Entry Trough
Cooling Bed Entry Trough
Custom Designed Entry Trough – Engineered to Work With Your Existing Equipment
The Entry Trough is the start of the Cooling Bed in which hot rolled steel enters the Cooling Bed. GMB Heavy Industries develops custom engineered existing designs and manufacture Cooling Bed Entry Trough’s to work in conjunction with rolling mill machinery. We integrate superior technology, the latest software, and highly experienced Engineers in the steel mill industry to produce our equipment and spare parts. With over 40 years of experience, we are known to be the “Cooling Bed Specialists” in North America. Our custom-designed Entry Troughs have been used in many steel mills throughout the United States and Canada for decades.
Entry Trough Repair and Maintenance:
Our equipment is designed to last, Engineered to be robust with a focus on the ease of maintenance and repairs. GMB Heavy Industries provides Surveys and Inspections of your existing equipment offering a custom maintenance solution from experts in the steel mill industry which allows our customers to save on maintenance cost while minimizing their downtime.
Our engineering and manufacturing team provides reverse engineering of spare parts with OEM quality or better to maintain and repair your existing Entry Trough, and its components. Regular maintenance of the Entry Trough/ Run in Trough will ensure your equipment produces quality product for many years to come.
Cooling Bed Run-In & Entry Trough Replacement:
GMB Heavy Industries’ engineering team works in coordination with the mechanical & maintenance department of the steel mill to provide a custom turnkey solution. Replacement of the Entry Trough components are normally driven by the worn components, cost to maintain or the need to increase the mill speed and production. While other competitors provide off the shelf solutions, GMB provides a custom engineered solution specific to the customer, considering the need of the production and maintenance staff.
GMB engineers will provide you with a concept renderings of the new equipment. We will discuss the new technologies that are integrated within your re-engineered Entry Trough. Open discussions, ongoing meetings including all appropriate mill staff are coordinated to ensure that your input is carefully considered.
Cooling Bed Run-In Trough (Before Cooling Bed):
GMB Heavy Industries’ engineering team designs your custom Run-In Troughs based on the length of the existing unit. The Run-In Trough will be equipped with:
- Ledge castings
- Brake Slides
- Trough wall (Entry Trough Casting )
- Optional drop Wall Boards or separating ledges
Run-In Trough
- Often, the Trough will be designed to utilize the existing support structure and foundations resulting in reduced overall costs.
- GMB will be responsible for the engineering drawings related to any required civil work modifications or repairs to the foundations/concrete.
- Our custom engineered Run-In trough will be comprised of a series of aprons that will house cantilevered roll assemblies and be designed in such a way to guide the product to the delivery side of the brake slide and thus prevent wandering of the product.
- GMB can design Run-in Trough with brake slides (Lift Aprons) that can be actuated via hydraulic cylinders or Electromechanical which are automatically controlled for bar speed and length.
- Brake slides can be designed to incorporate vertical wear plates, to avoid the costly replacement castings, reducing the maintenance cost to change.
- Brake slides can also be designed to feature easy-access covers which allow access to the upper brake slide pin from the top side of the Cooling Bed.
- The brake slides are connected to a line shaft via an adjustable mechanism (adjustable tie rod), which allows for easy height adjustment of individual brake slides.
- Adjustable Tie Rods will incorporate dissimilar metals to prevent seizing. Locking washers will be used to secure the length of Tie Rod once set.
- The Trough Can be designed with hinged Drop Wall Board assemblies or separated ledges that are used to provide separation between bars and allow for the more accurate placement of the product onto the grid castings via the brake slide mechanism.
- The Drop Wall Board assemblies are manually lowered or raised but use torsion springs to greatly reduce the effort required by the operator in doing so. The Drop wall Board roll assemblies are designed for ease of replacement and maintenance.
- The Drop Wallboards are reversible for extended part life and reduced spare part cost.
- Separating ledges are automatically actuated similar to a brake slide, via hydraulic cylinders or electromechanical drives.
- GMB will reuse existing variable frequency (VF) motors for the entry trough rolls where possible to reuse equipment costs.
- The Ledge castings can be designed to feature a vertical wear plate on the running surface, to avoid the costly replacement of these castings.
- The Entry Trough Apron and Ledge Castings will be supported on common frames. Each frame will incorporate a high precision longitudinal key to accurately locate the Ledge castings.
- The design of the trough will allow for gap control as the trough components wear and gaps develop over time.
Entry Trough:
- The Entry Trough will continue the full length of the Cooling Bed and will consist of cast iron Aprons which house the existing cantilevered roll assemblies.
- Often, the Entry Trough can be designed to utilize the existing support structure and foundations as much as possible, thus greatly reduced the overall cost of the project.
- The Aprons will house the run in rolls in such a way as to guide the product to the delivery side of the brake slide thus prevent wandering of the product.
- VF rolls will be secured to the Trough wall with a through bolt and nut connection, not a threaded hole in the Trough wall.
- For Brake Slide details the mode of operation will be the same as the Run-in Trough previously described.
Feed Trough:
The area between the final mill Shear and the start of the Entry Trough is referred to as the “Feed Trough”. A Feed Trough is a basic conveyor that houses the Run-in Rolls but has no Break Slide Lift Aprons. The Feed Trough provides the required conuegor length to create separation (distance) between bars.
Installation of the Entry Trough:
GMB assumes complete responsibility for the installation of all Mechanical equipment. As is our standard policy, GMB will remain on-site following start-up to assist with commissioning. Note:
- The installation includes the removal of the existing equipment and installation of the new Entry Trough components.
- Realignment of adjusted equipment, i.e (Grid Casting Support Frames, Fixed & Moving Rakes) as required.
- We have an excellent long-standing reputation for installations. We are committed to the safety of our staff. Following all government and local Mill safety requirements at all times. Certified trained workers support all installs.
- The typical timing for an outage to remove the existing equipment and installing a new Entry Trough is approximately 10 days.
Why GMB?
What makes our custom-designed Entry Trough different from our competitors in the steel mill industry is the ability to use our products in conjunction with your existing equipment. Our engineers work with Rolling Mill Managers and Steel Mill Maintenance Department to establish a custom solution to increase the productivity of the steel mill and decrease the maintenance costs and downtime of the rolling mill. In addition, our equipment is made with the highest quality of materials to ensure you receive a quality end-product, one that far outlasts our competition and decreases your overall maintenance cost.
- We listen and we understand you and your staff
- We integrate our designs with your existing equipment to reduce capital expense
- We custom design engineered solutions that focus on improving for productivity, while reducing your downtime and maintenance costs.
- We have years of expertise in Engineering, Program Managing and Installing turnkey projects.