November 2019 Volume 1

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

weights of up to 5 metric tons. With radial forces of 5,000 kN and axial forces of 4,000 kN, this ring rolling mill is the largest of its kind. The multifunctional press, producing the ring blanks and the ring rolling mill, are used to process special alloys such as nickel-based alloys or titanium alloys. SicoRoll 3.0: The digital future of ring rolling The high production flexibility offered by this machine can be explained with its electronic intelligence. UDF can manufacture rolled rings in small batches, as well, creating highly stressed

workpiece is stored in the system’s database with all of its process parameters and the resulting rolling curve and is retrievable the next time the product has to be created. Production processes can also be customized individually, even several additional temperatures are managed by the system and can be retrieved quickly in the case of repeat production. The process data acquisition and its material flow tracking are archived and managed by SicoRoll 3.0 and Siempelkamp’s process control technology Prod-IQ® for documenting the complete manufacturing process. “It’s an open solution, which allows the customer to go in and add

components for special applications primarily used in the aerospace and petrochemical sectors. With the right software solution - SicoRoll 3.0, the manufacturer is able to use its ring rollingmill to its fullest capacity despite smaller batch sizes. The intelligent control of the machine automates each product change. For products that are produced for the first time, SicoRoll 3.0 provides the optimal rolling strategy, practically at a push of a button. No matter if the dimensions of the blank are known or the ring being rolled is a completely new product, Siempelkamp’s intelligent machine control adjusts all necessary process parameters automatically to the requested rolling process. In addition, the intelligent control can gauge geometrical feasibility and pays attention to valid machine parameters, such as allowable in-feed speeds. On its own, SicoRoll 3.0 divides the rolling

different materials to the database and make changes to the process,” Kravec says. “That’s one of the things we really hang our hat on.” The new software was thoroughly tested by Siempelkamp and UDF during the commissioning of the ring rolling mill in Méréville. All possible dimensions for blanks and workpieces made from many different metal alloys were rolled. Success all the way around After completion of the test in December 2017, the opinion was unanimous: Ring rolling at UDF has never been easier. SicoRoll 3.0 delivered what its developers promised, under all conditions. SicoRoll represents a new standard with database connection and recipe management, a software solution that offers maximum flexibility and ensures the production process in an optimal way.

process into initial rolling, main rolling and calibration phases. Users also can interrupt the entire rolling process for necessary reheating phases (reheating of the blank). Sensors detect uncertainties, such as existing dimensional and volume tolerances, and automatically adapt the system to meet them. Machine operators only have to enter the dimensions of the blank or the measurements of the ring to be produced—such as internal and external diameter, height and forging temperature—and provide details about the material. SicoRoll 3.0 does the rest automatically. For each workpiece, the ideal rolling strategy is simulated in an exact, virtual image of the machine. SicoRoll 3.0 considers all process parameters from the blank to the final product and visualizes the production process as a product optimized rolling curve. A changeover of products can be easily carried out by the operator. He/she only has to select the ring to be produced from a database and SicoRoll 3.0 supplies all necessary process controls from the internal recipe management. Each new

With its new open-die forging and ring blanking combination press and the ring rolling mill, UDF is better-equipped for the future and can further expand its product portfolio, even in small batch sizes. “By no means have we invented anything new—we’re just approaching it a little differently,” Kravec says. “What we’ve done is taken a lot of features from different press and put it together in one press. To date, I don’t know of any other press that’s been put together like that.” “For us, this was only our second mill we had ever sold in the world,” Kravec adds. “So, it was really a feather in our cap that we could go into a customer who already had ring-rolling equipment, and they could see the benefits and the advancements that we’ve made in our design and trust us with their largest single capital investment in their history.”

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2019 27