ArcelorMittal Gent has ordered a LiquiRob casting platform robot from Siemens Metals Technologies. It will be installed on the company’s continuous slab caster CC2 and will perform a number of potentially dangerous tasks automatically, including taking samples, measuring temperatures and hydrogen levels at the distributor and ladle lancing. Looking ahead, the Belgian steelmaker plans to manipulate the ladle shroud with the aid of the LiquiRob system.
The system will go be on stream by September this year and, claims SMT, will ‘improve working conditions’ at the CC2’.
ArcelorMittal’s Gent facility is an integrated production plant and part of the Flat Carbon Europe Division of the world’s biggest steelmaker. It produces 5Mmt of flat steel annually for use mainly in the automotive and domestic appliance industries.
Steel is produced in LD converters with a tap weight of 300 metric tonnes and is cast by two continuous slab casters. The CC2 casting plant produces 3Mmt of steel slabs with a thickness of 220mm in widths ranging from 950 to 2,000mm.
The tasks that will be handled by the LiquiRob system were previously performed by plant personnel, meaning that safety at work should improve.
Siemens has engaged with ArcelorMittal Gent before. Last year the company modernised the plant’s slag stopper system on two of the steelmaker’s LD converters. It also modernised the drive technology of the finishing train of the hot rolling mill.
For further information, log on to www.siemens.com/metals