SMS group is supplying a high-throughput walking-beam furnace to Forjas Iraeta Heavy Industry S.L., in Spain’s Basque country, a producer of rolled rings up to 7 metric tons for wind-power installations.
The 30-metric tons/hour furnace will operate upstream of a breakdown mill for flanged parts. SMS describes the project objective as developing a furnace technology for optimal reheating of blooms from 200 to 500 mm square and round blooms from 300 to 700 mm in diameter, in lengths from 3 to 5 meters.
The order calls for advanced combustion technologies to handle the range of products and the customer’s requirements for fuel consumption, emissions, and furnace operation. SMS will be responsible for integrating the new furnace into the existing rolling equipment and automation system, and will modify the existing water-treatment plant to meet the new requirements of the new furnace.
SMS engineers devised the new furnace to fit into a confined space and reuse existing equipment as much as possible, to meet Iraeta’s budget requirements. The turnkey project was scheduled for a quick, 12-month turnaround, meaning a start-up for the new furnace will take place in August 2018.
Earlier, SMS took an order from Iraeta’s Chinese joint venture, Shandong Iraeta Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., for a radial-axial ring-rolling machine that, as described by SMS, will establish a new maximum dimension for seamless rings — 16 meters.
