ABB has launched ABB Ability™ Smart Melt Shop, the first smart factory digital application of its kind for the metals industry designed to increase melt shop productivity, save energy and improve employee safety, with payback within six months.
Based on advanced digital algorithms, the new solution offers real-time ladle tracking, automated crane scheduling and a predictive thermal modelling engine. The tracking engine follows ladle movement via cranes and transfers cars in real-time, whilst radar and laser positioning technologies provide accurate visualization and reduce hardware footprint and maintenance needs compared to radio-frequency identification (RFID) solutions. The automated crane scheduling includes job forecasting, route planning and automatic acknowledgement of jobs.
“We’re proud to launch ABB Ability™ Smart Melt Shop – the first of its kind in the metals industry, enabling steelmakers to digitally connect all processes and moving equipment in the melt shop, achieving synchronized operations and removing bottlenecks in production capacity,” said Tarun Mathur, Global Product Manager, Metals Digital, ABB. “The digitalization of core processes will drive new levels of productivity, safety and sustainability outcomes for the metals sector.”
The solution will enable steelmakers to move towards autonomous operations by eliminating manual co-ordinations, with increased safety in hot zones due to lower footfall. ABB states that Steelmakers can expect ABB Ability™ Smart Melt Shop to help increase superheat compliance to enable “4-5 per cent higher casting speeds” to improve productivity and “reduce arcing by 5 degrees Celsius per heat in ladle furnaces” for increased energy and cost-efficiency”.
The thermal engine function uses ladle thermal history from the tracking engine and forecasted heat movement from scheduling engines to predict the thermal loss during ladle transfer and predicts the correct lift temperature at the ladle furnace. This results in better superheat compliance at the caster, eliminating caster slowdowns, hence increasing productivity.
ABB Ability™ Smart Melt Shop has already been installed by JSW Steel Ltd, India’s leading steel company, where it has been integrated into a wider expansion at Dolvi Works plant in Maharashtra state. It is expected to increase the company’s EBITDA profit by around $2million per annum through 4 per cent higher casting speeds, time savings of one working day per month and additional output equating to 24,000 tons a year.
This application uses all standard communications protocols, employs ABB’s multi-layered defence-in-depth approach to cyber security and is compatible with both ABB and third-party systems.
You can find more information about ABB and the ABB Ability™ Smart Melt Shop on its website.
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