Salzgitter is investing just over €2 million ($2.3m) in a new waterjet cutting system at its plate mil in Ilsenburg, the German steelmaker tells Kallanish.
The investment is intended to contribute to the company’s expanding future segment of defence. The plate mill will deploy this technology to meet the high demands of its customers in the field of safety steels in particular, Salzgitter notes.
The new water jet cutting system is being integrated in the ongoing expansion of the cutting area of the plant. The system is relevant for the production of sensitive steel grades, where thermal distortion can occur at the cutting edges during flame cutting in oxyfuel or plasma cutting processes. In the cold cutting process, the cutting jet consisting of water, garnet sand and air ensures lower material losses for high-strength grades in a wide range of thicknesses, Salzgitter explains.
Supplied by H.G. Ridder Automatisierungs, the facility will feature a cutting table around 18 metres long as well as a maximum cutting width of over 5m. In contrast to conventional flame cutting with natural gas, the waterjet cutting system is operated with electricity using renewable energies. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of the second quarter.
