SMS Meer has successfully commissioned a 12-?” ERW (electric resistance welding) tube welding line for heavy wall thicknesses at Arvedi Tube Acciaio S.p.A. in Cremona, Italy. The project was completed in one year, from excavation of the foundations to the successful commissioning.
The aim of the project was to develop a high-output line for producing high-end tubes in a wide range of sizes and material grades as well as with heavy wall thicknesses.
SMS Meer’s solution was a tailor-made ERW tube welding line with conventional forming and proven quick-change system for inline size changes on the URD? stands (Uniform Rigid Design) and off-line roll changing as well as the Quicksetting system. A computer-controlled, automatic roll-setting system and a chock-changing system allow maximum flexibility in operation, according to SMS Meer.
The line turns out products such as hollows for cold-drawn cylinders, rear axles for trucks, line pipes, API tubes, round bars, and sections, in diameters ranging from 114.3 to 323.9 mm. Even with heavy wall thicknesses (up to 16 mm), a high maximum mill speed of up to 60 m/min is achieved, the company notes.
The mill went into production in Q4 2009. Annual production capacity can reach 150,000 tonnes.
