sophisticated laminar flow cooling system uses automated water sprays that allow for very precise control of the cooling rate and temperature. For certain products, this imparts greater strength without the need for exotic chemistries, additional heat treating or other processing. After cooling, the steel is again wound into coils of up to 42 tons on a heavy-duty downcoiler.
Advanced Cut-to-Length Line SMART's fully automated cut-to-length line decoils the plate and flattens it with shape-control levelers, virtually eliminating residual coil memory. It also trims the material to precise dimensions to meet exacting customer requirements.
THE SMART QUALITY ADVANTAGE SMART enables Bethlehem Lukens Plate to achieve a new standard of quality for carbon and alloy steel products. The system's key quality benefits include: o Exceptional uniformity and flatness, particularly for thinner steel products o Exacting dimensional accuracy, including tighter thickness control and more precise tolerances to ensure all products meet or exceed customer expectations for thickness and weight o Enhanced surface quality
SMART PRODUCTS AND APPLICATIONS The SMART system enables Bethlehem to produce carbon and alloy steel products in coils up to 102-inches wide and between .125- and .625-inches thick, and discrete plates up to three inches thick, for a wide range of end uses. Bethlehem sells SMART carbon and alloy steel products in capital goods and infrastructure markets for power generation, ships and barges, rail cars, storage tanks, environmental control systems and construction equipment. SMART SYSTEM FACTS
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