Title

PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS FOR POT EQUIPMENT

PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS FOR POT EQUIPMENT

Authorship

Pearcey, Owen

Pearcey, Owen

I am this author

DOI

10.5151/2594-5297-24151

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Abstract

Pot Equipment purchasing decisions are one of the most important business decisions a company makes. These are typically based on a cost and benefit analysis using known costs and assumed benefits. This is particularly true for experienced line operators when upgrading older equipment. This paper looks at the typical performance results obtained over an extended period and quantifies the benefits that the pot equipment and associated controls have provided to the business. Historically there has been a focus on transition control as the main method of gaining value from the pot equipment and coating mass control system. Downgraded product costs typically exceed the value of the coating metal shortfall on each occurrence where the coating class transition failed. However, with the increase in coating metal prices over the last 10 years, steady state coating performance again holds great potential for reducing operating costs. This trimming of the excess coating has to be done while providing a consistently high quality product that meets the target grade. The increasing use of automatic coating systems has made production cost savings harder to realise. With ample automatic and manual operating data for existing lines, we quantify the benefits of pot equipment design with an integrated control system. Based on the results, this paper examines the future developments that are required to make further gains in operational effectiveness and savings.

Pot Equipment purchasing decisions are one of the most important business decisions a company makes. These are typically based on a cost and benefit analysis using known costs and assumed benefits. This is particularly true for experienced line operators when upgrading older equipment. This paper looks at the typical performance results obtained over an extended period and quantifies the benefits that the pot equipment and associated controls have provided to the business. Historically there has been a focus on transition control as the main method of gaining value from the pot equipment and coating mass control system. Downgraded product costs typically exceed the value of the coating metal shortfall on each occurrence where the coating class transition failed. However, with the increase in coating metal prices over the last 10 years, steady state coating performance again holds great potential for reducing operating costs. This trimming of the excess coating has to be done while providing a consistently high quality product that meets the target grade. The increasing use of automatic coating systems has made production cost savings harder to realise. With ample automatic and manual operating data for existing lines, we quantify the benefits of pot equipment design with an integrated control system. Based on the results, this paper examines the future developments that are required to make further gains in operational effectiveness and savings.

Keywords

Achieva pot equipment; Coating mass control; Dynamic targeting; Strip stabilisation.

Achieva pot equipment; Coating mass control; Dynamic targeting; Strip stabilisation.