Hydraulically preloaded rolling stands

A rolling cage comprising:

• an upper stand;
• a lower stand;
• at least one upper rolling cylinder mounted in the upper stand;
• at least one lower rolling cylinder mounted in the lower stand;
• a system of screws and lead screws for adjusting a gap between the upper rolling cylinder and the lower rolling cylinder;
• a hydraulic pre-loading system for applying a pre-load on said cylinders after the gap is adjusted comprising a plurality of rods crossing the upper stand and the lower stand while providing a relative sliding motion between the stands and the rods wherein one extremity of each of said rods is firmly attached to one of said stands while the opposite extremity carries a piston arranged in a mobile manner inside a hydraulic cylinder attached to the other of said stands so that the rods also serve the function of opposing the rolling torque;
• said system of screws and lead screws comprising a multiple number of rotatable shafts fitted with first and second discordantly threaded portions, the first threaded portion being connected by a first lead screw to one of said stands, the second threaded portion being connected by a second lead screw to the other of said stands, a first key connecting the first lead screw to said one of said stands to prevent rotation of the first lead screw but permitting limited axial sliding movement of the first lead screw with respect thereto, a second key connecting the second lead screw to said other of said stands to prevent rotation of the second lead screw but permitting limited axial sliding motion of the second lead screw with respect thereto, whereby the system of screws and lead screws sets the gap between the upper rolling cylinder and the lower rolling cylinder but allow the gap to be enlarged due to the limited axial sliding motion of the first and second lead screws upon actuation of the hydraulic pre-loading system in a direction to relieve the pre-load on said cylinders.