Evolution of Roll Inspection Systems to Meet Changes in Roll Technologies and Roll Shop Practices

摘要

Since the introduction of automated roll inspection units in the late 1970's, roll technology and roll shop practices have changed dramatically. Hot mill rolls have gone from using indefinite chilled cast iron to High Chrome irons, to High Speed Steel and now to CSPC, in this 25 year time period. Cold mill rolls have gone through a similar period of development with increased chromium levels and advanced hardening processes for deep hardened rolls, since EDT texturing allows harder rolls to be used. At the same time roll shops have steadily reduced manning levels, with an accompanying loss of technical support, so that operators and supervisors require more automation and faster decision making. Also in this period the explosion in the uses of computers has transformed data sharing and information technology, along with faster digital data processing. To meet these new demands roll inspection has also changed. The technologies employed in the inspection of the new rolls have been developed and improved, and now include both surface and sub surface inspection. The operator interface has changed with the use of graphics, and inspection reports are shared and interfaced with other management systems. In the period covered by this review, there have been many changes in the manufacture, use and processing of rolls, but rolls continue to have service problems and there has been a veritable library of papers and articles discussing, explaining, modeling and trying to solve the nature and causes of roll defects. It is not the aim of this paper to add to this, but better to put the topic of roll inspection into this perspective.