Digitalization What Makes Us Pioneers at Heart We strive to deliver solutions that revolutionize processes, elevate customers’ end products, and propel the metals industry to new heights. ISSUE #15 (MAR 25) 04.03.2025
Digitalization Through-Process Optimization: Service and Transformation Through-Process Optimization Services from Primetals Technologies is an approach to steel production that takes metallurgical quality and performance to new levels. ISSUE #15 (MAR 25) 13.02.2025
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #22: Predicting the Future with AI In this session of Pioneers Talk, Dr. Krahwinkler discusses how AI can assist steelmaking from predicting values or stabilizing production. 06.06.2024
Digitalization Balanced Power: Active Power Feeder For electricity savings and lower electrode consumption, Primetals Technologies created the Active Power Feeder. ISSUE METEC (JUN 23) 25.10.2023
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #16: A Human Touch to Digitalization In this session, Hugo Veiga presents some of the answers he's found to help workers in the metals industry embrace digital tools. 31.07.2023
Digitalization Through-Process Quality Control: Benefits and Successes Through-Process Quality Control (TPQC) from Primetals Technologies has remained a core element in a vision for the ideal digital and automated plant. ISSUE METEC (JUN 23) 27.07.2023
Digitalization Yard Automation Solutions for the Metals Industry Experience the signing ceremony at METEC 2023 between ABF and Primetals Technologies and hear directly from the signees about the future of yard automation. 15.06.2023
Digitalization Four Years Industry 4.0: Outcomes, Learnings, & Outlooks Hear from Gerdau at METEC 2023, discussing the outcomes of this strategic partnership and how important the implementation of the concept “Industry 4.0” is in the steel industry. 13.06.2023
Digitalization Developing Digital Precision for HSM with thyssenkrupp Learn more about digital solutions developed by thyssenkrupp and Primetals Technologies for the hot strip mill. ISSUE METEC (JUN 23) 13.06.2023
Digitalization Subscribe to Success: Subscription-based Automation hear directly from Swiss Steel Holding about their experience with subscription-based automation systems, the characteristics of these systems, and their benefits. 12.06.2023
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #14: Connecting Technologies and People Claudia Hemmelmeir, team leader in the Mechatronic Products department of Primetals Technologies helps us debunk some of the myths around the measuring devices she specializes in. 02.02.2023
Digitalization Crafting Quality: Automated Scrap Solutions Crafted scrap is the future of scrap-based steelmaking and will transform how producers manage and maintain their scrap yards. ISSUE #12 (FEB 23) 19.01.2023
Digitalization Meet Alex: The Asset Life Expert To assist these maintenance staff and operators, Primetals Technologies developed the Asset Life Expert, or ALEX, the condition monitoring assistant for the metals industry. ISSUE #12 (FEB 23) 01.12.2022
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #12: The Potential of AI in the Metals Industry In this session of Pioneers Talk, we take a deep dive into the world of AI business applications with data scientist Sonja Strasser—and we will learn why AI is not replacing us humans any time soon. 09.11.2022
Digitalization How Crafted Scrap Defines New Benchmarks in Green Steelmaking E-Mobility and electric cars are all the rage, but what are the implications of this trend for the steel industry? Which steel grades will be in greater demand in the future, and what are the solution 01.10.2022
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #10: The Digital Future of Finance What are the benefits of Arvedi Endless Strip Production, hear the truth from expert Bernd Linzer and learn more this unique solution that combines thin-slab casting and rolling. 08.09.2022
Digitalization Mastering Automation: Fully Automated Steelmaking The digital transformation in the global steel industry is well underway. With dynamic process control systems available for every aspect of the production chain, fully automated steelmaking will... 22.07.2022
Digitalization Unparalleled Level Control: Anti-Bulging Technology Primetals Technologies has developed anti-bulging technology combining its LevCon and Smart Bender solutions to use casting gap variation for the first time to keep the mold level consistent and... 08.07.2022
Digitalization Ladle Tracking Solutions: Beyond Positioning Ladle tracking solutions cover all factors impacting an efficient and effective melt shop. From aggregate to integrated automation systems, ladle tracking solutions identify and overcome challenges... 24.05.2022
Digitalization Clean Continuous Casting: Fully Automated Bloom Casting Replacing a two-strand continuous caster, CC2, CC4 is the most modern continuous caster in the world, capable of producing 950,000 metric tons of high-quality blooms per year in a fully automated... 23.05.2022
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #7: Crafted Scrap To Reduce CO2 and Produce Quality Steel How can “crafted scrap” enable the production of high-quality steel and reduce CO2 emissions in a steel factory? Moreover, how can you convert conventional scrap into crafted scrap?... 17.05.2022
Digitalization Beyond Data Analytics The data analytics specialists at Primetals Technologies are on a mission to create new synergies between the latest analytics algorithms and the company’s metallurgical expertise. ISSUE #11 (MAY 22) 06.05.2022
Digitalization From Automation to Digitalization Data is emerging as a critical factor in the ongoing digitalization of a steel industry keen to embrace a new wave of industry 4.0 strategies. ISSUE #11 (MAY 22) 22.04.2022
Digitalization Plan & Predict: Plant Logistics Simulation Steel producers looking to adjust their current manufacturing strategies often face challenges when anticipating the impact of their investments. Primetals Technologies uses... 25.03.2022
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #4: From Automation to Digitalization In this session of "Pioneers Talk", we sit down with Industry 4.0 expert Kurt Herzog to discuss how steel producers can improve the operation of their plant based on production data, how to grow ... 13.12.2021
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #2: Meeting EAF Performance Targets Using Data Analytics In this session of "Pioneers Talk", we sit down with Data Analyst Manuel Sattler to discuss how the utilization of data can improve the operation of electric arc furnaces. 25.11.2021
Digitalization Pioneers Talk #1: Plant Logistics Simulations In this session of Pioneers Talk, we sit down with plant-logistics expert Stefan Mühlbock to discuss how his simulations are helping steel producers to make the right investment decisions. 19.11.2021
Digitalization Plant maintenance, done the easy way Maintenance and Asset Technology (MAT) is designed to keep steel plants in perfect shape. MAT arrives pre-configured for ease of use and delivers immediate, actionable information. ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization Connected Services for EAF: Boost Your Results Together with Brazilian-based steel producer Gerdau, Primetals Technologies has established a new way of monitoring a large number of electric arc furnaces—via a remote connection. While Gerdau profit ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization The Next Step in Long Rolling for Automotive Hyundai Steel has invested in two Industry 4.0 compatible long-rolling mills supplied by Primetals Technologies. ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization Making the Caster Mold Transparent Mold Expert, the innovative sticker-detection system from Primetals Technologies, has now been installed over 300 times in melt shops all around the world. ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization Ask Dr. Hirai In this section, Dr. Etsuro Hirai, CTO of Primetals Technologies, exclusively answers your questions. Should there be an issue that you would like him to address, please send us an email containing ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization The Future of Metals is Digital Digitalization is changing metals production, and Covid-19 has accelerated the transformation that will ultimately turn today’s steel plants into fully automatic “smart factories.” Primetals Technolog ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization Seamless Support During COVID-19 2020 has been a challenging year across the globe. Primetals Technologies still continued to support its customers in the metals industry in every way possible. 01.02.2021
Digitalization Kraków: Living the Digital Transformation Cracow is a place like no other: designated a "European Capital of Culture" and "UNESCO City of Literature," the city attracts some 13 million tourists each year. They come to enjoy Cracow's ... ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization Imagination without limits Piotr Czupryna is CEO of Primetals Technologies Poland, which comprises the company locations in Cracow and Rzeszów, both in southern Poland. Czupryna has been with Primetals Technologies ... ISSUE #10 (FEB 21) 01.02.2021
Digitalization At the cutting edge of spare-parts management The extensive R&D efforts of Primetals Technologies are an integral part of the company’s larger strategy to continually promote innovation for the metals industry. In this series, we present new, rem ISSUE #09 (JAN 20) 01.01.2020
Digitalization Inching Toward Fully Automated Casting The continuous-casting process involves discontinuous operations that are critical for the quality of the cast product and that have to be performed dangerously close to the liquid steel. Luckily, rec ISSUE #09 (JAN 20) 01.01.2020
Digitalization Discovering how much you already know Knowledge management is a critical factor in any enterprise: A lot of hard work goes into developing new solutions, establishing processes, and ensuring sustainable business operations—added to which ISSUE #08 (MAY 19) 01.05.2019
Digitalization Overcoming bottlenecks with Steel Plant Logistics The logistics of almost any steel plant can be further optimized—with logistics solutions from Primetals Technologies. ISSUE #08 (MAY 19) 01.05.2019
Digitalization Creating algorithms for the digital future of metals The extensive R&D efforts of Primetals Technologies are an integral part of the company’s larger strategy to continually promote innovation for the metals industry. In this series, we present new, rem ISSUE #08 (MAY 19) 01.05.2019
Digitalization The Impact of Industry 4.0 on Long Rolling Today’s trend toward increased digitalization in steel production is having a major impact on the area of long rolling and is changing it for the better. ISSUE #07 (OCT 18) 01.10.2018
Digitalization Acoustic Expert: Detecting Malfunction Through Sound Introducing the Acoustic Expert, a technology that uses an acoustic fingerprinting method to detect common errors in a variety of steel-plant equipment. ISSUE #07 (OCT 18) 01.10.2018
Digitalization Condition Monitoring for Processing Lines Primetals Technologies' condition-monitoring system for processing lines uses predictive-maintenance algorithms to pinpoint incidents before they occur. ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Sias automated surface inspection for flat products Producers of flat-rolled steel are facing a growing trend toward zero-defect tolerances for surface quality. This trend, initiated by customers in the automotive industry, is increasingly becoming ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Digitalization and process optimization Piotr Czupryna is CEO of Primetals Technologies Poland, which comprises the company locations in Cracow and Rzeszów, both in southern Poland. Czupryna has been with Primetals Technologies ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Empowering technology with know-how Hans-Jürgen Zeiher is not only one of Primetals Technologies’ most trusted managers but also a skilled and experienced technician. As an automation and drives expert particularly in the downstream ... ISSUE #02 (FEB 16) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Smarter plants through artificial intelligence Günther Winter has been with Primetals Technologies for 38 years and currently holds the position of Technology Officer and Head of Innovation Electrics & Automation. Winter has led and ... ISSUE #02 (FEB 16) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Off-Gauge Optimizer Head- and tail-end off-gauge length is defined as the length of strip from the weld to the point from which the final thickness deviation reliably stays within a tolerance band of approximately ±3% .. ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Roll-Eccentricity Compensation Roll-Eccentricity Compensation (REC) eliminates the influence of roll eccentricity on strip thickness or tension. ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Orbis+rotating gauge The Orbis+ is a rotating gauge designed to continually measure properties of hot steel in rod and bar rolling mills such as the diameter, and to pass on this information to the automation system ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Air-Bearing Shapemeter The Air-Bearing ShapeMeter of Primetals Technologies accurately measures the shape of rolled metal sheet and foil material (Aluminum and other metals). It provides continuous, high-accuracy ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Transformation Monitor The Transformation Monitor directly measures the transformation of iron from austenite to ferrite through a real-time, online measurement of the ferrite concentration within the steel as it cools ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Long-rolling roll master The Long-Rolling Roll Master is a powerful and easy-to-use tool geared toward increasing plant flexibility and performance by providing advanced pass scheduling for continuous and reversing mills, ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Long-rolling process expert The Long-Rolling Process Expert is a cost-effective modular process-automation system for continuous and reversing rolling mills, and for monoblocks as well as flat blocks. Similar Expert Systems ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Static non-contact bar counter The advantages of a high-speed bar mill are lost if bottlenecks develop during production. One of the final post-production steps prior to delivery is bar bundling and counting. An engineer from ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Strip-steering vision-based control The Electrics & Automation experts at Primetals Technologies, together with thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, have devised a new vision-based strip-steering control system for hot-strip mills. From the ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Wedge and camber control Rolled strip is ideally both straight (i.e. without camber) and left-right-symmetrical with respect to thickness (i.e. without wedge). Unfortunately, if wedge within a slab is removed through ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Liquirob: A tireless worker for higher efficiency, quality, and safety The LiquiRob robot system was specifically developed by Primetals Technologies for improving workplace safety and measurement quality under the harsh conditions encountered in the ironmaking and ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Model-based strip-width control The main challenges facing today’s basic and process automation systems for hot-strip mills are the reduction of strip-width deviations and the avoidance of below-minimum widths after the ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Cyber-physical model for cooling In 2010, a brand new idea for a novel type of cooling model triggered a wealth of activities geared toward an implementation in the years to follow. In its current form, the model is designed to ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Mill vibration control with Chatter Block Expert Rolling mills are prone to many different vibration phenomena, especially when rolling high-strength steels in combination with thin product gauges and high rolling speeds. These vibrations can ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Minimum Quantity Lubrication Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) is Primetals Technologies' next generation roll-gap lubrication system for cold-rolling mills, applying neat rolling oil atomized with air directly onto the ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Coil-Eccentricity Compensation to tackle tension disturbances When cold strip is wound onto a mandrel, the coil is never perfectly round but slightly eccentric. These eccentricities have a number of different ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Non-stop flying roll change to achieve higher mill productivity Stopping a continuous rolling mill will result in strip defects as well as production losses. Strip-surface marks and thickness deviations may exceed quality control limits and the strip section ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization UCM Flat—the new flatness control for 6-high Universal Crown Control Mills Mechatronics know-how from Japan, combined with German expertise in Electrics & Automation: the international team of Primetals Technologies has developed an advanced flatness-control system for ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Holistic Ironmaking Optimization While process optimization systems have been widely introduced in many facilities of ironmaking plants, in a lot of cases there is no overall automation system, supporting coordination and ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Quality Expert Quality Expert is a computer-aided quality-control system for all types of continuous casters. It is designed to determine the definitions necessary for quality-related process parameters, to ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Speed Expert Selecting the proper casting speed in continuous casting is critically important for the productivity of a caster and the quality it produces. Many factors and requirements have to be considered ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Mold Expert Fiber Sticker-related breakouts are one of the major reasons for high repair costs and production losses. Product defects can mostly be traced back to processes in the mold, but conventional detection ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Expert System Blast Furnace Primetals Technologies is the leading supplier of blast furnace automation systems for the iron and steel industries. This is especially true for blast furnace process optimization systems, which ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Smart-Sensor Packages Primetals Technologies has developed a variety of sensor solutions for steelmaking. These sensors generate the data required for condition monitoring, and play an important role in determining ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Interview with Kurt Herzog: Mastering Digital Orchestration Kurt Herzog is Head of Industry 4.0 at Primetals Technologies. He has been with the company for 20 years and focuses on automation efforts that make the total complexity of steel-plant operation ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Greener technologiesfor a changing world Dr. Thomas Steinparzer is Head of Technology and Innovation for ECO Solutions at Primetals Technologies. ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Condition Monitoring in the Steel Industry with Acoustic Expert Acoustic Expert is technology-led innovation at its best. During the uptime of various hardware, distinct tonal sounds that are characteristic for a particular component can be detected. These ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization BOX Concept: More than just a CMS High-end maintenance concepts and technologies have recently gained more attention, partly because of the challenges facing steel producers on account of global overcapacity. BOX Concept, the ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Fully Automated Converter Operation At the steelmaking stage, more and more tasks that used to be done by human operators can today be executed automatically. For a while now, most converter-based measurements have been taken ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Automated Scrap Material Flow Primetals Technologies has continually worked on perfecting the automated scrap material flow for steel plants that are based on electric arc furnaces (EAFs). Depending on the customer’s ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Melt Expert Melt Expert is a state-of-the-art electrode-control system that Primetals Technologies has designed to ensure optimal operation of electric arc furnaces. It retrieves production data from a ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Maintenance and Asset Technology Maintenance and Asset Technology (MAT) from Primetals Technologies is a system for the intelligent management of all maintenance-related assets, and can do much more than cost tracking and ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Production-Management System Production-management systems for steel plants should ideally cover the entire metals production process from iron- and steelmaking to rolling and processing to shipping of the final product ... ISSUE #04 (FEB 17) 01.03.2018
Digitalization The Smart Plant of the Future The future of steel production is based on the "intelligent orchestration“ of all equipment. We take a detailed look at how to achieve it. ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Through-Process Optimization The progress of digitalization in many industries is creating new opportunities for the improvement of overall efficiency and quality in steel production. At the same time, end-customers are ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Obtaining Measurements the Intuitive Way Nicole Oberschmidleitner is Head of Mechatronic Products at Primetals Technologies, and has been with the company for 16 years. ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Taper Checker Wireless The Taper Checker Wireless is a taper-measuring system designed to check and adjust the mold within the required tolerances before casting begins. The taper of the lateral mold surfaces ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Automatic Thermocouple Checker The Automatic Thermocouple Checker is a computer-aided tool designed to test the quality of a thermocouple installation. The test involves heating the copper plate in the same position and with ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization OsciChecker Wireless OsciChecker Wireless is designed to analyze the behavior of oscillators on continuous casting machines and accordingly optimizes maintenance time, reduces downtime, minimizes strand breakouts, and ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization DynaGap 3D DynaGap Soft Reduction 3D (DynaGap 3D) is a sophisticated process model that allows for dynamic roll-gap changes in slab and bloom casters. Working in combination with remote adjustable segment ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Dynacs 3D Thanks to continuous improvements in computer performance, it is now possible to calculate the temperature at any point within a continuously cast strand in real time. Using this information, the ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization DynaPhase Calculation of the 3D temperature profile of the strand requires accurate knowledge of the thermodynamic properties of steel, which includes enthalpy, solid fraction, density, and conductivity ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Ask Dr. Hirai (#06) In this section, Dr. Etsuro Hirai, CTO of Primetals Technologies, exclusively answers your questions. Should there be an issue that you would like him to address, please send us an email containing ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Pioneering the Future of Continuous Casting As one of the pioneers of continuous casting technology—a legacy extending back to the 1960s—Primetals Technologies has always been the leader in the development and implementation of ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Maintenance and Simulation System for Testing Process Changes in Casting The steel industry is well on its way toward fully automated continuous casting, which is going to minimize the risk of human error and increase workplace safety considerably. Meanwhile, tried and ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Nozzle Expert The Nozzle Expert helps to detect clogged nozzles and broken hoses in all types of continuous casting machines, and ensures that the strand is uniformly cooled during the continuous casting ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Equipment Expert The Equipment Expert is designed to monitor the installed equipment of the caster and provide operators with valuable feedback about any maintenance work required. Equipment could include, for ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Intermix Expert for Continuous Casting The Intermix Expert for all types of continuous casting machines calculates the mixed-steel area and incompatible strand portions along the entire strand. The information gathered allows the ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization Yield Expert The aim of the Yield Expert is to minimize scrap and to optimize yield. It considers scrap portions, quality defects, weight restrictions, sample cuts, and width changes while producing the ... ISSUE #06 (MAR 18) 01.03.2018
Digitalization The Furnace at your Fingertips Melt Expert is the solution of choice from Primetals Technologies to monitor and control the melting process of electric arc furnaces. It retrieves information from a vast array of components, ... ISSUE #04 (FEB 17) 01.02.2017
Digitalization Industry 4.0 for Steel: Introducing Metals Orchestra Primetals Technologies has developed a specific approach for the future-oriented implementation of the "industry 4.0" concept in the context of today's steel production ISSUE #04 (FEB 17) 01.02.2017
Digitalization Hearing is Believing Primetals Technologies introduced a unique acoustic monitoring system known as Acoustic Expert. The system detects sound deviations from the normal state and allows condition-based maintenance ... ISSUE #03 (SEP 16) 01.09.2016
