Chapter 3

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L ayo u t o f R o llin g Mills

Mill Layout
Rolling mills are designed using input parameters such as production rate, incoming billet size, product type, and product sizes. The starting point is the production plan, shown
in a rolling diagram that maps the rolling process from billet to product. Figure 3 - 1
shows a rolling diagram starting with an oval at stand 7, finishing various thicknesses of
2 x 2 angles at stand 14. Figure 3 - 2 shows a complete production diagram for
rounds, squares, hexes and flats.

Figure 3 - 1

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Figure 3 - 2
From the pass progression, bar orientation, and section area, the mill layout can be determined to provide the most efficient and cost effective production of the proposed production.
For existing mills, the product types and sizes can generally be deducted from the mill
layout. The mill layout will also limit the product type and production rate that can profitably be produced.
The rolls in the mill stand can have many different arrangements to make the stand suitable for the production of different products. Figure 3 - 3 shows twelve different roll arrangement in mill housings. The stand shown in arrangement 1 if the most common arrangement for continuous rod, bar, and section mills. The stand shown in arrangement
2, is a two high reversing mill common in breakdown mills and in special section and alloy mills. The stand shown in arrangement 3 is called a double duo mill that functions in
same way as the stand shown in arrangement 4 only with four rolls so that the passes
do not share a middle roll. Both of these arrangement allow for the reversing of the bar
direction without reversing the mill drive motor. The stand shown in arrangements 5 to 9
are for the production of strip and plate. The small diameter work rolls reduce the spread
but bend easily. The larger diameter backup rolls provide the bending strength to keep

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the strip as flat as possible. The stand shown in arrangements 10 to 12 are used in the
production of beams, channels, and rails.

Figure 3 - 3

Figure 3 - 4
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Early rolling mills used grooved rolls for slitting iron sheets for the production of nails.
Figure 3 - 4 shows one such mill, powered by water wheels through several sets of
bevel gears. This mill dates from the early to middle 18th century.
Figure 3 - 5 shows the mill designed by Henry Cort and was issued a patent in 1783 for
rolling on grooved rolls for producing half rounds for file stock. Widely acknowledged as
the father of pass design, he had built his mill on money borrowed from a lender who
had been embezzled it from the Royal Navy. The effect of Corts work on the iron trade
were incomparable. Large plants, after adapting Cort;s processes, increased production
by 10 times, using fewer workers. In 1797 England became an exporter of iron instead
of an importer and soon led the world in iron production.

Figure 3 - 5
The mill shown in figure 3 - 6, powered by a steam engine, included a hammer to forge
the iron, and many stands including stands for plate, bars, and slit plate.

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Figure 3 - 6
The blooming mill shown in figure 3 - 7, takes ingots and rolls them into semi-finished
billets, for later processing. The two high reversing mill is one of the most flexible mills to
operate. The powered screw down provides the versatility to take a variety of ingot sizes
and produce a wide range of billet sizes.
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Figure 3 - 7

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Another type of blooming mill, or bloomer, is the two high reversing mill with a long roll
body. The driven end is used to break down the ingot in the same way as other boomers, after which the rolls are locked in position. The bar is then started through the first
of a series of passes on the opposite end of the roll, using repeaters to take the bar
around the end of the rolls. As shown in figure 3 - 8, these mills are called merry-goround or ring-around-a-rosie mills.

Figure 3 - 8

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Another design that can reverse the direction of the bar without using a reversing motor
is the Lamberton mill. As shown in figure 3 - 9, the housing and rolls are rotated 180 degrees to reverse the direction of the roll rotation relative to the bar.

Figure 3 - 9
Early bar mills were designed to have few steam engines due to their cost and operating
expense. A bar mill with a continuous roughing mill and a cross-country finishing train is
shown in figure 3 - 10. One of the difficulties of operating such a mill is the roughing train
has constant relative speed from stand to stand. Once set up, this mill is very difficult to
adjust. Any variance in bar size result in either compression or tension in the bar usually
cobbling. Any change in the bar size delivered from the last continuous stand required
proportionate changes in all of the proceeding stands. Some adjustment to roll diameter
could compensate for the fixed drive ratios and provide the ability to modify the setup.
A similar mill with a semi-continuous roughing train,shown in figure 3 - 11, eliminates
some of these issues with enough space between the beginning stands for a free bar.
These mills were developed about the time that steel billets became widely available.
The speeds of these mills were limited to about 1500 ft/min as this is the fastest bar that
a catcher can grab the bar and put in the next pass. Figure 3 - 12 shows a looping bar
mill for flats, rounds, and squares. The loopers and floor guides made it possible to have
the bar in several stands at once, resulting in larger tonnage production. Figures 3 - 13
and 14 show modern looper tables in service.

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Figure 3 - 10

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Figure 3 - 11

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Figure 3 - 12
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Figure 3 - 13

Figure 3 - 14

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The semi-continuous mill in figure 3 - 15 could be used to roll a wide range of finished
sizes due to the ability to but bars on a hot bed out of stands 8, 10, or 12. This mill could
produce squares from 1/2 to 5, flats from 1/4 x 1 to 2 1/2 x 10 and other products in
proportionate sizes. Previous to the time this mill was built, such a size range would require three different mills. This mill layout would also allow stands 9 through 12 to be
changed while finishing out of stand 8.

Figure 3 - 15

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The speed limiting factors of catchers twisting the bar was overcome by the mill shown
in figure 3 - 16. A continuous mill with alternating horizontal and vertical stands eliminated the need to twist the bar between passes. The in line stands with individual drives
provided the flexibility for a wide product range. Labor costs on such a mill are low, but it
is only suitable for rolling large tonnage of the same section.

Figure 3 - 16

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The mill layout shown in figure 3 - 17 is designed to provide flexibility in producing a

wide range of large bars. The independent roughing mills and transfer tables provide
space for free bar run-out and the ability to finish out of a variety of positions.

Figure 3 - 17
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Scrap rails are converted into a variety of useful products in rail slitting mills such as illustrated in figure 3 - 18. After heating to rolling temperature, the rail is slit in the first
pass into three parts, head, web, and flange. Each section moves to a separate roll
train. This type of mill is very successful in rolling rebar, fence post, bed frame angles,
and other small sections.

Figure 3 - 18

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Another method of utilising scrap rail was to re-roll them into small billets for rod mills.
Figure 3 - 19 shows two methods for reducing a rail to a small square.

Figure 3 - 19
Figure 3 - 20 shows an early rod mill installed in Worcester, Massachusetts by the
Washburn and Moen Company. the mill used billets as large as 4 x 4 and finished 1 1/
8 squares from the 12 mill and #6 rod from the 8 mill. The production rate was two to
four tons an hour. This is cited as the first instance of a mill with four loops of the same
rod between two stands.
The Bedson rod mill, patented in 1862, shown in figure 3 -21, was the first to roll rods
continuously. A Bedson mill was introduced into the United States by the Washburn and
Moen Company in 1869.

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Figure 3 - 20

Figure 3 - 21
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Rod mills progressed in productivity by using continuous mill layouts and by rolling two
rods at the same time. A mill patented by F. H. Daniels in 1884 is shown in figure 3 - 22.
It rolled two 4 square billets in the continuous roughing mill feeding two rod finishing
mills to reels.

Figure 3 - 22

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The use of roller element bearings throughout the mill allowed the finishing speeds to
increase to 3500 ft/min on the mill shown in figure 3 -23.

Figure 3 - 23
Structural mills have also developed through an evolution of layouts. The mill in figure 3
- 24 has a cross country arrangement with large distances between stands. The higher
speed finishing mills creates enough space to have several bars rolling at the same time
giving good tonnage rates.
Figure 3 - 25 shows the layout of a modern structural mill with two reversing breakdown
stands and a continuous finishing train with universal stands for rolling beams and
channels.
The roll housing arrangements in figure 3 - 26 are the four roll universal stands for beam
rolling and two roll stands for edging the flanges. These stand types are utilised in the
modern beam mill in figure 3 - 25.

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Figure 3 -24

Figure 3 - 25

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Figure 3 - 26
Mill Equipment
Reheat Furnaces
A long product rolling mill typically uses a gas-fired reheat furnace like that shown in figure 3 - 27. The furnace shown has three heating zones with a bottom fired zone as well.
This furnace is a pusher type where the billets enter the furnace lined up side by side
being pushed by the next billet entering. After reaching rolling temperature in the last
zone, the last billet in the furnace is pushed out and slide down onto the mill entry roller
table.
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Figure 3 - 27
Another method for moving the billets through the reheat furnace is by lifting and moving
the billets, thereby leaving space between the billets. This is necessary for certain
grades such as high carbon steel grades that have the tendency to stick together. TO
facilitate this motion there is a set of stationary skids and a set of movable skids that lift
and move the billets forward, then retract, to repeat the cycle.
There is also a rotary hearth type of furnace that is circular in design, holding the billets
for heating as they rotate. This type of furnace is typically used for very special grades
of steels, other metals, and pipe.
The above described gas-fired furnaces heat the rolling stock by a series of gas burners
that heat the refractories. The refractories then radiate heat into the billets. Once this
type of reheat furnace is at working temperature, any changes to its steady state operation requires some time to raise or lower the temperature in any heating zone. It acts as
a heating flywheel. The billet is heated in stages, gradually brought up to rolling temperature in the different heating zones. It is then held at rolling temperature for the
shortest time possible to use the least amount of fuel and to limit the scale loss.
There are other methods for heating rolling stock. Induction heating is the process of
heating an electrically conducting material, the rolling stock in this case, by electromagnetic induction, where eddy currents are generated within the metal and resistance
leads to Joule heating of the metal. An induction heater Has the advantage of heating on
demand. That is, single cold billet can be heated to rolling temperature as needed.
There is no large mass of material that needs to be maintained at an elevated temperature.

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Pinch Rolls
A pair of rolls that close on the billet and drive it into the first stand can help overcome
bite angle limitations. The force exerted on the billet can also help break up the scale to
help remove it before the surface of the bar is damaged by the hard shell. An example of
a pinch roll is shown in figure 3 -28.

Figure 3 - 28
Mill Stands
Once the rolling stock has been heated to rolling temperature, it will pass between two
rotating rolls held in a mill stand. An example of a two high stand is shown below in figure 3 - 29. This is an open-top style of stand. The cap is removed to allow removal of
the rolls with chocks and bearings attached. The stand shown in figure 3 - 30 is an open
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widow stand where the rolls and chocks slide into an opening in the housing. The stand
shown in elevation view in figure 3 - 31 is a housing-less stand that splits with both sides
of the stand with chocks and bearings is removed from the roll necks in a stand building
device.

Figure 3 - 29
The guiding equipment is typically mounted on a restbar that is attached with bolts in a
T-slot either on the outside or inside face of each stand half. The roll gap adjustment
mechanism can be seen in the cut view on the left of the figure. Both rolls move vertically and only the top roll move horizontally.
An example of a vertical two high stand is shown below in figure 3 - 32. This is an
closed-top style of stand. The rolls with chocks and bearings attached are removed
through the open window in the housing. The guiding equipment is also typically
mounted on a restbar that is attached with bolts in a T-slot either on the outside or inside
face of each stand half. The roll gap adjustment mechanism can be seen in the cut view
on the left of the figure. Both rolls move horizontally. A picture of closed top convertible
stand in the vertical position is shown in figure 3 - 34.
An elevation view of a housing-less stand in the vertical position is shown in figure 3 33.

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Figure 3 - 30

Figure 3 - 31

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Figure 3 - 32

Figure 3 - 33
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Figure 3 - 34

Figure 3 - 35
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An example of a three high stand (with lifting tables) is shown above in figure 3 - 34.
Three high mills are used to reverse the direction of the bar without reversing the direction of motor and gear drive rotation. One gap (between the bottom and middle rolls)
take the bar in one direction. The other gap (between the top and middle rolls) take the
bar in the other direction. To move the bar from the elevation of the lower gap to the upper gap a tilt table (as shown above) can be used. Other methods of moving the bar are
also used, such as, a lift table that moves the whole table up and down. An example of a
universal stand is shown above in figure 3 - 35. This stand is basically a horizontal stand
with the addition of vertical rolls held in a cassette on each side. The vertical rolls are
not powered. For rail products, the head side vertical roll would be shaped to form the
head radius. Channels and other products can also be rolled in a universal mill. Other
non-symmetrical products can also be rolled in a universal mill such as, J-bars and
Tees.
Mill Stand Bearings
One of the most important parts of the stand, no matter the type, are the mill bearings.
Sized to resist to the separating force at rated rotation speeds the bearing type and style
determine the stands capacity.

Figure 3 - 36
There are three basic types of neck bearings. Old mills used a fibre bearing lubricated
with water. A radial and axial fibre bearing are shown in figure 3 - 36, and installed in a
mill stand in figure 3 - 37.
Fibre bearings wear quickly, can easily cause roll neck damage due to the difficulty of
keeping contaminants from entering the interface between the roll and the bearing. If the
lubricating water flow is interrupted the bearing and roll heat up quickly causing roll neck
damage. Fibre bearings are inexpensive and easily replaced.

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Modern stands use roller element bearing such as shown installed in figure 3 - 38 and
39. These bearings are lubricated using either grease or a flow of oil propelled by pressurized air (air - oil lubrication systems).

Figure 3 - 37

Figure 3 - 38
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Although roller bearings are more difficult to install, they are sealed against contamination and have a much lower rolling friction than fibre bearings. The bearings shown
above are mounted at an angle allowing each row of rollers to absorb some force of any
side thrust of the rolls. Most newer mills stands are now constructed with straight necks,
flat roller bearings, and a separate thrust bearing to handle any side loading.

Figure 3 - 39

An oil film bearing can also be used. As shown in figure 3 - 40, the neck rotates in a thin
film of oil, at high pressure, providing a very low friction interface. This is common in
high speed applications such as rod rolling blocks. the geometry of the interface surfaces, oil pressure, and oil quality are critical to making this type of bearing work reliably.
A dedicated high pressure oil supply system with very fine filters is required.

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Figure 3 - 40
As the bar progresses through a continuous mill where the bar is rolled in multiple
stands simultaneously, the stand speed must be controlled to ensure tension free rolling.
The main methods of controlling the tension in the mill is with a tension free rolling
speed control system and manually monitoring the current drawn by each motor as the
bar proceeds through the mill. A looper table can be used to aid in keeping the bar tension free between stands. The looper table shown in figure 3 - 41 uses a persuader roll
from under the bar to create a loop. The loop height is monitored by a hot metal detector
in the slots on the backside of the table. This is a vertical looper, horizontal loopers also
exist where the loop forms on a flat table off to the side of the rolling line.

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Figure 3 - 41
Post Rolling Equipment
Once the product has been rolled, it must be cut to a length that fits onto a cooling bed,
cooled, possibly straightened, and cold sheared.
Shears
Several types of shears can be employed by a mill to cut the product as it rolls, as it exits the finishing stand, and cold shearing before stacking or bundling. Depending on the
product shape and material grade, shears may be used to cut the front of the bar as it
proceeds through the mill. These are typically flying shears of the type shown in figure 3
- 42. The blades of this shear move parallel to the bar during the cut. A diagram of the
shear blade movement and is shown in figure 3 - 43. Certain rolling practices, such as
multi-strand rolling of rebar, require a shear in the mill to provide a clean front end of the
bar to avoid cobbles at the slitting stand. Certain grades, such as leaded steels, require
front end trimming to prevent cracks at the front end from splitting open and the bar
wrapping the rolls.

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Figure 3 - 42

Figure 3 - 43
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A drum type shear, shown in figure 3 - 44, can be used for product with a simple shape
such as flats or rounds. The blades are mounted on a rotating cylinder (or drum) and are
set at a lead speed to minimize the kinking of the bar.

Figure 3 - 44
After the shearing to length and cooling to ambient temperature on the cooling bed, the
bar needs to be cut to selling lengths. For most products this occurs at a cold shear after
the cooling bed. Smaller products exit the cooling bed in multiples so that a row of product is cut at the cold shear. A cold shear set up for cutting multiple angles is shown in
figure 3 - 45.
The size of cross section cut by a shear depends on its rating of the maximum cutting
force. The stroke of the blade must be large enough for the largest height product. The
product hold down must also clear this height, and then move into place to hold the
product steady. For structural sections, shaped shear blades are used as well as
shaped entry rolls or guide plates to align the product to the shape of the blades.
Referring to figure 3 - 46, the cross section of the blades is usually based on the ratio of:
h / b = 2.5 to 3
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Figure 3 - 45

Figure 3 - 46

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To select the size of shear required, the maximum cutting force is determined by the
formula:
P = k1 k2 b F / 1000 0.8 b F / 1000 tons
where:

k1 = a coefficient accounting for the increase in the cutting force due to the dulling


of the blades and an increase in the clearance between them;

k2 = ratio of the shear strength to the tensile strength ;

b = tensile strength of the material at the cutting temperature, kgforce/mm2;

F = cross sectional area of the bars being cut.
Based on empirical data: k1 = 1.3 and k2 = 0.6.
Some products such as beams require cold sawing as their shape does not cut cleanly
in a cold shear. An arrangement of a single or double abrasive saws can be installed to
cut one or both ends of the selling length at one time. These saws are usually enclosed
to catch the kerf chips resulting from cutting.
Cooling Bed

Figure 3 - 47

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Several types of cooling beds are used for long products. A typical one is shown in figure 3 - 47. The bar enters the cooling bed at (9), slides onto the first notch on the rakes.
The first 4 to 6 notches will provide continuous support for the bar on a casting called a
grid casting. Long plates with notches set at some distance apart support the after it
moves beyond the grid castings. The bar moves across the cooling bed (in this figure,
from right to left) by the movement of alternative plates moving in a cycle of lift, the
move, and retract, by the action of eccentric cams. Repeating this cycle to move the
bars as they are delivered from the mill. The length of the cooling bed is determined by
the maximum runout bar length, optimized by the selling lengths to minimize crop
losses. The width of a cooling bed is determined on the basis of mill productivity (tons/
hour) and the time required for cooling.
A cooling bed filled with large angles is shown in figure 3 - 48.

Figure 3 - 48
After cooling structural sections are typically straightened in a roller straightener (figure
3 - 49, below) and cut to selling length by a cold shear (as shown above in figure 3 - 45)
and either stacked or bundled.
Stacking of a large angle section is shown in figures 3 - 50, 51 and 52. The angle is
stacked in a two down, one up arrangement. After the bundle is stacked it is banded and
moved to the shipping bay.

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Figure 3 - 49

Figure 3 - 50

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Figure 3 - 51

Figure 3 - 52
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