Featuring a state-of-the-art automation and controls system, Carpenter Technology’s new precision strip hot rolling mill provides expanded capability and greater flexibility to meet the increasing demand for electrification, the aerospace sector, and consumer electronics. The mill brings strip production completely in-house and allows us to expand our range of thin flat rolled products while delivering best-in-class quality and delivery.
The mill’s advanced capabilities support production of our full range of strip including soft magnetic, electrical resistance, controlled expansion, high temperature, high alloy steel, and stainless alloys. Titanium and copper-based chemistries can also be processed. Our strip product mix requires very high rolling loads achieved up to strip width of 19 inches (480 millimeters). Finished strip can be cold rolled to thicknesses as low as 0.001 inches (0.025 millimeters).
Delivering Industry-Leading Precision and Quality at Scale
The new mill enables dramatic improvements in productivity, lead time, quality, and safety:
Improved product quality, consistency, and format
- Highly repeatable process with consistent run-to-run thickness
- Tightly wrapped coils with excellent sidewall registration
- Improved surface finish and quality
- Hot rolling widths from 8 to 19 inches (200 to 485 millimeters) for a wider range of product offerings
- Finished strip thicknesses as low as 0.001 inches (0.025 millimeters)
- Tight thickness tolerances on hot band and during cold rolling of alloys to final gage
- Automatic imaging and defect tracking system to quickly find and correct problems
Expanded capacity to meet customer demand
- 50% reduction in cycle time
- Shorter standard lead time for faster delivery
- Ability to scale to volume and meet large program throughput requirements
- Changeover capability supports rapid sampling for new customer programs
Improved operator safety
- Fully automated coiling and handling operations
Advancing Electrification
The electrification of cars and aircraft is increasing demand for power-dense motors. These higher frequency motors are assembled from laminations stamped from thinner strip, which is more challenging to produce. As the electrification markets grow, the enhanced thin flat rolled product capabilities will become increasingly critical to overall system performance.
The electrification of vehicles and new consumer and medical devices are also increasing demand for high-performance clad metals. Products in advanced electronic systems, such as current sensors, battery contacts, and resistors, often have competing requirements for manufacturing, performance, strength, and reliability. Multiple layers of different alloy and metal strip are clad into a single product to meet these needs. Strip quality and consistency are critical to the high-volume production and final performance of these advanced clad metal products.
The productivity, quality and consistency of the new hot strip mill are matched to the demands of the power dense motor stack and precision clad markets. Carpenter Electrification’s customers will benefit in the manufacturing and performance of their electrification products.
