Redex USA has announced the Unflatness Measurement System PRO, a strip flatness setup that pairs a high-tension roll with a low-tension roll to reach up to 99.5 percent measurement accuracy. The company says the combination delivers "reliable, consistent flatness control" for rolled metal products.
Strip first passes the UMS-i roll in the S-Block zone, where tension is high. Accuracy there is about 98 percent. At the line exit, the UMS-LT roll measures flatness under low tension, and accuracy climbs to as much as 99.5 percent. A single REDEX controller runs both rolls and enables measurement and correction right after the leveler. The system switches dynamically between the high- and low-tension rolls, and targets and regulation switch with them.
For process engineers on strip leveling lines, the figure to watch is 75 meters. Because the system begins regulating before strip enters the high-tension zone, Redex says it eliminates up to 75 meters of unregulated material. The company's product page says that is the length other comparable flatness regulation systems leave uncontrolled, since strip passes the S-Block without fully automatic closed-loop leveling.
The software side includes adaptive target regulation and a Waterfall diagram. The diagram displays flatness across the entire coil length and compares the measurement systems. According to the product page, it runs in LabView on Windows 10.
The UMS-i and UMS-LT rolls are also sold separately, so a line can fit one without the other. For lines that use a tension leveling section with pure stretch, the product page describes a different arrangement. An in-line laser measurement feeds a closed loop through an inflatable roll, which Redex says can guarantee a crossbow-free finished strip.
