The speed at which the strip moves through the mill from one station to the next-breakdown, forming, welding, sizing, and straightening-sets the pace for everything else.The mill's reference speed is the maximum speed at which it makes a properly formed tube with a robust, durable weld. "The limitations often are in the entry and exit areas," said Nelson Abbey, director of Abbey Products at Fives Bronx Inc. Efficient mill operations can be hampered by material handling and coil joining at the entry end; cutting the product to length and getting tubulars off the mill likewise tend to impose limits at the exit end.
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