US 4,172,375 A · Coiling system for metallic strands

Abstract

Apparatus for guiding and coiling one or more metallic strands that are continuously advancing along their length from a casting apparatus. A coiling apparatus has an open-top coil-collecting basket with concentric, generally cylindrical inner and outer walls. A rotating cone is disposed over the inner wall. At least one boom and a set of opposed rolls and associated fairing assemblies mounted on the boom guide the strand from the casting apparatus to the coiling apparatus. An exit end of the boom directs each strand vertically downward onto the cone of one coiler. Friction between the strand and the cone lays the strand in the basket in horizontal wraps without a reversal of the laying direction or kinks. The boom exit end mounts a straightener that includes a pair of hydraulically-actuated slide bars that are orthogonal to each other and to the strand. The slide bars produce a cyclic deflection of the strand about the center of the cone to form a uniform, non-tangled coil. The cone-straightener spacing and the cone angle are selected to produce a bend radius in the strand such that the coiled strand does not climb the inner or outer walls of the basket. The diameter of the inside wall is large enough so that the horizontal wraps collapse on one another of their own weight. The boom is hollow and has a series openings adjacent the strand to direct cooling air from the interior of the boom to the strand. In one form the boom has a generally rectangular cross section and carries strands on two vertical walls. A second exit end, positioned midway along the boom directs one strand to a second coiler.

Claims38

Dependent claims

A coiling system for at least one metallic strand that is continuously advancing along its longitudinal axis from an upcasting apparatus comprising,

a hollow boom having a vertically oriented entrance end adapted to receive said strand from said upcasting apparatus, at least one vertically oriented exit end, and an intermediate section extending between said entrance and exit ends and having gradually curved portions adjacent said entrance and exit ends, said boom having at least one vertically oriented side wall and a plurality of holes formed in said wall opposite said strand,
a plurality of opposed pairs of strand engaging rolls mounted on said first walls and a plurality of associated pairs of inclined guide plates that direct said strand to the nip of the associated roll pair,
means for directing a stream of cooling fluid into said boom,
strand straightener means mounted at each of said exit ends,
means for cyclically deflecting said strand about the vertical as it leaves each said straightener means,
at least one coil receptacle, including a base and concentric inner and outer walls secured on said base, disposed under each of said strand straightener and deflection means,
a conical member mounted over each of said inner walls, said strand straightener and deflection means being spaced from said conical member and directing said strand downwardly onto and in frictional sliding engagement with the outer surface of said conical member, and
means for rotating said conical member
said spacing and the angle of inclination of said outer surface being structured to bend said strand with a bend radius projected on a vertical plane that results in the formation of said coil in a uniform, non-tangled manner.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Coiling system for metallic strands

Life of this patent

Coiling system for metallic strands

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims38