Project Requirements:
This project was very large with critical results required. The client wanted an inspection camera system installed at the exit of a hot mill to inspect the sheet for defects before proceeding to the winder. Through the automation any defects were flagged in the system for offline rework.
The camera system was housed in a custom designed pressurized enclosure. The camera enclosure was mounted on a track system to that the interior lighting, camera and lens film system can be worked on in a offline position.
Once the strip exited the hot mill it was covered in coolant. Before the strip enters the camera zone all the coolant had to be removed. A high pressure/low volume, plus a low pressure/high volume air blowoff system was designed.
In addition to the camera enclosure and blowoff system, the hydraulic piping system that operates the strip winder system had to be redesigned to make room for the camera enclosure.
Below the camera enclosure, a shutter door had to be designed to protect the camera enclosure window from damage. During the strip threading, the strip has the occasional tendency to jam and cobble in the area under the camera system. The camera encloser mounting frame, air blowoff system, and shutter door were designed extra heavy to survive damage from the strip.
All design work was done using Autodesk Inventor
