A coiling system and a method for forming a hot rolled product into an annular coil

Abstract

A coiling system ( 1 ) and a method for coiling a hot rolled product, the system comprising:—a base assembly ( 3 ) comprising a base plate ( 6 ), a central drum ( 7 ) extending from the base plate along a vertical axis, and a receiving sleeve ( 8 ) arranged outside of said central drum,—a support structure ( 2 ) configured to support the base assembly and comprising a first drive mechanism configured to rotate the base assembly around the vertical axis,—a feeding device ( 4 ) configured to feed hot rolled product to the base assembly so as to form a coil ( 17 ), wherein the receiving sleeve is configured to receive a first end of the hot rolled product landing on said base plate so that a coil starts to form inside of said receiving sleeve and outside of said central drum, the base assembly being releasably connected to the first drive mechanism so that the base assembly, after coiling, may be removed from the support structure.

1 . A coiling system ( 1 ) for coiling a hot rolled product, comprising:
 a base assembly ( 3 ) comprising a base plate ( 6 ), a central drum ( 7 ) extending from the base plate ( 6 ) along a vertical axis, and a receiving sleeve ( 8 ) arranged outside of said central drum ( 7 ),   a support structure ( 2 ) configured to support the base assembly ( 3 ) and comprising a first drive mechanism configured to rotate the base assembly ( 3 ) around the vertical axis, and   a feeding device ( 4 ) configured to feed hot rolled product to the base assembly ( 3 ) so as to form a coil ( 17 ),   wherein the receiving sleeve ( 8 ) is configured to receive a first end of the hot rolled product landing on said base plate ( 6 ) so that a coil ( 17 ) starts to form inside of said receiving sleeve ( 8 ) and outside of said central drum ( 7 ), and   the base assembly ( 3 ) is releasably connected to the first drive mechanism so that the base assembly ( 3 ), after coiling, may be removed from the support structure ( 2 ).   
     
     
         2 . The coiling system according to  claim 1 , further comprising an annular collecting member ( 10 ) arranged around the central drum ( 7 ) above the receiving sleeve ( 8 ) and movable in the axial direction together with the feeding device ( 4 ) to guide the hot rolled product onto a previously coiled portion of said product. 
     
     
         3 . The coiling system according to  claim 2 , wherein the annular collecting member ( 10 ) has a shorter extension along the vertical axis than the central drum ( 7 ), so that the annular collecting member ( 10 ) surrounds only a minor portion of the central drum ( 7 ). 
     
     
         4 . The coiling system according to  claim 2 , wherein the annular collecting member ( 10 ) is connected to the feeding device ( 4 ). 
     
     
         5 . The coiling system according to  claim 2 , wherein the annular collecting member ( 10 ) is in the form of a rotatable collecting ring ( 10 ). 
     
     
         6 . The coiling system according to  claim 5 , further comprising a support ( 11 ) on which the collecting ring ( 10 ) is rotatably mounted. 
     
     
         7 . The coiling system according to  claim 5 , further comprising a second drive mechanism ( 12 ) configured to rotate the collecting ring ( 10 ) around the vertical axis. 
     
     
         8 . The coiling system according to  claim 7 , wherein the first and the second drive mechanisms are configured to be operable independently of each other. 
     
     
         9 . The coiling system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a pre-bending device ( 9 ) configured to bend the hot rolled product as it is being fed from the feeding device ( 4 ). 
     
     
         10 . The coiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the central drum ( 7 ) comprises wall segments ( 7   a,    7   b,    7   c ) that are movable between an outer position and an inner position. 
     
     
         11 . The coiling system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a transfer arrangement ( 13 ) configured to move the base assembly ( 3 ) away from the support structure ( 2 ) in a horizontal or essentially horizontal plane. 
     
     
         12 . A method for forming a hot rolled product into an annular coil ( 17 ), comprising the steps of:
 providing a coiling system ( 1 ) comprising a base assembly ( 3 ), a support structure ( 2 ) supporting the base assembly ( 3 ), and a feeding device ( 4 ), wherein the base assembly ( 3 ) is rotatable around a vertical axis and comprises a base plate ( 6 ), a central drum ( 7 ) extending from the base plate ( 6 ) along a vertical axis, and a receiving sleeve ( 8 ) arranged outside of the central drum ( 7 ),   guiding a first end of the hot rolled product onto the base plate ( 6 ) inside of said receiving sleeve ( 8 ) and outside of said central drum ( 7 ),   forming the hot rolled product to an annular coil ( 17 ) around said central drum ( 7 ) by rotating the base assembly ( 3 ) around the vertical axis while feeding the hot rolled product downwardly using the feeding device ( 4 ), and   removing the coil ( 17 ) from the coiling system ( 1 ), wherein   the step of removing the coil ( 17 ) from the coiling system ( 1 ) comprises removing the base assembly ( 3 ) from the support structure ( 2 ) prior to removing the coil ( 17 ) from the base assembly ( 3 ).   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the step of removing the coil ( 17 ) from the coiling system ( 1 ) comprises tilting the base assembly ( 3 ) prior to removing the coil ( 17 ). 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the coiling system ( 1 ) is located in a coiling station, and the base assembly ( 3 ) holding the coil ( 17 ) is transported away from the coiling station using a conveyor prior to removing the coil ( 17 ) from the base assembly ( 3 ). 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein an annular collecting member ( 10 ) arranged around the central drum ( 7 ) is provided, and comprising guiding the hot rolled product onto a previously coiled portion of said product by moving the feeding device ( 4 ) together with the annular collecting member ( 10 ) upwardly along the vertical axis. 
     
     
         16 . The coiling system according to  claim 3 , wherein the annular collecting member ( 10 ) is connected to the feeding device ( 4 ). 
     
     
         17 . The coiling system according to  claim 16 , wherein the annular collecting member ( 10 ) is in the form of a rotatable collecting ring ( 10 ). 
     
     
         18 . The coiling system according to  claim 4 , wherein the annular collecting member ( 10 ) is in the form of a rotatable collecting ring ( 10 ). 
     
     
         19 . The coiling system according to  claim 3 , wherein the annular collecting member ( 10 ) is in the form of a rotatable collecting ring ( 10 ). 
     
     
         20 . The coiling system according to  claim 17 , further comprising a support ( 11 ) on which the collecting ring ( 10 ) is rotatably mounted.