Tension Leveling Line

Controlling Strip Tension and Flatness Through High-Accuracy Length and Speed Measurements

With customers tightening their specifications and demanding improvements in the quality of flat-rolled products, aluminum manufacturers have been looking at high-performance, high-accuracy length and speed gauging as a way to meet these requirements.

There is No Substitute for Non-Contact Laser Gauging
It is well documented that mechanical contact encoders do a poor job of measuring the actual length and speed on tension leveling lines. The heart of the problem is that mechanical encoders do not measure the product length and speed directly; they perform these measurements indirectly by using a tachometer connected to a roller or wheel in contact with the product. These mechanical systems are subject to slippage and calibration changes caused by variations in the diameter of the roll or wheel due to dirt build-up or wear. In addition, it is extremely difficult to obtain accurate measurements in demanding manufacturing environments with mechanical contact devices.

Manufacturers using the LaserSpeed® Pro non-contact gauge have significantly improved the tension leveling process by directly measuring the length and speed of the aluminum strip at the entry and exit points of the bridle rolls. Measuring the differential speed between these two points with better than +/-0.03% accuracy and +/-0.02% repeatability enables manufactures to precisely control strip tension, stretch, shape and elongation.

The LaserSpeed Pro gauge is well established and has been in service for over 25 years at over 8,000 locations around the globe.

Check out our gauging solutions below.