Laser simplifies maintenance in casting plants
An optical measuring system developed by Siemens reduces maintenance requirements in continuous casting plants by simplifying the process for aligning the rolls along long lines between which hot steel strands are guided. All the rolls have to be precisely vertically aligned to ensure the mechanical stresses they are exposed to are equally distributed. Up into now, the roll positions have been measured and documented manually in an expensive process that's also prone to error. The new laser system provides highly precise digital measurements that take less time to complete. Measurement data is sent directly to the control unit, which prevents errors caused by manual data transfer. The data also allows technicians to monitor conditions at the plant, which means maintenance can be carried out in line with actual needs rather than at set intervals, which was previously the case.