Cooling Beds

Cooling beds are crucial to the steel manufacturing process, carefully moving and cooling the hot steel after the rolling process.

API Engineering supply Cooling Beds

Cooling beds are crucial to the steel manufacturing process, as they carefully move and cool the hot steel after the rolling process. As this is an integral part of a Steel Mill’s manufacturing process, any mechanical problems or failures to the cooling bed will have huge consequences for the mill. The cooling bed and components therefore need to be manufactured to the highest quality standards and thoroughly tested before installation. Over the past decade, API Engineering has been heavily involved in the successful design; manufacturing numerous cooling beds and cooling bed components for Steel Mills in the U.S and Canada.

API Engineering supplies all components necessary for cooling bed overhauls, upgrades, and renovations. Components are cast, forged, or fabricated to the end users’ requirements and electrical components are supplied through our sister company PPI Engineering.

The three most common designs of cooling beds are Walking Beam, Disc Type and Chain Type.

Walking Beam Cooling Beds

Walking Beam Cooling Beds utilise two sets of rakes, one moving and one fixed, to carry long bars and structural steel components across the bed.

The hot side of the bed will begin with grid castings to absorb much of the initial heat from the product, whilst offering additional support as the product is still malleable. Moving rakes then lift the product from the grid castings and carry it across the cooling bed to the cool side.

Aligning Rolls are used close to the cool side of the bed to align the product with the yard end of the rake setup.

API Engineering supply components manufactured to the customer's specification including the following:

Fabrications

Structural fabrications are used to support the castings and rakes.

Additional items

Each type of cooling bed requires an entry and exit solution, which ensures minimal damage to the product. Some cooling beds are more complex than others, integrating advanced arranging and cooling equipment.

Wear items and spare parts supplied by API Engineering include:

  • Wear plates
  • Roller sleeves
  • Rakes
  • Discs