The Pendulum Mill—A New Method of Rolling Metals

Abstract

The Pendulum process is a new incremental rolling method for producing thin metal strip from thick plate. This is done in a single step, bypassing a sequence of conventional and often unproductive operations, such as process coiling, storing, annealing or cleaning. Rolling is carried out generally without preheating. The forces in the reduction zone are largely controllable and comparatively hard alloys can be rolled without overloading the equipment. The ingoing material is forced by feed rolls into a gap formed by converging paths of the work rolls which are moved backwards and forwards. The work rolls are freely rotatable, each being supported by two rows of backing rollers. The rolls are rotated solely by frictional contact with the strip and must remain loaded during the whole cycle. Deformation takes place during both strokes of the cycle. The limitations of the method are discussed and some results reported.