250 tph record production at ESI Energiron DRI plant and new order for 1 Mtpy heavy section mill. Page 22 Danieli News n.158 February 2010, Danieli Group SABIC renews confidence in Danieli: Hadeed orders new 1 Mtpy LSTK long product minimill. Page 6 FQM-based seamless pipe mills: first startup in Middle East and new order from Venezuela. Page 70 POSTE ITALIANE PP-ECONOMY-AUT DC/DC UDINE/08/02-DU 13-06-02 DaNews158 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE AUTOMATION 12 DANIELI AUTOMATION CELEBRATES ITS 40 YEARS OF INNOVATION. SERVICE 18 DANOIL OIL-FILM BEARINGS GAIN APPROVAL, WORLDWIDE. 21 NEW QUALITY SPARES FOR ROLLING MILLS AND FINISHING LINES. IRON AND STEELMAKING 26 DANIELI INNOVATES SCRAP SHREDDING TECHNOLOGY. 28 STARTUP OF 1-MTPY MELTSHOP AT VOTORANTIM RESENDE, BRAZIL. 32 STARTUP OF MINIMILL FOR SPECIAL STEELS AT DONGBEI, P.R. CHINA. FLAT PRODUCTS 38 STARTUP OF JUMBO SLAB CASTER AT JYXC SPECIAL STEEL, P.R. CHINA. 40 STARTUP OF 4.9-M, HI-TECH WIDE PLATE MILL, MIDDLE EAST. LONG PRODUCTS 60 SUPERFLEXIBLE MERCHANT MILL INAUGURATED AT DUFERDOFIN- NUCOR, ITALY. 62 RH2: THE INNOVATIVE DANIELI RAIL-HEAD HARDENING PROCESS. TUBES 74 DANIELI BREDA PIPE UPSETTING LINES AT TENARIS TAMSA, MEXICO. Technology >Revolution< Danieli MicroMill to be the most competitive in regional markets The continuous casting-rolling plant at CMC, Mesa, AZ, USA set another technology milestone of Danieli, thee pioneer in the minimill concept with 70 scrap and DRI-based complete minimills supplied worldwide since 1964 Commercial Metals Co. - CMC, has realized its vision with the new generation of Danieli continuous casting-rolling, compact, micromills (whose brand name is MI.DA ). The CMC plant, which has been started up slightly over one year after groundbreaking, has a rated capacity of 300,000 shtpy for 12 to 36 mm rebar, although it s capable of producing bigger sizes up to 57 mm bars. The mill makes use mainly of local scrap, and supplies CMC s local fabrication shops as well as the Southwest regional market. Characterized by single-strand continuous casting-rolling process featuring ultra-highspeed FCC PowerMold caster, in-line bar quenching and tempering, and a direct rollingbundling system organized in an extremely compact layout, the mill produces quality products at very competitive costs. MI.DA completes the range of Danieli minimills and is designed to be competitive in transformation costs (cash + depreciation) even for productions from 100,000 to 500,000 tpy. Page 2
DANIELI MINIMILLS DANEWS MIDA MIcromill DAnieli starts operation at CMC Steel Arizona, USA The new Micromill Danieli that started operation at CMC Steel Arizona (Commercial Metals Co.), marks the beginning of a new era in production of commercial steel long products. Started up in September 2009, CMC Micromill proudly delivered its first lots of hot rolled products in October. The new steel complex, the first of this design anywhere in the world, represents a formidable step forward in technology that, thanks to its revolutionary design concepts, applied technologies, and the resulting remarkable benefits, puts CMC Arizona one step ahead of its competitors. The Micromill Danieli (MIDA) is based on the regional-mill / product-focused concept, and with its relatively low production capacity, is designed to serve a limited market (local or regional), focusing on a specific product and making extensive use of local scrap supplies. All of this, along with the continuous uninterrupted production cycle from raw material to finished product, and with the extreme compactness of the technological area, makes CMC s MIDA, the most cost-efficient rebar production plant available in the world today. The plant, with a rated capacity of 300,000 shtpy of #4 to #11 rebars (12.7 to 35.8 mm), is basically comprised of: > Steelmaking section, featuring continuous scrap charging with preheating system Consteel, 40-t side-charge AC EAF, heating station with 40-t ladle furnace, primary and 2
DANEWS 158 Passionately create a state-of-the-art Micro-mill that exceeds objectives using highly motivated, disciplined, and multiskilled internal and external teams coupled with leading edge practices and processes to safely construct, commission, operate and serve regional markets with quality products. secondary fume treatment plant system, plus other associated auxiliary plants and systems. > Conticasting section, featuring a singlestrand, high-speed continuous casting machine, directly connected to the rolling mill for uninterrupted production cycle. > Direct link to the rolling mill, including insulated conveyors, descaler and induction heater for billet temperature equalization. > 16-stand ultra-compact rolling mill, made up of cantilever and housingless stands, and featuring the innovative DRB-Direct Rolling & Bundling system for production of superior quality bar bundles without the use of the traditional long cooling bed for bar multiples. The mill also includes the Quenching and Tempering process for Bar products (QTB), which allows for the production of low-cost billets with considerable savings of alloys used in the meltshop. Following the first heat, the plant has quickly gone through performance testing and started what may be considered a very steep learning curve for a plant of this kind. The learning curve is expected to be completed by early summer of 2010 as the mill staffing is completed and full hours of operation are achieved. In the meantime, in terms of finished product quality, extremely good results have been already achieved, with production of superb rebar bundles, by far the best in the industry, setting a new standard in the marketplace, as recently stated by CMC customers 3
DANIELI MINIMILLS DANEWS MIDA - MIcromill DAnieli: the breakthrough innovation in rebars production The idea of such a small-scale, low-cost production unit born 20 years ago is now a reality that combines high-tech and ultra-compact design with reduced investment, to achieve extremely low transformation costs with extremely low environmental impact. Loyal to its long-standing tradition as a front-runner in technology development, Danieli has introduced to the market its latest innovation in rebars production: the Micromill. The Micromill s regional-mill/product-focused concept is a development of the traditional minimill that, along with its relatively low output (250,000 / 300,000 tpy), makes it possible to transform local scrap into finished products for local or near-by end-use markets, resulting therefore in the ideal production unit for local or regional rebar markets with full availability of local scrap resources. The first Micromill plant started operation successfully at Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) Arizona-USA in Autumn 2009. The Micromill Danieli is based on the ECR Endless Casting Rolling process, meaning that melting, casting and rolling are carried out in one continuous and uninterrupted production process, from scrap to finished product. Based on the present, most advanced and consolidated processes and components, the MIDA plant features, among others, unique innovative characteristics, such as: > The Direct Casting & Rolling process (ECR), involving the direct connection of the continuous casting strand to the first rolling mill stand, with the endlessly cast billet of indefinite length fed directly to the mill through an induction furnace for temperature equalization before rolling. The traditional reheating furnace and all associated entry/exit Cost vs. Advantages Competing Mills > Lower labor cost. > Lower natural gas cost. > Higher yield due to continuous/continuous process. > Lower cost of alloys due to use of quenching system. > Lower cost of inventory. facilities and auxiliaries are therefore definitely no longer necessary, with all consequent significant savings in investment, consumption, and operating costs. > The Direct Rolling & Bundling system (DRB), the revolutionary innovation that has made the traditional long-type cooling beds for multiple-length bars and the cold cut-to-length services no longer necessary in bar mills. The patented DRB system enables cutting to final commercial length of high-tensile rebars directly at delivery side of the finishing mill and right before the bundle forming and tying station, with significant savings in investment and production costs. This low-cost mill (CAPEX and OPEX) concept finds ideal application for greenfield sites, but also for existing mills with excess liquid steel capacity. MIDA main highlights: > Market-oriented plant, to cover regional or local market demand; > Product range focused on a single-type product; > Typical capacity of 250,000-350,000 tpy; > Typical finished product range: 8 to 36-mmdia straight or spooled rebars (equivalent round and square bars), with production campaigns dedicated to a large amount of a single product, resulting in minimized changes. > Ultra-compact arrangement: covered area approx 11,000-mq (less than half the space required by a traditional minimill of correspondent capacity) > Minimized investment > Reduced manning > Energy saving > Environmental friendly > Higher yields in melting and rolling > Reduced storage space when compared to traditional minimills. > Superb quality of the finished product, either in bundles or coils (thanks of the DRB or SPO systems) > Shorter construction time and fast ramp-up time > Faster return of investment. As a result, remarkably lower production costs can be expected by MIDA versus conventional minimills of similar capacity 4
DANEWS 158 305 m 12 5 3 4 6 7 10 8 9 11 1 2 1 Scrap yard 2 Fume dedusting plant 3 Electric Arc Furnace 4 Ladle furnace 5 Meltshop maintenance area 6 Continuous casting plant 7 Induction furnace 8 16-stand rolling mill 9 QTB line 10 DRB-Direct Rolling & Bundling system 11 Finished product collecting services 12 Rolling mill maintenance area 5