Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH (DEW) has issued the final acceptance certificate to SMS group for the new quenching line at its Witten (Germany) location. The new quenching line, installed downstream an existing blooming mill, consists of a walking-beam furnace and a cooling section.
The new quenching line, which is the first of its kind in terms of layout, has been designed for round bars in diameters ranging from 55 to 250 millimeters and lengths between four and 17 meters. Rolled grades include all stainless steels, for example bearing steel; rust, acid and heat-resistant steels, and engineering and tool steels.
The new quenching line uses the available rolling heat to set the desired material properties by a controlled bar quenching process. For this purpose, the bars are directly charged into the reheating furnace via a roller table. The furnace equalizes the heat losses that the material has suffered by then. After the material has been reheated to a specified temperature, it is delivered to a cooling section in which it is cooled down uniformly and in a controlled manner to the desired end temperature. Then it is discharged from the rolling mill via the cooling bed.
