Baosteel completes gearbox overhaul at hot strip mill with SMS

Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel) has successfully completed a critical gearbox upgrade at its high-capacity 2050-millimeter hot strip mill in Shanghai. The modernization was carried out in close cooperation with SMS group and completed within the mill’s scheduled annual maintenance window, requiring no additional downtime.

The scope of work included online measurement and alignment of gearboxes on both sides of the slab sizing press, complete disassembly, inspection and testing of key components, and the replacement of bearings on input and output shafts. SMS also supported Baosteel with technical planning, on-site installation guidance and commissioning services.

Baosteel praised the precision and efficiency of SMS’s execution. The inspections involved housing deformation checks, gear flank condition testing and dynamic balance measurements of synchronizing shafts—data which will support the company’s long-term maintenance strategy.

The hot strip mill, originally supplied by SMS in 1989, remains one of Baosteel’s most productive lines. The addition of the SMS slab sizing press in 2013 further increased performance. With a nominal capacity of four million tonnes per year, the line has consistently exceeded expectations, reaching annual outputs of over five million tonnes and a maximum of six million. By 2011, cumulative production had already surpassed the 100-million-tonne mark.

SMS and Baosteel intend to deepen their partnership through further technical exchanges and lifecycle service support.

Source and Photo: SMS Group