In June 2021 voestalpine Stahl GmbH, the main divisional company in the Steel Division of the voestalpine Group, has issued the final acceptance certificate (FAC) for the new high-performance HP 6 P slab grinding facility at Linz works to BRAUN Maschinenfabrik, an Austrian company specialized in surface grinding facilities and cutting machines.

With the new slab grinding facility from BRAUN, voestalpine Stahl GmbH is able to provide the slab surface requirements needed for the downstream rolling processes (e.g., for multi-layer plates) by means of high-pressure grinding. With fully automated programs such as contour, chamfer, edge zone, plane or flaw grinding, particularly high-strength materials can be processed efficiently.  
Plane grinding is an absolutely unique feature of the plant and guarantees the flatness of the slabs required for the subsequent process.

The high-pressure grinding machine is designed for an annual throughput of 100,000 t for a wide variety of material qualities. The plant has a grinding power of 250 kW, whereby the grinding wheel is pressed against the slab with a force of 17,500 N during high-pressure grinding. Thus, removal depths of up to 3 mm can be achieved at a maximum feed rate of
60 m / min.

The dimensions and shape of the slabs to be processed represent a special challenge for the plant. The slabs can have a maximum weight of up to 55 t, a temperature of up to 400 ° C and a warpage of up to 300 mm over the total length of 13 m.        
The plant is equipped with a contactless slab measuring system, which captures all dimensions as well as the different contours and deformations of the individual slabs and enables fully automatic grinding.

The design of the grinding carriage with a special damping system and adjustment units allows even support of the slabs and thus a stable grinding process and an excellent grinding result. The revolutionary support system also allows several short slabs to be placed on the grinding carriage, which significantly reduces the system's idle times and thus the process costs.

Even during the commissioning and training phase, the high-pressure grinding machine proved to be extremely powerful and user-friendly.

Thanks to the intensive cooperation between BRAUN Maschinenfabrik GmbH and voestalpine Stahl GmbH, the project for the new high-performance slab grinding facility at the Linz plant was able to be implemented within the deadline and budget to ensure full customer satisfaction during the corona pandemic.