Development of automatic rolling scheduling system for synchronized operation of casting and hot rolling

In the synchronized operation of casting and hot rolling process, a rolling schedule is determined manually considering lots of complex constraints due to attrition of mill roll surface. So, an opportunity of direct-slabs is sometimes lost and it increases fuel cost. Therefore, we develop a new automatic system, which computes a rolling schedule including direct-slabs. We introduce the parsing method to this system in order to check the satisfaction in the scheduling constraints in real time. Finally, we applied the system to Chiba third hot rolling mill in JFE steel and confirmed its availability.