Stacker electrical & automation upgrade at Nucor Steel Kankakee
Following the successful upgrade of the 700,000 tpy merchant bar mill and the cold cut area, Nucor Steel Kankakee is modernizing the stacker area.
Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, USA, the mill produces merchant bar and rebar, including rounds, flats, and angles. The goal of the upgrade is to replace the automation system and AC/DC drives, which will improve performance, troubleshooting, facilitate training and spare parts availability.
All equipment from the entry chains after the cutting area to the bundle discharge area are included within the electrical and automation upgrade scope. The existing stacker controllers will be replaced with more powerful ControlLogix CPUs that incorporate safety features. All the racks, power supply, and IO boards will be reused. The existing stacker HMI will be replaced with Wonderware and integrated with the recently upgraded mill and CCL HMI, bringing all functionality into one, common application and removing the necessity to develop interfaces. New main operator desks featuring Elo® touchscreens will be custom designed for this project.
New ABB DCS800 drives will replace the existing drives with the latest in digital control. The Rockwell PowerFlex 755 drive series will replace the existing AC drives. All drive units will be pre-built in cabinets and supplied with Ethernet IP boards connected to the new ControlLogix hardware.
The startup is scheduled for Autumn, 2020. This project counts as the 7th stacker and bundler upgrade that Russula has implemented within Nucor Steel. Plants in Utah, Texas, Arizona and Alabama have effectively modernized the stacker and bundle discharge area with the latest advances in drives and controller technology.
