October Meeting Minutes
/Meeting minutes of the October 28th, – 30th 2019 meeting in Knoxville, TN
The members of the guild arrived on Monday October 28, 2019 for breakfast at 7:00am.
Mark Kropf reviewed the details of the week’s schedule along with the voting guidelines. Mark then covered the status of the Maintenance Guild and ask what the future should look like. With our industry running lean in the skilled labor sector, the ability for attendees to get to multiple meetings has become very difficult. After a detailed discussion the group decided to go to a once a year format holding our meeting in the fall. With doing this our board member obligations will change as well. The group decided to have a president and one vice-president and the permanent Secretary/Treasurer. This would make Bill Hosmer our new president for one more year and Jonathan Putman the Vice-president. Jonathan informed the group that he has accepted a new position in the production at his mill and has been encouraged to participate in production type organizations. Nate Hotson from ArcelorMittal Dofasco volunteered to fill this void as our vice-president and is working on his approval from plant management.
The following companies were represented; Electralloy, CMC Alabama, CMC Texas, CMC Tennessee, Charter Steel Cleveland, Charter Steel Saukville, North American Höganäs, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, WINOA, Electralloy, Timken Steel, Valbruna ASW & IPSCO Koppel Steel.
Jon started the round table session at 8:15 with questions from the floor.
What materials are other shops using on the 4th hole elbows? Ameri-bronze was one item discussed another item discussed was the Inconel over-laid tube but has not had the time to determine if it will be an option. Repair of the different materials was then discussed as a possible limiting factor.
Does anyone have any experience with the spray coatings in the duct work or alternative materials? The group discussed some of the different coatings used some had success some did not. They discussed the Inconel overlay and it defiantly works well but the cost makes it cost prohibitive. They discussed the Ameri-bronze material and the place that it worked and at others that it didn’t.
Caster run out Heat shields are failing rapidly they are flat plat baffled design and fill up with calcium and heat check
Crane control cabinet temperatures was discussed, and they group discussed AC units to control over-temp.
We have men under the furnace to open plugged tap hole, does anyone have information on mechanical tap hole opener equipment to keep men from under the furnace. One mill has a BSE Designed unit but is a high maintenance equipment.
Conveyor belt system operation issues when we go from summer to winter operations. The group discussed some of the issues with wet lime and coal on conveyors. Heaters cleaners and different methods were discussed.
Does anyone have issues with Type”K” thermocouples failing after 30 days in a flame-less reheat furnace? Possibilities discussed were lack of oxygen in the thermal well. Ceramic tubes were another option
Does anyone have a cutter on there wire feeders at is automated and does not require a man go out and use a wire cutter.
We have had a lot of dirt in the eye lately and have used the foam sealed type glasses which has a different problem from Fogging to dirt build up in the seal area. Most shops use the foam sealed glasses.
Ejectors for degas what systems are others using. We want to get away from Steam and go to Mechanical. Different systems were discussed and the cost of the equipment and install.
What systems are other shops using to record work used and completed. Maximo was one system used with the worker doing the entry. Carl was another system discussed. It was agreed that data entry is the most important and how to make sure it is entered accurately. Along with monitoring systems that captures the information ahead of the failure repair is completed and entered. Tablets for the floor personnel to use in data entry and interfacing with Oracle.
What clams are other shops using on lance pipes? Beta was one discussed. Want a quick disconnect and currently making our own.
Anyone using Flow metering on sidewall panel water flow. One company used mag flow meters but they are hard to keep operational. Conversation moved to wireless RTD’s from Emmerson with the cost of batteries vs the maintenance cost of wired type systems.
Who is using Spray-cooled equipment? Some shops used this on the roofs with different issues but generally they have been positive.
Does anyone use the “u-e” ultrasonic leak testing systems? One shop talked about using the technologies as well as “ultra probe” and Fuchs system were discussed.
What are other shops doing with Magnet maintenance. Is it a process change with training or a change out program? The discussion focused on rotation to prevent failures along with a current measurement test to change out magnets prior to failure. Magnet cords were also discussed.
Is anyone using grapples instead of magnets? One company trialed but it couldn’t keep up. The other issue is the grapples will pick non magnetic that would make it into the scrap stream causing issues at the furnace.
Took a break at 9:45
We started back at 10:00
We recently switch to from Big Bill to Carhartt FR clothing and we are having many complaints about the Carhartt clothing allowing for more frequent burns. What clothing brands do other mills use and has anyone had a similar experience? Big Bill is used for cold weather. Bull werk and quantum were two others used. One shop moved to allow mechanical maintenance to wear cotton clothing and only electrical to wear FR.
What type and level of filtration do mills use for the caster spray water system? Sand filter prior to the cooling tower and cone strainer after the cooling tower. 150 mesh was a plug issue for one mill and they went tot 100 mess and still have issues but not as many.
The group then discussed temperatures on the inlet water.
What is other shop using to get lime into the furnace? Pneumatic systems was the most popular but some did do bulk additions. Using a blower in place of compressed air which improved the plugging issues, bin heaters to minimize condensation.
Does anyone have service elevators in there shops? Some did and they all have regular maintenance to keep them operational. Other shops use man lifts cranes.
What are other shops doing to recruit skilled labor into the mills. All the mills present are experiencing similar issues. The group talked about programs focused on the high school level student to grow interest in skilled crafts. Other problems are the higher pay companies pulling all the existing labor out of the area.
What Tap hole sander units are other companies using? Longo units were discussed and the issues of Plugging and cylinder reliability were part of the issues. But most shops agree that currently they are a necessary evil. Camera focus issues are also a problem with the amount of time it takes.
What are other shops doing to improve delta refractory life? One idea was presented about putting multiple 2” holes in the deltas allowing spray water to fill the holes after they slag over and they seen almost double the life improvement. Another shop increased the electrode spray rings from 4 gpm to 7 gpm that helped the delta life. The group discussed different ideas from thicker deltas, water-less deltas, spray rings and others.
Anyone wireless transmitters for vibration sensors? The group discussed different systems out there along with “I alert” data recorders that stores the data that can be downloaded by Bluetooth for analysis.
Does anyone monitor smoking in the cabs and pulpits? Most shops have moved to no smoking policy which is hard to monitor.
How do other companies handle the lack of skilled labor on site during operations if they have call offs? Some companies have lists of contractors that provide that service. Some shops are counting on apprentices to fill gaps but it not the best solution.
The discussion moved to arc flash protection and hot panel work with how to make sure they are safe.
Who is using the clamp style lead with barrel connectors? One shop has ordered them but has not installed yet. They discussed if they will modify the arm and delta closure or use the adapter. Another shop has been using them with a positive experience.
Does any check bolt torque after a lead change? Some do, but most have issues on getting to the vault wall during operation.
What are other shops using to clean the breast, Grant was one discussed, EXO, moe tank, fork trucks, bobcats were other units mentioned and a shell mounted door cleaner unit was discussed. Uni-gate door unit was discussed as well
What are other shops doing to get PM’s completed during operation and how do you determine if it can be done during operations. Most of those determinations are made based on time required to complete the PM in an operational area.
Is anyone using auto tap systems? There are shops (not present) that do this but there is a lot of conversation on what technologies that needs to be in place to be repeatable and reliable.
Does anyone know of a measurement system sensing vibration or location for low frequency vibration on a bronze bushing? There is some technologies out there but most is expensive and not proven.
What are other shops doing to improve the clean time for the ejector systems? Most shops run on a scheduled cleaning.
What are other shops doing for gear box repair or replacements do to damage from plugging. Most have spare gear boxes and some had both gearing and gear boxes.
What do other shops do in the event of a transfer car failure? Some have cable pull mounts so a crane can pull the cars out, some have brackets for front end loaders to push or pull.
Broke for Lunch at 12:00
We started back at 1:00
What suppliers to mills use to rebuild hydraulic oscillator cylinders (with on-board electronics)? Does anyone have a north American supplier for rebuilds? OHT was one that was mentioned but it is not a north American supplier. Long lead times is a problem.
We are having reliability issues with our proportional valves on the caster. What is the predominant brand of proportional valves at most mills and have others experienced issues with Vickers valves? Applied Technologies was mention but other shop seemed to use Vickers with no issues, Bosch Rexroth was another with no issues. Most of the comments dealt with oil issues more so than the valves. One comment was it’s better to replace than to rebuild, because they never seem to come back as new and is never cost effective.
What is the frequency at which other mills rebuild straighteners on their caster? One company does rebuilds every 6 months. Another mill runs every 2 years.
Do any mills perform periodic chemical flushing of their cooling water systems? No one does. But there are some that would do arms, columns and shells but always offline. Most use CLR or citric acid.
Does anyone know any company that can do a grounding study on a furnace? AMI does something like that as part of the regulation service. There was mention of one other, but they were not sure if it was ABB or something similar to them.
What are shops with door burners have any issues and what spares do you keep? A spare burner but the door was not any problem.
Does anyone have arcing issues with the LMF electrode shoes? We started having arc issues after we installed spray rings. Most shop do regular cleaning things to check are clamp pressures and electrode diameter. Another item would be to use an air purge the water out of the contact area during heat change outs.
What are other shops doing to minimize emissions from tap lime and synthetic slag additions. Most do bulk additions with addition system of super sacks.
How do other shop determine spares to keep on stock? Lead time is the main driver along with times needed to change out the part.
Automatic grease systems, who is using them and what do you get with this service? Some shop use the trabon type systems and other actually contracted it out
What are other shops doing to control concrete in the scrap yard? We replace a lot of concrete damaged from scrap handling. Some shops use polymers but most drop on dirt and not concrete but most agree it a continuous repair.
Ladle ring repair? Do shops do it in house or contract it out. It was done both ways, some shops do it in house and others contract it out. Also trunnion UT inspection are done on a yearly basis.
What do the northern shop do for winter protection. Heat trace, space heaters, insulation, and conveyors run continuously during cold months, infrared heaters used in hydraulic rooms tarps on cooling towers and similar types of protections are put into place.
How much time do other shop spend unplugging burners? One system has an alarm system that predicts plugging based on back pressure readings.
Electrode slipping, anyone using a soft lift type electrode hooks? One company uses the soft lift and is now moving to a auto connect system. Most of the issues are operator errors.
What burner angles do shop use and how often do you verify the angles are as required.? Most shops check during shell change outs but not during operational campaigns.
Cooling bed alignment issues. What are shops doing to keep cooling bed in align after its adjusted at shutdown and then changes after it heats up? The group discussed different techniques from hydraulic adjustments to shimming.
Took a break at 2:45
We started back at 3:00
Crane breaks reliability Air over Hydraulic design. How do you keep them tamper proof after adjustments are made? Super nut was one solution a shop used. One shop switched to magnetech brakes and now do not have any more issues.
What are other shops doing to monitor slew bearing life and wear. Grease test twice a year, measurements on wear, bolt torque.
What groups are out there that can handle melt shop repair work, Superior, 3D, Pierce Machine National Mill Maintenance
Who can do cooling tower and pump-house work? AECom, Berg cooling water system, Dan Allied,
Charge crane what types AC was most popular but there was a few DC out there.
The round table finished at 3:45 pm.
This meeting the members will be on their own for dinner and return to the hotel for the Hospitality room activities from 7 till 11 provided by the supplier sponsors.
The group started off Tuesday with breakfast from 7:00 to 8:00. Jon opened the Technical session with updates for the day and reminded everyone that was in attendance to provide their business cards for the attendee list. This will be emailed to the attendees later in the week.
Jonathon made the introduction for our first presentation at 8:05.
TIM FITZGERALD OF APO PUMPS & COMPRESSORS. LLC PRESENTING A PAPER TITLED, "INNOVATIONS IN LIQUID – SOLID SEPARATION & WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY”
Tim finished the presentation at 8:25 and took questions from the floor.
After a short break Jonathon introduced our second paper at 8:40.
J.C. RAIES OF DOVER HYDRAULICS PRESENTING A PAPER TITLED, "OSCILLATION CYLINDER MAINTENANCE”
J.C. finished the presentation at 9:20 and took questions from the floor.
After a short break Jonathon introduced our third paper at 9:35
RUSS BAUER OF KALENBORN ABRESIST PRESENTING A PAPER TITLED "ABRASION RESISTANT MATERIALS IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY"
Russ finished the presentation at 10:10 and took questions from the floor.
JON made the introduction for our fourth presentation at 11:00
JEFF BLANKENSHIP OF MRSI PRESENTING A PAPER TITLED, "BEARING SOLUTIONS & PROBLEM-SOLVING ALTERNATIVES FOR STEEL MILLS”
Jeff finished the presentation at 11:30 and took questions from the floor.
12:00 Members went to lunch
1:00 Members boarded bus and departed at 1:15 for the tour of the CMC Knoxville Steel plant
4:30 RETURN TO THE HOTEL
At 6:00 the members gathered in the Ballroom for a hospitality mixer.
At 7:00 dinner was served.
At 8:00 we were able to hear our guest speaker ;
BRIAN LYTTLE, PROJECT ENGINEER at CMC STEEL KNOXVILLE.
From 9:00 - 11:00 the group finished with a mixer to discuss the day’s events and information.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30, 2019
THERE WAS NO GOLF OUTING AND MEMBERS ARE ON THERE OUR FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK