Primetals Technologies has received the Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) for the installation and commissioning of TrimRob, the first foundry-rated robotic coil trimming and sampling system, at Hyundai Steel’s wire rod mill in Dangjin, Korea. The integration of TrimRob within Hyundai Steel’s Dangjin facility is a collaborative effort between Primetals Technologies, and Polytec. “Leveraging robots is critical to the steel industry,” says Ravindra Goyal, Head of Process for Primetals Technologies. “With TrimRob, Hyundai Steel is able to significantly reduce repetitive strain Injuries (RSI) while moving operators to higher value work.”
Traditional coil trimming and sampling require two to four operators per shift working with manual cutters to precisely trim the head and tail of every coil. With coils forming approximately every minute at temperatures upwards of over 1000°C, the work is fast-paced and dangerous. Accidents happen and maintaining finished product quality is challenging. Primetals Technologies’ TrimRob consists of a vision system and specialized trimming-end effector tool. The vision system is sophisticated enough to count rings, recognize tangles and overlaps, and use onboard logic to complete trimming and sampling tasks without human intervention.
The factory acceptance test at Hyundai Steel’s Dangjin facility confirmed TrimRob meets agreed-upon benchmarks for increasing cycle-time repeatability. The robot handles wire rod up to 20 mm in varying grades and strengths. Cutting is accurate within +1 ring for all wire sizes from 5.5 – 20 mm. Established in 1953, Hyundai Steel, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, is the country’s original steelmaking company. The company is a member of the Hyundai Motor Group and manufactures a wide variety of products to a wide range of industries such as automotive, construction, shipbuilding, and more.
