Team News Riveting
Rourkela, June 15
The enterprising endeavours of the employees of Mechanical Shop of SAIL, Rourkela Steel Plant(RSP) have helped the Department achieve a significant milestone of successful development of a critical spare part, the Mandrel Outward Bearing (MOB), for the Hot Strip Mill-2 (HSM2) Sheet Shearing Line Uncoiler Mandrel.
Notably, the MOB supports the input side of the coil, rotating over a roller support. The sub-assembly consists of a 600 mm diameter counter flange, a 260 mm diameter by 600 mm long shaft, two tapered roller bearings, an outer housing, a check nut, a spacer, and fastening bolts. Due to frequent detachment of the MOB from the mandrel, repeated shutdowns were necessary for maintenance, impacting overall production.
The Mechanical Shop and Design department together visualised and conceptualised the design of MOB. The detailed modifications were then discussed and finalized with the HSM- 2 team.
Developing of the MOB faced challenges, particularly the need for a 600 mm diameter by 850 mm long forged round, which was not available. However, a discarded 550 mm diameter universal spindle from the Plate Mill was brought and used. The Mechanical Shop executed a meticulous plan to sleeve a 600 mm ring over the 550 mm diameter flange by shrink fitting, ensuring the required specifications were met.
All the intricate machining operation of spares of MOB was properly planned, executed round the clock at Mechanical Shop keeping priority in mind. HSM-2 provided the required 2 nos tapered roller bearings, 2 seals. After machining of all the components, the final assembly was done in Fitting and Assembly area of Mechanical Shop.
After completion of assembly ,the MOB was handed over to user Department on 13th June 2024 in presence of Ravi Ranjan, CGM(Design & Shops), R K Muduli, CGM (HSM-2), Shekhar Narayan, GM In-charge (Design & Shop(Mechanical & Foundry), Senior Officers of Shops, Design and HSM-2. The efforts taken by Design & Mechanical Shop in development of MOB in the shortest possible time with available resources was well appreciated by both the CGM’S present at the time of dispatch.
It is worth mentioning that procurement cost of a new MOB would have been around Rs. 50 lakh, whereas the in-house development cost was about Rs. 1.5 lakh on account of the bearing and seal cost. The enterprising job has not only brought about a substantial savings for the company but has also enhanced equipment availability and enhanced the morale and confidence of the employees of both Mechanical Shop as well as Hot Strip Mill-2.
