General characteristics

The rolling ofstainless steel takes place in several stages. First the ingots arrive at the largest rolling mills, known as slabbing and blooming mills. These mills are also called crimping mills, where steel ingots are crimped, giving them the form of a long bar (bloom) or plate (slab), which later serve as blanks for the manufacture of various stainless steel products. Up to 6 million stainless steel ingots are processed at slabbing and blooming plants annually. The ingots can weigh from 1 to 18 tons. More modern plants are equipped with equipment that allows stainless steel to be poured into finished blooms and slabs. Crimping units operate only at plants where the process involves casting steel into ingots. The stainless steel billets, having passed the preliminary crimping process, enter the rolling mills, where they acquire a defined profile, desired shape and thickness by means of rolling mills.

The technology of crimping on a blooming mill

The process of crimping starts with a stainless steel ingot being heated for 4-6 hours in a special heating-well, where the temperature reaches 1100-1300°C. The main parts of the blooming mill are two giant rolls, between which there is an adjustable gap. The preheated ingot is placed on a roller conveyor and transported to the rollers. The operator pulls the ingot through these rolls, with each new pass the gap between the rolls is reduced. Every 5 to 6 passes the ingot is turned over. At the final stage the processed ingot is moved along the roller conveyor to the industrial shears that cut it into blooms of the required size.

Slabbing technology

The processing on a slabbing mill is similar to the above procedure, the only difference being that the billet is crimped by four rolls - two vertical and two horizontal. The resulting long stainless steel plate is also cut into individual slabs using shears.

Final shaping

To produce stainless steel plate, the slab arrives at the mill, where smooth rolls are used. Rails, beams, channels and other shaped products are produced from blooms, which are rolled on rail-rolling mills, with cut-outs of the desired shape. The process consists of multiple passes. The product is formed sequentially and gradually. The desired thickness is reached by the last final rolling. The process is accelerated by the multiple passing of the red-hot bloom over a roller table through a series of stands with rolls of the desired shape and calibre. Continuous rolling mills are able to roll at speeds of up to 80 m/s. In a year, such a mill produces up to 6 million tons of rolled steel.

Buy, price

Evek GmbH sells a widerange ofhigh quality rolled metal products at the best price. To order and buy stainless steel products of standard and non-standard parameters you can through our representative office or via our website. All products are certified. The terms of fulfilment of orders are minimal. The price depends on the order amount and additional terms of delivery. Preferential discounts are offered to our wholesale customers.