ABB has won an order to provide its state-of-the-art electrification and control systems for a production line project of Ningbo Baoxin Stainless Steel Co. Ltd. (Baoxin) in China, allowing the stainless-steel manufacturer to produce high-quality, ultra-thin precision stainless steel for the market.
Located in Ningbo, in east China's Zhejiang province, the new production line aims to produce 30,000 of automotive steel per year, which will be used to manufacture parts for construction, aviation, automobile and other industries due to its excellent strength, precision, surface finish and corrosion resistance.
Baoxin’s stainless steel production line, with equipment from four vendors, comprises a 20-high cold rolling mill, a bright annealing line, a degreasing line, a tension leveling line and a slitting line. ABB will provide end-to-end electrification and control for the production line, including variable speed motors, ACS880 direct torque control drives, instrumentation, ABB ABB AbilityTM Smart Sensors and ABB AbilityTM System 800xA-based level 1 and level 2 control systems.
The facility will manufacture stainless-steel strips with a thickness of up to 30 microns, for which a wide range of precise tension control and stability is critical. “ABB’s asymmetric dual motor control system can help reduce equipment and power consumption, provide accurate and stable tension control, as well as minimize thickness difference and the probability of breakage,” said Zhenhua Zhang, ABB Metals Industry Lead, North Asia and China.
The asymmetric dual motors control technology, developed by ABB’s Metals team in China, allows real-time accurate tension control for metals, ranging from 7-280kN (kiloNewton). It can switch automatically between single and dual motor modes according to process requirements, ensuring accurate load distribution and dynamic load compensation for each motor. For the bright annealing line, which comprises eight sets of tension meters, ABB’s solution can allow for closed-loop tension control.
Well-established expertise in ultra-thin metals manufacturing, a unique control systems technology and the ability to coordinate with multiple equipment vendors are just some of the reasons why metals customers choose ABB for these kinds of projects. “ABB’s advanced, intelligent digital technologies will help our customers in China to produce high-end metals at a higher speed, enabling the smart future of manufacturing,” said Zhang.
Ningbo Baoxin Stainless Steel Co. Ltd. (Baoxin) is a cold rolled stainless steel sheet manufacturer established jointly by Baosteel Group Corporation, Zheyong Iron & Steel Investment (Ningbo) Co.,Ltd, Nisshin steel Co.,Ltd (Japan), Mitsui & Co.,Ltd (Japan) and Hanwa Co.,Ltd(Japan) in March 1996. With an annual production capacity of up to 660,000 metric tons, main products cover 300 and 400 series of cold rolled stainless steel sheets and coils with surface finishes of 2B, 2D, No.3, No.4, HL, BA, thickness range from 0.15-5.0mm, and width range from 650-1320mm.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a technology leader that is driving the digital transformation of industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB has four customer-focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by the ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB’s Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com
ABB is a trusted partner and leading supplier to the metals industry, offering a complete range of products, services and end-to-end solutions that improve productivity, quality, safety and cost-efficiency in iron, steel, aluminium and other metals production processes. With over a century of experience, ABB’s offerings are expertly tailored and highly process-specific, serving the entire industry from material yard and primary manufacturing to casting, rolling and processing lines. Across the whole metals value chain ABB demonstrates a commitment to optimizing operations with high performance products and digital solutions. www.new.abb.com/metals
ABB AbilityTM System 800xA and its extended automation concept has over 11,000 installations world-wide, in practically every industry, automating processes, controlling and monitoring electrical equipment, and reducing risk through high integrity safety systems. It is part of the ABB AbilityTM platform that enables customers to securely integrate and aggregate their data, combine with wider industry data, apply big data and predictive analytics, and generate insights that can help them drive performance and productivity improvements. www.abb.com/800xA
