Rotary Entry System for High-Speed Rebar Delivery to the Cooling Bed

Traditional multi-slit rolling introduces a wide range of limitations for rebar mills, such as slow rolling speeds, higher yield loss, increased maintenance requirements, and less accuracy—all negatively impacting long-term productivity and increasing operational expenditures. To address these limitations, Primetals Technologies designed the Rotary Entry System—a modern solution as the best way to brake and drop a bar onto the cooling bed without compromising speed.

The Rotary Entry System is designed for all rebar processing routes—from quenched & tempered to fine-grain rebar. The entire system is comprised of the Power Slitter, Divide Shear, and Bar Braking Pinch Rolls before ending with the Rotary Entry, where rebar is accurately dropped into each slot of the cooling bed.

Power Slitter

The accuracy of slitting is very important, as improperly slit areas could create a disconnect in the entire processing sequence. The Power Slitter is a driven set of large-diameter, continuously rotating knives that offer a much longer life span and quicker maintenance compared to traditional slitting solutions. It provides accurate slitting of the bar section for constant mass flow to the finishing blocks, maintaining synchronization at the divide shears.

Divide Shear

The previous Start/Stop Shear had limited cutting speeds. The upgraded Divide Shear solves this issue, measuring the length of the rebar with laser speed measurements to ensure accurate cut length and high-speed switching between processing lines with no speed limitation.

Bar Braking Pinch Rolls

The Bar Braking Pinch Rolls slow the rebar down to a virtual standstill to ensure proper alignment through the Rotary Entry and onto the cooling bed. Our dual opposing layout reduces braking deceleration rates to prevent rib deformation at higher temperatures.

Rotary Entry

The Rotary Entry System includes a pair of rotating drums for each strand with an adjustable drop-down guide in each quadrant of the drum, positioning the bar onto the cooling bed notch. Our drop-down guides are closer to the cooling bed than similar solutions in the market, reducing the dropping distance from the guide to the cooling bed, ensuring the bar doesn't "bounce" when dropped.

Benefits of the Rotary Entry System

• Ensures significantly higher operating speeds with high precision between strands
• Increased productivity for small-sized rebar (8-43 millimeters in diameter)
• 50 m/s design speed with a guaranteed speed of 45 m/s
• Single-strand rolling after slitting enhances product tolerance and quality
• Discharging one bar per notch from the rotary drum onto the cooling bed improves yield and eliminates jack-strawing (roping)