Siemens Metals Technologies Simetal Opal laser alignment system for casting plant rollers

Simetal Opal from Siemens Metals Technologies provides operators of continuous casting plants with an integrated laser measurement system for exact alignment of strand guide rollers. The system achieves high measuring accuracy of ±0.07 mm, even under the hostile ambient conditions prevailing in a steelworks. Simetal Opal registers the strand guide rollers’ current positions and, after quality control, saves the measured data in a log file. An intuitive user interface and automated measurement sequences make it easy to use locally and reduce measuring times. Saved measurements serve as the basis for condition-based maintenance of the strand guide system, which cuts maintenance costs. The system can be integrated into both new and existing plants.

The system uses a high-precision rotation laser, whose beams embrace a plane in space. This is used as the reference point for measuring the strand guide rollers. A laser receiver with an integrated microprocessor logs the measured values and transfers them wirelessly to a control unit where they are analysed and backed up automatically with the aid of the specially designed software. For each measurement, the system generates a test report that can be archived. This permits a precise comparison of target and actual positions. The system also features intelligent measured data management, which can be linked to monitoring the plant’s status. This helps the plant operator to observe the required maintenance intervals and creates the foundation for a condition-based maintenance strategy.