Hot-rolling machine for wire-rod and the like

Abstract

A hot-rolling machine for wire rods includes a number of rolling units arranged one after another along a wire-rod feeding path to plastically deform a high-temperature wire rod moving along the path. Each rolling unit includes a rolling stand arranged on the wire-rod feeding path and two counter-rotating milling rollers are arranged one beside the other, parallel and tangent to one another to form a rolling groove through which the wire rod is forced to pass. A mechanical gear reduction unit is arranged beside the rolling stand to drive simultaneously the two rolls about the respective longitudinal axes. The mechanical gear reduction unit forms, with one rolling stand, a single sectional elementary module structured for being aligned with similar sectional elementary modules, along the wire-rod feeding path and for being mechanically coupled to an immediately adjacent sectional elementary module to form a catenary of rolling units reciprocally connected to transmit torque in cascade from one another.

1 . Hot-rolling machine for wire rods and the like which comprises a number of rolling units that are arranged in cascade one after the other along the wire-rod feeding path, so that each rolling unit can plastically deform the high-temperature wire rod that moves along said path; each rolling unit being provided
 with a rolling stand which is located on the wire-rod feeding path and is provided with two counter-rotating and opposite milling rollers which are arranged one beside the other, locally substantially parallel and substantially tangent to one another, so as to form/define a rolling groove or throttling through which the wire-rod to be hot rolled is forced to pass; and   with a mechanical gear reduction unit which is arranged beside the rolling stand, and is structured so as to drive into rotation simultaneously two rollers about respective longitudinal axes;   
       the hot-rolling machine for wire rods and the like being characterised in that the mechanical gear reduction unit of each rolling unit is structured so as to form, with the corresponding rolling stand, a single sectional elementary module which is structured to be aligned to the other similar sectional elementary modules, along the wire-rod feeding path, and to be mechanically coupled to the immediately adjacent sectional elementary modules, so as to compose/form a chain line of rolling units which are reciprocally connected so as to transmit torque in cascade from one another. 
     
     
         2 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 1 , characterised by also comprising at least one shared driving unit which is structured so as to be mechanically connected to the mechanical gear reduction unit of only one of the sectional elementary modules which form the catenary of rolling units. 
     
     
         3 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 1 , characterised in that each rolling unit comprises a lower supporting platform which is structured so as to be rigidly and stably anchored to the ground, and in that the rolling stand and the mechanical gear reduction unit of the rolling unit are arranged on said lower supporting platform one beside the other. 
     
     
         4 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 1 , characterised in that each rolling unit is structured so to arrange its own mechanical gear reduction unit adjacent to the mechanical gear reduction unit of the other rolling unit/s present along the wire-rod feeding path, and in that the mechanical gear reduction unit is structured so to be mechanically connectable directly to the mechanical gear reduction unit/s of the immediately adjacent rolling units, so as to form a cascade of mechanical gear reduction units having a disassemblable structure which extends parallel to the wire-rods feeding path, and is capable of autonomously transmitting torque from a mechanical gear reduction unit to another. 
     
     
         5 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 4 , characterised in that the mechanical gear reduction unit of each rolling unit comprises an outer casing, and a first and a second drive shaft which extend within the outer casing parallel to a same reference axis locally substantially perpendicular to the lying plane of the longitudinal axes of the two rolling rollers of the rolling stand, and which face outside the outer casing on opposite sides of the rolling stand in the feeding direction of the wire-rod; within the outer casing, the mechanical gear reduction unit further comprising a gear-set structured so to connect said first drive shaft to the rollers of the rolling stand and to said second drive shaft, so as to transmit torque to both components. 
     
     
         6 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 5 , characterised in that said first and said second drive shaft are arranged coaxial to said reference axis, one after the other. 
     
     
         7 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 5 , characterised in that the distal ends of said first and said second drive shaft protrude from two opposite side walls of said outer casing. 
     
     
         8 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 5 , characterised in that the distal end of said first drive shaft is structured so as to be mechanically connectable to the drive shaft of said shared driving unit or, as an alternative, to the distal end of the second drive shaft of the immediately preceding rolling unit; and in that the distal end of said second drive shaft is shaped so to be mechanically connectable to the distal end of the first drive shaft of the immediately following roller rolling unit. 
     
     
         9 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the rolling stand of each rolling unit also comprises a device for adjusting the distance between the rollers, which is structured so as to be able to selectively reciprocally approach or move away the two rollers, for adjusting the distance between the longitudinal axes of the two rollers. 
     
     
         10 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the two milling rollers of each rolling stand are fixed in axially rotating manner on a rigid bearing frame that is structured fro preventing the rollers from moving away one another when the wire rod to be rolled passes through the rolling groove or throttling; said rigid bearing frame being provided with two parallel and reciprocally-faced side walls and the two rollers being arranged astride the two side walls of the bearing frame one beside the other. 
     
     
         11 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 10 , characterised in that the rigid bearing frame is substantially U-shaped and is rigidly fixed onto the lower supporting platform so that the two side walls protrude upwards, in a substantially vertical direction; whereas the mechanical gear reduction unit of rolling unit is fixed on the lower supporting platform beside the rolling stand, directly facing one of the two side walls of the rigid bearing frame. 
     
     
         12 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 10 , characterised in that the mechanical gear reduction unit is coupled to said side wall of the rigid bearing frame in a rigid and stable though disassemblable manner. 
     
     
         13 . Hot-rolling machine according to  claim 12 , characterised in that the lower supporting platform is structured so as to allow the rolling stand to horizontally translate from and to the corresponding mechanical gear reduction unit, in a direction locally perpendicular to the two side walls of the rigid bearing frame, so as to selectively uncouple the rolling stand from the corresponding mechanical gear reduction unit.