RUSSULA NEWSLETTER No. 11

RECENT PROJECTS
Gerdau places its confidence in Russula to revamp the
rolling mill and continuous caster in Cartersville, GA
The control system upgrade for the bar mill includes:
- New main control cabinet supply and installation,
disconnecting and rewiring local field signals
- Replace existing PLC with an ABB PM891 from the
AC800M family
- New Siemens Simotion shear positioning system
- Remote unit modification to communicate by
Profibus DP without disconnecting any signal
field units
- Integration of new control system within the
data acquisition IBA network
- Development of the full development and
implementation of the control system and HMI
according Russula quality standards and customer
requirements
Multi-phase startup for continuous caster
The continuous caster will undergo a multi-phase
revamp approach where one strand will be
commissioned this September and the remaining three
strands in December of this year.
The existing control and power equipment for the 4
strand continuous caster will be upgraded with Allen
Bradley automation systems. This project illustrates the
high flexibility Russula offers when faced with different
technological solutions and its total independence from
electrical equipment manufacturers.
To modernize the current AC drives and control
system, five PLCs type AB PLC5 (4 for the lines and 1
for the common controls) will be replaced with new AB
ControlLogix 1756 L7 processors. The existing Control
Technique drives will be replaced with new AB
PowerFlex 755 series.
The current GE iFix HMI system will be kept in place
and readapted to communicate with the new
processors.
MAIN DATA
NO. DESCRIPTION START-UP DATE
Project 1 DC drive upgrade for stands 1-12, shears 6 & 12, and cooling bed December 2014
Project 2 New rolling mill control system September 2015
Project 3 Control system and AC drive upgrade for continuous caster September 2015 (1 strand)
December 2015 (3 strands)
Russula Newsletter No. 11 April 2015 - Copyright © by RUSSULA S.A. 8