Process modelling to add life to steel industry

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 3, 2006

The mission of Metal Pass is to provide the best software products and consulting services by combining international strengths such as German engineering and US IT

The metals industry, and in particular the steel industry, is now an old, mature industry.

For decades the US steel industry has been "slow" in technological development.

The Government ignores the capital input in the steel industry, and the steel industry itself "cannot afford" to do the development.

Most new technologies are imported from Germany, Italy etc.

Companies with good research centres such as Bethlehem Steel and LTV have failed, whereas those, such as Nucor, without the research facilities run well.

In educational institutions fewer and fewer steel-related classes are being taught.

Steel rolling processes and metal forming, for example, have almost disappeared from engineering classes, even though this is still one of the primary majors in Germany, Russia, China, Japan and probably the UK and Sweden.

There is still a research laboratory on bar and section rolling in the Colorado School of Mines.

However, most current projects focus on microstructure development.

The US steel industry is old.

Like an old man it is starved of nutrition yet it is still striving to live.

However, there is now a dose of medicine that can allow it to grow some new muscle.

Computer application and automation, on the basis of process modelling, is just like the new muscle added to the old body.

One key stage to link the computer and the mechanical/electric equipment is process modelling.

Metal Pass aims to be the dose of medicine that will grow the new muscle for the old steel industry, with process modelling, particularly related to rolling mills, as its strength.

Metal Pass uses Microsoft.Net to develop sophisticated web-based engineering applications, with MS SQL Server as back end.

This tool set is currently the newest in the IT industry.

While Metal Pass provides services for web-based temperature prediction with finite differential method (FDM), and web-based roll pass design and mill power calculation, some of its competitors are still selling DOS-based roll pass programs.

The strategy at Metal Pass is to collect steel mill process models worldwide, especially from Germany, Japan, Canada, the USA, China etc, to continue development and to pack the achieved process models into computer programs with help of advanced software technology.

The company has widespread links in all the aforementioned countries.

The company's founder earned his PhD in metal forming in Germany, with a focus on steel rolling.

As the first step, Metal Pass has developed a long list of design and development software programs.

In the next phase, the company will work with key steel producers to integrate its rolling mill process models into their online computer systems (Level 2 automation system etc).

The mission of Metal Pass is to provide the best software products and consulting services by combining international strengths such as German engineering and US IT.