Nucor Steel – Utah upgrades finishing end of bar mill #1

The main objective of the upgrade was to replace the obsolete automation and AC/DC drive equipment with a new modern first line control and HMI system. The new automation system improved operational performance, troubleshooting failures, spare parts availability as well as facilitate training.

The scope of this upgrade included all the equipment from the aligning rollers at the cooling bed to the removal rolls, including layer forming, straightening and cold shear cutting, layer forming, bundle forming, tying stations and bundle exit. The existing AC and DC drives were part of the Reliance Electric drive series, which had become antiquated and had limited replacement parts and support. All of the AC and DC drives were replaced with ABB ACS880 and ABB DCS880 drives respectively. The drives were supplied pre-installed in a new lineup up of cabinets to match the existing power distribution and to reuse the existing power cables whenever possible. The existing Automax automation system and Reliance RIO hardware were replaced with new hardware based on Allen Bradley ControlLogix and Point IO series and Factory Talk HMI.

Russula was also responsible for the installation advisement, commissioning and training. The electrical and automation equipment was assembled in the Russula workshop at the end of last year and underwent a factory acceptance test in January 2019. Technical specialists from Nucor Steel – Utah and Russula were present during the test to ensure that the new automation and drives functioned correctly and according to specification. Commissioning occurred in March, 2019. The switchover was implemented in a fast and sequenced manner in order to least disturb production.

The cooperation between Russula and the Nucor Steel – Utah mill began in 2014 with the upgrade of mill #2 stacker. This is the fourth consecutive revamp project that has occurred over that time.

Nucor Corporation is the largest steel producer in the United States, and is North America’s largest recycler. Nucor Steel – Utah is one of Nucor’s 13 bar mills strategically located across the United States, which produce a wide usage of bar product for the agricultural, automotive, construction, energy, furniture, machinery, metal building, railroad, recreational equipment, shipbuilding, heavy truck and trailer market segments. The capacity of Nucor’s bar mills is approximately 8,830,000 tons per year.