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2004
Conference Paper
Titel
TOPOCROM® - A superior method to texture work rolls
Abstract
The demanding requests of the automotive industry regarding sheet quality have pushed steelmakers to develop new ways for roll surface texturing. The required shaping behavior of the sheet on fast-running transfer presses and the necessary optical properties for exposed panels need a high roughness and high peak count at the same time. The TOPOCROM® texture, which compared to the current texturing technologies is a non-cavity method, allows achieving these conflicting properties reliably. At the same time good paint adhesion, lowest percentage of longer wave structure and absence of Moiré effects are assured. This closed-reactor process combines in one step the texturing and plating of the roll. Further features of the TOPOCROM® rolls are an excellent wear resistance, constant roughness with regard to sheet length, significantly increased roll life, absence of strip edges on the rolls (schedule-free rolling). TOPOCROM® textures result not only in improved sheet quality, also the cost per ton of steel is lower as the cost for texturing is in the same range as for EDT + Chrome plating, but the life of the roll texture and the rolls is significantly increased. This paper compares the properties of SBT-, EDT-, LT- and EBT- textures with the Topocrom®- texture. With concern to the future outlook it has to be mentioned that TOPOCROM® plants will be combined with a dechrome reactor. In this case a high percentage of rolls which do not present mechanical damages will by pass the grinding machines for further cost reduction.