Endless hot rolling method

Abstract

Herein disclosed is an endless hot rolling method using a hot strip mill substantially composed of a roughing mill and a finishing mill having a roll bender and a roll shifter to continuously roll sequentially joined different rolling materials. The method comprises the steps of: calculating a roll shift range in an axial direction for each rolling material so as to provide a desired crown; determining a rolling sequence so as to obtain a common roll shift range for each pair of neighboring rolling materials; connecting a preceding material at the tail end thereof to the head end of the succeeding material, between the roughing mill and the finishing mill; shifting the rolls during transition from the preceding material to the succeeding material so that the roll position corresponding to the joint of the two materials is within a common roll shift range for the materials; and changing the roll bending load in accordance with the roll shift pattern so as to achieve the desired crown of each material. If the width of a common roll shift range for all the materials is at least 50% of the width of the individual roll shift ranges, rolling can be continuously performed without shifting in an axial direction rolls.