Hot strip mill shape processor and method

Claim 1

A method of controlling strip flatness on a hot strip mill including a hot reversing mill as the final reducing stand comprising: (a) reducing the thickness of a workpiece by passing it back and forth along a pass line through the hot reversing mill while reducing a roll gap on said mill after each successive pass; and (b) equalizing the strain developed during rolling whether or not a shape defect appears by passing the workpiece at a temperature above an eutectoid decomposition temperature of the strip through a shape processor having a plurality of upper and lower rolls that intermesh along the pass line said upper rolls comprising at least a roll pair adjustable in the vertical direction and tiltable in a plane transverse to the pass line and a lower roll positioned intermittent the roll pair and adjustable in the vertical direction, said shape processor located immediately downstream of and separate from the hot reversing mill, said equalizing of the strain occurring after certain selected passes through the hot reversing mill, said shape processor equalizing the strain by subjecting the strip to one of transverse bending, simple tension, tension and bending, strip flexing and differential transverse bending.

Claim 2

A method of controlling strip flatness on a hot strip mill including a hot reversing mill as the final reducing stand comprising: (a) reducing the thickness of a workpiece by passing it back and forth along a pass line through the hot reversing mill while reducing a roll gap on said mill after each successive pass; and (b) equalizing the strain developed during rolling whether or not a shape defect appears by passing the workpiece at a temperature above an eutectoid decomposition temperature of the strip through a shape processor having a plurality of upper and lower rolls that intermesh along the pass line said upper rolls comprising at least a roll pair adjustable in the vertical direction and tiltable in a plane transverse to the pass line and a lower roll positioned intermittent the roll pair and adjustable in the vertical direction, said shape processor located immediately downstream of and separate from the hot reversing mill, said equalizing of the strain occurring after certain selected passes through the hot reversing mill, said shape processor equalizing the strain by subjecting the strip to one of transverse bending, simple tension, tension and bending, strip flexing and differential transverse bending.