Aluminum Norf operates the largest aluminum smelting and rolling plant in the world. The company is a leader in the production of hot-rolled and cold-rolled aluminum strips, which are used to make cans, foils, offset printing plates and automotive parts, for example. Around 1.5 million tons of rolled aluminium leave the plant every year, which employs around 2,200 people. The main site was founded in 1965 and now covers an area of around 577,000 square meters - the equivalent of around 60 soccer pitches. This includes three large production areas: the smelting plant with the recycling center, the hot strip area and the cold strip area.

From aluminum ingot to coil

In the aluminum smelting plant, the material is first cast into ingots. From this, strips with a thickness of a few millimetres and a length of up to two kilometers are produced in the hot rolling area. In the cold rolling area, the strips are then rolled down again to a thickness of just 0.15 millimeters - as thin as a sheet of paper. In the final step, the aluminum strips are cut to various widths and wound onto spools - the coils. Around 150,000 coils leave the plant every year. A system known as the "coil manipulator input" was designed to handle them. At its heart is a crane that handles the freshly rolled aluminum coils directly in front of the high-bay warehouse. "The crane is a key point in production and places high demands on system availability," explains Thomas Bellinghausen from Aluminium Norf. "An unplanned breakdown blocks the upstream production steps after just a short time and is therefore critical."

Security gap had to be closed

It is therefore important that the system is always kept up to date with the latest technology. In 2021, the company therefore turned its attention to the ageing trailing cable system and brought Tsubaki Kabelschlepp on board - chains from the manufacturer from Wenden-Gerlingen are already in use in other areas. There were two main reasons for renewing the energy supply system: on the one hand, new cables had been added for data transmission, which had to be routed additionally. On the other hand, a safety gap also had to be closed - the driver of the old Festoon system ran at standing height and made it dangerous to stand on it during travel, for example for maintenance purposes. "The task was to design the carrier in such a way that the walkway or maintenance aisle remained clear while the system was moving," says Tobias Holschbach, Team Leader Application Engineering at Tusbaki Kabelschlepp. "Another requirement was to change the existing structure of the system as little as possible for static reasons."

The cable carrier experts designed a customer-specific substructure. This meant that the interfaces of the old suspension cable could be reused and the new energy chain was easy to install. Two MC0950 chains are used in a counter-rotating, gliding application. This means that the data and power cables are routed separately and any interference is prevented.

"The M series is part of our flexible Vario-Line," explains Tobias Holschbach. "It is a multivariable cable carrier with a wide range of stay variants." The robust cable drag chains are designed with sturdy link plates. Joint wear is low thanks to the cup-and-cover principle: the tensile and shear forces are transmitted via the large-area, encapsulated stop system - instead of the usual hole-bolt connection. Replaceable glide shoes ensure a long service life even under high loads; if they are worn, they can simply be replaced.

Complete service convinced the customer

The Tsubaki Kabelschlepp service team assembled and implemented the complete system with chains, substructure, cables, guide channel and driver connection during the Christmas plant shutdown. This ensured that the system was available again in time for the start of production in the new year. The customer benefited from the fact that the project was carried out completely from a single source - from the concept and design of the carrier arm to the installation of the chain and, last but not least, maintenance.

The energy supply system is now running successfully and smoothly in operation. In practice, another improvement over the conventional solution became apparent: the trailing cable system kept pulling the crane back shortly after it had come to a standstill, which had a negative impact on the positioning of the automatic system. With the new energy chain, this effect is a thing of the past - the result is a smoother operation of the entire system.

http://www.alunorf.de http://www.tsubaki-kabelschlepp.com