Baosteel

Baosteel, a stated-owned company headquartered in Shanghai, China, is one of the largest steel companies in the world. It manufactures a wide range of steel products distributed to several different industries worldwide.

Highlights

Steel manufacturer
Mandrel mill
Installed at the exit of the mill
Lut 2.0 SPF demo program in 2020
Lut 2.0 DPS in operation since December 2021

Innovative technology

In 2019, Baosteel took advantage of the Lut demonstration platform and performed a complete, long-term, evaluation of the Lut 2.0. The wall thickness gauge was installed at the exit of the mandrel mill at Baosteel’s seamless pipe factory in Baoshan, China. The mandrel bar inside the tube at this location makes the use of a radiometric-based system impossible. Encouraged by the excellent reputation of Tecnar’s latest laser ultrasonic technology and with the aim of acquiring new manufacturing insights, Baosteel ran a project using the Lut 2.0 SPF in their Shanghai plant for a few months.

In 2020, based on the positive results of this demonstration, Baosteel adopted the laser ultrasonic technology and purchased a Lut 2.0 DPS after a competitive tender process. The installation was completed in December 2021. The Lut 2.0 DPS has since been routinely providing additional insight into the rolls settings of the mandrel mill.

Floating mandrel mill

takes advantage of the Lut 2.0’s compatibility with a mandrel

Earlier insights

provides information sooner in the manufacturing process

Highly accurate

wall thickness readings reveal relevant behavioural data from the tube mill

Immediate impact on productivity and quality

During the demonstration period, the Lut 2.0 SPF achieved an accuracy level of over 50µm and displayed a very high level of industrial availability. The data gathered by the Lut 2.0 during the trial period led to new observations about the behaviour of the tube mill. Mean wall thickness deviations and eccentricity were of particular interest and investigated in depth by the team at Baosteel. Using information from the Lut 2.0 advanced thickness profile analysis, Baosteel could identify the root cause of wall thickness variations, develop better ways to control thickness and achieve a higher quality final product.