High speed flying shear

A shear for subdividing an elongated product moving longitudinally in a horizontal plane, said shear comprising:

• upper and lower continuously rotating blades coacting in a radially overlapping relationship at a cutting zone located above said plane, the radius of rotation of said lower blade being longer than the radius of rotation of said upper blade;
• a stationary receiving trough located downstream of said cutting zone, said receiving trough having first and second laterally disposed guide channels separated by an intermediate wall, said intermediate wall having a horizontal ledge located above said plane;
• and
• switch means located upstream of said cutting zone, said switch means being operable in a first mode to direct said product along a first path past said cutting zone into said first channel, and being operable in a second mode to divert said product from said first path into said cutting zone for cutting by said blades into leading and trailing segments, said blades being configured and arranged to deflect the tail end of said leading segment upwardly away from said plane while directing the front end of said trailing segment downwardly toward said plane and beneath said ledge for continued movement along a second path through said second channel.

A shear for subdividing an elongated product moving longitudinally in a horizontal plane, said shear comprising:

• a) first and second sets of upper and lower continuously rotating blades respectively coacting in a radially overlapping relationship at first and second laterally disposed cutting zones located above said plane;
• and
• b) switch means located upstream of said cutting zones, said switch means being operable sequentially:
• (i) to direct said product along a first path bypassing said cutting zones;
• (ii) to divert said product from said first path into said first cutting zone for cutting by the blades of said first set into a leading segment continuing along said first path and an intermediate segment continuing along a second path;
• and
• (iii) to divert said product from said second path into said second cutting zone for cutting by the blades of said second set to separate said intermediate segment continuing along said second path from a trailing segment continuing along a third path.

A shear for separating leading and trailing segments from an intermediate length of a hot rolled steel rod exiting from a rolling mill along a delivery path leading between first and second bypass paths and located in a horizontal plane, said shear comprising:

• first and second laterally spaced sets of continuously rotating upper and lower blades, said first pair of blades coacting in a radially overlapping relationship at a first cutting zone located above said horizontal plane and between said first bypass path and one side of said delivery path, and said second pair of blades coacting in a radially overlapping relationship at a second cutting zone located above said horizontal plane and between the opposite side of said delivery path and said second bypass path;
• a stationary receiving trough located downstream from said cutting zones, said receiving trough having a central channel aligned with said delivery path and first and second bypass channels separated respectively from said central channel by first and second walls, said first and second bypass channels being aligned respectively with said first and second bypass paths, said first and second walls each having respective first and second horizontal ledges located above said horizontal plane;
• and
• switch means located upstream from said cutting zones, said switch means being operable successively:
• (a) to initially deflect said leading segment laterally from said delivery path to said first bypass path for delivery to said first bypass channel;
• (b) to next direct said rod from said first bypass path across said first cutting zone to said delivery path, said first pair of blades being operative to sever said leading segment from said intermediate length, and being configured and arranged to deflect the tail end of said leading segment upwardly while directing the front end of said intermediate length downwardly to continue in said horizontal plane beneath said first horizontal ledge and into said central channel;
• and (c) to next direct said rod from said delivery path across said second cutting zone to said second bypass path, said second pair of blades being operative to sever said trailing segment from said intermediate length, and being configured and arranged to deflect the tail end of said intermediate length upwardly while directing the front end of said trailing segment downwardly to continue in said horizontal plane beneath said second ledge and into said second bypass channel.