Corus trebles output at Clydebridge works

Clydebridge, UK - Corus Construction & Industrial has trebled output at its Clydebridge Works through a series of process improvements over the last two years. The gains are in part based on a 30% increase in throughput with the installation of Flender gear units and nine Siemens drives at the plant, which manufactures specialist, high-strength steel products.

Corus had not previously used geared motors on this type of plant, but had been experiencing reliability problems with the existing hydraulic units in these areas, which was compromising production throughput, explains manufacturing manager Jim Cossar. Speed matching, he said, had become an increasing problem for the roller tables conveying steel from the furnaces and the plant needed better positional controls within the furnace as well as engineering reliability.

The Siemens drives included five on heat treatment furnace roller tables and four on a roller table and tempering furnace. The earliest of these installations has now been running for 18 months, and the others for eight months. Industrial Automation & Controls, which had carried out previous work for Corus, fitted the Flender electric geared motors (size Z168), associated Siemens controls and Siemens 6SE70 AC drives/inverters.