SERVICELIGHT LIFTINGINDUSTRIAL CRANESPROCESS CRANESPORT CRANES LIFT TRUCKS

Rayong PlantSIAM YAMATO, THAILAND

Rayong PlantSIAM YAMATO, THAILAND

BackgroundOne of the world’s most advanced steel recycling minimills goes into production in Thailand this year equipped with some of the global Konecra-nes group’s most sophisticated lifting technology for reliability, energy efficiency and safety.

Siam Yamato Steel Co Ltd’s new semi-continuous medium section mill at Rayong, uses the Kone-cranes technology to service equipment including electric arc furnace, a ladle furnace and a com-bination continuous caster supplied by Concast, which jointly planed the mill with SMS Meer.The mini-mill will initially produce beams, channels and angles used by industries such as building and construction, offshore production and civil engineering..

The technology built into the minimill is desi-gned to provide efficient and environmentally harmonious production and delivery reliability for customers in competitive markets demanding time and cost-efficiency. The minimill’s electric arc furnace is equipped with the latest generation of ConSo oxygen technique to reduce the electrical energy consumption and simultaneously increase productivity. The dedusting system for the whole steelworks is designed to meet high standards of air pollution control. The largest 220-ton and 80-ton Konecranes installed at the site employ the latest DYNAREG energy recycling technology which uses network regenerative units to feed clean energy back into the power supply.

The order for Konecranes latest technology follo-wed Siam Yamato’s long experience and high level of satisfaction at Rayong with the 200T cranes provided for the existing mill in 1994,

as well as the level of after-sales service provided by the local Konecranes maintenance team over the time since.

While the new larger cranes will share the same successful basic design, all 10 of the new Konecranes supplied to the mill employ the latest technology drawn from Konecranes’ decades of experience working in steel and hazardous metal industry environments where temperatures at the workface can exceed +65 deg C. All the new cranes feature built-in safety and failsafe redun-dancy mechanisms to help prevent worker injuries and materials handling accidents and to ensure the high standards of continuity of supply and avoidance of downtime.

“This mini steelworks is the most modern plant for the production of medium sections and encom-passes the latest equipment and technologies. The demands of the local environmental authori-ties are fully satisfied,” says Siam Yamato Steel’s Chief Engineer and Assistant Project Manager for the new mill; Mr Piya Chairat. “The mill has been built up to a standard, not down to a price. We never buy the cheapest – but we always seek

the best value, the right price and the right team. Konecranes’ technology is very good for safety, reliability and the environment, but what is important to us also is their local team behind the technology.”

Konecranes supplied a 220-tonne char-ging crane, a 220 ton ladle crane, an 80 ton casting crane, two 35 ton bloom handling cranes, a 25-ton machinery crane and four CXT service cranes. The larger cranes included:

1) Charging Crane: LV Trolley 220T Main hoist / 60T Auxiliary Hoist + 25T CXT7042 Monorail Hoist2) Ladle Handling Crane: LV Trolley 220T Main hoist / 60T Auxiliary Hoist + 10T CXT6041 Monorail Hoist3) Casting Crane: LV Trolley 80T Main Hoist / 30T Auxiliary HoistFeature: 2 unit redundant DYNAREG, Electrical room with redundant Air-con.

Rayong PlantSIAM YAMATO, THAILAND

For more information, please contact Mr Steve Gagnuss, General Manager, Konecranes Pte Ltd, No 73 Tech Park Cres-cent, Singapore 638071, steve.gagnuss@konecranes.com, 65 – 6861 2233, fax 65 – 6861 2903, www.konecranes.com

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All main machinery and certain critical functions within it have built-in operational redundancy to continue at least limited crane operation in emergencies and to help avoid dangerous situations. The power supply of these cranes incorpo-rated three DYNAREG units to provide full redundancy features for the crane power supply control system. Hoisting technolo-gy in the larger cranes includes two hois-ting motors mechanically coupled through the differential gears to provide redundan-cy features in the hoisting. Hoisting motor driving controls are also independently controlled with separate inverter units for redundancy.

Long and cross-travelling functions are governed by two sets of independently controlled driving units. All driving control units are housed in an electrical room on the crane equipped with two air conditio-ning units, providing further redundancy features for safety and reliability.

“Redundancy featuring is vital to safety and reliability in harsh environments, says Ng Yong Hwee, Konecranes Assistant Project Manager , Heavy Duty Cranes. “It means the mill operation will not be affec-ted if there is a single point of failure on the crane, because recovery is simply achieved through a switch in the control selections.

“We also believe that safe and comfor-table workers are efficient workers so we have focused on providing clean and thoughtful design with good working space and unhindered access for maintenance of crane components. Handrails, for example, are carefully designed to provide maximum protection to the operation staff. Careful consideration extends down to the design of the floodlights to allow easy maintenance in the hash steel mill environment. Because of the low visibility of the working environment, the crane is equipped with a positioning system to allow effective operation even in a situati-on of the lowest visibility for the operator.

“The touch screen display (DYNAMonitor) in the cabin provides the crane operator with the operational and health status of the crane and it greatly reduces the time required from maintenance staff as any faults will be displayed in this panel. Radio remote controls are provided for backup.

“Safety is a key issue for the charging, ladle and larger cranes so they are amply equipped with redundancy features together with load precise control using modern automation technology help guide the operator in precise placement and safe transport of the load along its path.

“Temperatures around these cranes often exceed +65°C because of the heat emitting from the furnace. The cranes themselves are shielded from the flames and are designed to operate in high ambient heat as well as the brief, intense heat of the charge itself.

“Because of a higher risk level with cranes such as the ladle cranes, special safety fea-tures are designed for cranes that transport molten metal. The main hoist mechanism in-cludes four independent rope reevings, double service brakes on primary shafts, and backup brake acting on the rope drum. Rope equalizer beams are provided with a dampening unit to slow down equalizer beam tilting in case of wire rope failure. An upper emergency stop limit switch is also used in the main hoist. In addition to this overload protection, the ‘emergency stop’ system bypassed from PLC, derailment supports, main hoist overspeed su-pervision, and end limit switches are automati-cally standard features of the equipment.

“Konecranes’ goal is zero unplanned downtime of these critical cranes, and we partner with our customers to develop maintenance-friendly features.”

Bloom handling and smaller cranesSiam Yamato’s two bloom handling cranes include an LV Trolley 35 Ton main hoist and 10 Ton CXT5041 monorail hoist. Like the larger cranes, and the 25-tonne maintenance crane, they are equipped with comfortable air con-ditioned FH240 cabins, touch screen control panels (DYNAMonitor System) and are PLC controlled.

Fitted with magnets, they feature 30-minute full load holding backup power supply in the event of power failure. The braking system allows manual lowering of load in an emergency.

The 25 Ton Maintenance Crane (25T SM0708 Main Hoist / 5T CXT5022 Auxiliary Hoist) features an anti sway control system and radio remote control as backup.

The Siam Yamato mill also incorporates four CXT hoists, three of which are 16 Ton CXT6041 types and one 5 Ton CXT5021. CXT cranes have excellent hook approaches at both ends of the crane and the headroom requirement is minimal. CXT cranes are designed to eliminate unused or not fully used square meters because the crane can operate closer to the walls and lift the load higher.

Inverter controls deliver smooth starts, acce-leration and deceleration, which minimises load swing and enables fast and accurate load positioning. Konecranes Dynafamily inverter controls and pole changing controls are standard options for crane and trolley travelling on CXT cranes. Smooth starts and stops also reduce wear and mechanical stresses on crane and building structures. Two-speed hoisting is standard on CXT cranes.

Rayong plantSiam Yamato Chief Engineer Piya Chairat says the outstanding production and lifting technology is complemented at Rayong by excellent technical backup to ensure continu-ity of production and supply.

“Konecranes have been on site for 15 or 16 years here at the existing mill and they are very, very responsive when we need assistance. This is important when you are dealing with safety and reliability – and when you are sending orders out to competitive markets in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.

“Konecranes have a good office in Thailand where we can contact them to get support quickly and this is important when doing business in this country. And their peop-le are outstanding - some of them have become part of our family on site. When one of their outstanding representatives retired recently after 15 years, we told them they were going to have to have to make another one just like him to replace him.

“We are very comfortable with the people they send us – and you have to feel comfor-table with the people you are working with. This is very important. Konecranes aims for excellence in applying global resources to local needs, which is what suits us. We like to know that when we have a technical problem, we can get support quickly from people we know and who know us and our plant. The people are the key to an enduring relationship.”

Media Release – Konecranes – July 2009