Aluminium Taper Rollers Repair
A batch of twenty four conveyor rollers which provide a hot strip delivery system in an aluminium strip mill has been treated by metal spraying after showing severe signs of wear. The rollers are designed with a double taper so that as the aluminium strips cool, they run progressively towards a central point. The taper can be seen in the photograph. In addition to wear on the roller surface itself; the carrying spindles were also severely worn.
A deposit of S2 was applied to the rollers, followed by some skillful finishing. The taper towards the centre section meant that the tailstock of the lathe had to be offset, the rollers being steadied on the parallel centre section to facilitate the skilled lathe work.
With an overall length of 3m (10ft) working faces of 2.44m (8ft) a diameter decreasing from 315mm (12½”) to 292mm (11½”) and a weight of 508kg (10 cwt) each, the twenty-four rollers together represented a considerable capital item to the aluminium mill concerned.
