ABB will supply integrated automation, process control and digital technologies for two cold rolling mills operated by Southwest Aluminum (Group) Co., Ltd. in Chongqing, China, as part of the aluminum producer's expansion and modernization of its wide-strip production capabilities. The mills are expected to be fully commissioned and operational by the end of 2027.

The company, which produces high-performance aluminum products, is investing in two mills that will use ABB's automation systems and digital technologies.

The projects involve a 2,500 mm two-stand six-high cold rolling mill and a 3,000 mm single-stand six-high cold rolling mill. ABB's technology package includes its Ability System 800xA distributed control system, drives, flatness control, sensing and measurement technologies.

Both mills will use standardized automation architectures designed to improve compatibility between systems, establish consistent operating environments and simplify maintenance and spare-parts management.

ABB will also implement its Ability Smart Manufacturing Solution for Cold Rolling Mill on both production lines. The platform will integrate production, quality and equipment data to help operators evaluate mill performance, product quality and equipment condition.

ABB Ability History, an industrial time-series data management platform, will collect and store high-frequency process information for analysis. The data will be used to monitor rolling parameters such as thickness deviation and flatness, while ABB's Golden Coil analysis methodology will help identify and replicate operating practices associated with quality, productivity, yield and energy consumption.

The digital systems will also integrate condition monitoring, drive performance analysis and hydraulic diagnostics to help identify equipment faults earlier, support predictive maintenance and improve maintenance planning.

Standardized automation and digital analytics to support mill performance

“The two projects build on the experience ABB and Southwest Aluminum have developed together over many years,” said Frederik Esterhuizen, global business line manager, metals & power conversion, in ABB’s process industries division, in a November press release provided to Plant Services. “Cold rolling places demanding requirements on process stability, control accuracy and equipment availability. Applying a common automation architecture across the two mills, together with deeper analysis of process and equipment data, will give Southwest Aluminum a strong foundation for optimizing performance throughout the operating life of the lines.”<>

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