To automate a coil tong, light barriers should be mounted on the lower end of the gripper to safely detect the hole in the coil. The coils can be sometimes up to 600 °C hot. For each coil tong, three light barriers are needed to detect the lower edge and the right and left edges of the hole in the coil. Only if all three light barriers are not occupied may the coil tong close. Due to the coil temperature no standard photocells can be used. There is no space on the gripper for large photoelectric sensors.
Automation Crane Coil Grab / Coil Tong
Pilger mill in tube rolling mills - hot and cold pipe detection
- No cooling of the light barrier necessary: The high functional reserve of the light barrier enables operation even with heavy contamination
Challenges
- To automate a coil tong, light barriers should be mounted on the lower end of the gripper to safely detect the hole in the coil. The coils can be sometimes up to 600 °C hot.
- For each coil tong, three light barriers are needed to detect the lower edge and the right and left edges of the hole in the coil. Only if all three light barriers are not occupied may the coil tong close.
- Due to the coil temperature no standard photocells can be used. There is no space on the gripper for large photoelectric sensors.
Solution
- No cooling of the light barrier necessary. The high functional reserve of the light barrier enables operation even with heavy contamination.
Products and Accessories
Case Study Number
- TP3
Challenge
- The increasing flexibility of production lines requires a high adaptability of sensors. Continually changing object geometries, different temperatures and very high radiation or surrounding temperatures are no rarity.
- In a pilger mill those rough conditions can be found, among others in the production of seemless steel pipes. The raw steel blocks, each weighing a few tons are heated up first in a round oven at a temperature of 1300 °C.
- After descaling of the surface, the steel block is prepunched in a hole press with a strength from a converted 2000 t. In the next sloping rolling mill the growing pipe rotates between two rollers that are positioned at an angle to each other. The punching is widened to the size of the mandrel diameter.
Previous solution / Competitor product
- N/A
Solution
- The sensor that was installed at this application is the HMD OKA 2038.38 G with tube OL 19.
- The signal of the infrared sensors controls the movement of centering device and abutment. The point of view is restricted by the tube and prevents disturbances by steam in the cooling phase.
- An optimum adaptation to the operating conditions is given due to the adjustable response temperature. The HMD with self-learning response temperature (Auto-Teach function) is suited to continually changing conditions.
- The compact sensor with a stainless steel housing can withstand surrounding temperatures of up to 75° C. The use of a cooling jacket raises this up to 200° C.
- Alternatively sensors with fibre optic cables are available which permit an application at ambient temperatures up to 600° C without cooling.
Customer Benefits
- Maintenance-free
- High temperature stability
- Recognition of hot objects at big distances
- Self adjustment with Auto-Teach or step switch for the response temperature
Product Part number
- OKA 2038.38 G
Brand
- Proxitron
Accessories
- Piros swivel stand HM2
- Tube OL 19
- Pilot light unit (for alignment) DAK 308 + OL 26
- Different cable lengths (e.g. 15 m)
Customer Testimonial
compared to previous solution or competition
Case Studies
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