An innovative development of a four-high foil rolling mill

Abstract

During foil or ultrathin strip rolling, elastic deflection variation of the work rolls at the contact surface with the strip causes non-uniform thickness distribution of the product in the width direction, which possibly causes a central wrinkling or an edge fracture on the product. This study developed a four-high prototype rolling mill, comprising two work rolls fabricated from an ultrastrength alloy. This prototype rolling mill was composed of a housing frame set, a roll set, a roll gap adjusting mechanism, and a power transmission system. The finite element analysis was used for determining the frame dimensions and work roll diameters. Several experimental rolling passes of stainless steel strips were conducted using this self-developed prototype rolling mill to achieve a 0.05-mm-thick foil product.