The Long Road to Perfection

Billet/bar stocking area Hot saws Pulpit Pulpit Pulpit Pulpit Hot metal detectors Mill Central Control Finishing mill Intermediate mill Roughing mill Reheating furnace Bloom stacking bay Bloom stacking bay Off to the Inspection Department for testing and quality controls Off to the Inspection Department for testing and quality controls Billet straightener Cooling pits for cooling steel very carefully Cooling pits for cooling steel very carefully Cooling pits for cooling steel very carefully Cooling pits for cooling steel very carefully Alloy steels go to the cooling pits Cooling beds for cooling steel quickly Cooling beds for cooling steel quickly Carbon steels go to the air cooling beds Transfer beds and billet identification Hot saws Bloom grinders

The Timetable for Perfection

10:00 Blooms arrive at bloom grinders. Remove surface defects.
16:00 Blooms arrive at furnace for reheating.
16:55 Hot blooms leave furnace and head towards the mills.
17:00 Blooms start to pass through the mills.
17:45 Blooms leave finishing mill and are cut up into billets by the Hot Saws.
17:50 Billets are transferred to air cooling beds for rapid cooling.
18:40 Billets ready for delivery to Inspection department.

- - - - Red dotted line shows route of steel around the steelworks


Text only version



Can you work out the route the steel travels around the mill?
Can you work out the route the steel travels around the mill?

Look at the clocks to see how long it takes to roll 100 tons of steel.
Look at the clocks to see how long it takes to roll 100 tons of steel.

The blooms pass backwards and forwards through each mill.
The blooms pass backwards and forwards through each mill.

Any delay is a disaster. We'll blunt the saws trying to cut the bloom if it has cooled too much.
Any delay is a disaster. We'll blunt the saws trying to cut the bloom if it has cooled too much.

I wish they would brand my husband like they do those billets. I could keep track of him then!
I wish they would brand my husband like they do those billets. I could keep track of him then!

How many men do you think worked in the mill? Just 30!
How many men do you think worked in the mill?
Just 30!

This document with added images is available to download in the format below:

brymbo panel 12 - PDF Version 6.7Mb

To view and print PDF files, you must have Adobe® Acrobat® Reader installed: click the logo below to download the software.

Download the free Acrobat reader from the Adobe website

Adobe Acrobat documents can be converted back to plain text using Accessible Adobe® Reader.

Related links

back to the top