Sandvik installs modern tube mill
Keywords Sandvik Steel, Steel industry, Milling, Heat exchanger, Tubing
Eighteen months after initial preparation of the site, AB Sandvik Steel has announced the start-up of a new mill (Plate 1). The mill includes the latest technology for the production of seamless, stainless steel, heat exchanger tubes and brings several innovative changes to equipment design.
Plate 1 Tube inspection at AB Sandvik Steel's new Tube Mill 98
Located at its main manufacturing plant in Sandviken, Sweden, the new mill represents an investment of SEK250 million ($30 million). It occupies approximately 11,000m2 and is over 300 metres long.
Commissioned in September 1998 and now in full production, Tube Mill '98 is a total facility and contains all operations from tube making to final finishing and despatch. Production methods have been developed to provide high quality tubes, increased productivity and an ability to manufacture special alloys,including duplex stainless steel, more easily. The mill has been installed as a fully automated flowline creating the possibility to offer production times down to three weeks.
The total process requires only eight operators for each shift.
