Novelis Inc. awarded SMS group with the supply of a high-performance two-stand cold rolling mill for its new aluminum production plant in Bay Minette, Alabama, USA. The new 2-stand tandem cold mill (TCM) will be a centerpiece of the new facility and serves the American aluminum market with highest quality of finished products of both, soft and hard alloys. Prior to shipment, the core components of the rolling mill equipment were fully pre-assembled in SMS group’s workshop in Germany to secure safe site assembly and commissioning.
Novelis and SMS group have enjoyed a long-standing, trusting collaboration. The new two-stand TCM is the third of its kind that SMS group has built for Novelis. Previous projects have already been successfully implemented in South America and Asia.
An important milestone in the contract execution was reached in the summer of 2024: the mill stand equipment was preassembled, piped and function-tested in the Hilchenbach workshop of SMS group. Successful testing of more than 30 hydraulic functions was demonstrated with the Novelis team. The thorough preassembly and functional testing pave the way for smooth installation and commissioning on site.
Two-stand mill with active chatter damping
The new tandem cold rolling is designed for rolling a wide product portfolio including can stock and automotive sheet. It is equipped with a highly efficient coolant system to keep the aluminum strip below critical temperatures despite very demanding rolling pass schedules and process speeds. This technology was further optimized over the years in close cooperation between Novelis and SMS. Supplemented with SMS group’s X-Pact® Active Chatter Damping (ACD), the mill will have a capacity of 600,000 t of finished aluminum goods per year.
Since multi-stand rolling mills are prone to vibrations at higher rolling speeds - also known as mill chatters - which lead to quality defects in the rolled product, SMS developed ACD. It reduces vibration amplitudes in the 3rd octave chatter frequency range and hence supports stable mill conditions at high rolling speeds. ACD is linked to the Genius CM® condition monitoring system which continuously monitors the mill status and transparently displays it to the operator.
Genius CM® plays a crucial role in monitoring and analyzing the condition of critical mill components. It helps to detect equipment failures before they occur, thus preventing unscheduled mill shutdown. The maintenance team receives measurement data, analysis results, and process information directly online in a software environment. This contributes to the continuous optimization of the production process and ensures consistently high product quality.
