ROLLING OF T-SHAPED PROFILED STRIP BY THE SATELLITE MILL

A new type of compact mill called a ''satellite mill'' is used for pro ducing T-shaped profiled strip from flat strip. The mill comprises one large-diameter flat roll (central roll) and five smaller-diameter cal iber rolls (satellite rolls) arranged along the periphery of the centr al roll. The flat strip is continuously passed through the five gaps b etween the central roll and the satellite rolls and formed into a T sh ape. All rolls are driven at an equal peripheral speed to restrain elo ngation of strip and to promote transversal metal flow. A guide shoe i s provided between each two adjacent satellite roils to prevent the st rip from bulging out or buckling. Using aluminum as a model material, some rolling experiments were performed on the mill. T-shaped profiled strips with a thickness ratio (thickness of thick part per thickness of thin part) as high as three were rolled successfully. When deformat ion and force characteristics were investigated, it was found that, in comparison to a conventional multipass caliber rolling, the elongatio n of the strip is suppressed and the filling ability is much improved.