JangWon SM Co., Ltd. (JWSM) developed and delivered camera vision systems for the hot strip mills of POSCO between 2001 and 2006. Two different systems came out of that work, and they were delivered on different scales.

• Miss-crop detection and crop measuring systems. Delivered to all five POSCO hot strip mills – No.1 and No.2 at Pohang, No.1, No.2 and No.3 at Gwangyang – between 2001 and 2006.
• Hot Strip Bar Uptrend Detection System (uptrend = an upward bend of the bar head). Installed at one mill, No.3 hot strip mill at Gwangyang, in December 2005.

What the System Does

JWSM developed the miss-crop system with the POSCO research organization. It performs four functions.

• Captures images of the head and tail crops as they are cut and as they fall.
• Captures the shape of the bar head and tail after the cut.
• Recognizes when a crop has not separated from the bar and warns the operator.
• Measures the cut position along the bar and computes the actual cut length.

From Development to Commercial Operation

The crop measuring system was first developed at No.2 hot strip mill in Pohang in 2001, with a second phase there in December 2001. A hot strip bar cutting and measuring system followed at No.1 hot strip mill in Pohang in December 2003. The miss-crop cutting and measuring system was placed in commercial operation at No.2 hot strip mill in Pohang in October 2004, and crop measuring systems were installed at the No.1, No.2 and No.3 hot strip mills in Gwangyang in March 2006.

Hot Strip Bar Uptrend Detection

JWSM also built a camera vision device for a second problem: a bar whose head bends upward as it travels. The Hot Strip Bar Uptrend Detection System recognizes the upward bend of the moving bar and alerts the line. Unlike the miss-crop systems, it was installed at a single mill – No.3 hot strip mill in Gwangyang, in December 2005. A crop drop detection device followed at Gwangyang in March 2006.

Delivery Record

Date	Site	Scope
May 2001	POSCO Pohang, No.2 hot strip mill	Development of the crop measuring system, jointly with the POSCO research organization.
December 2001	POSCO Pohang, No.2 hot strip mill	Crop measuring system, second phase.
December 2003	POSCO Pohang, No.1 hot strip mill	Development of the hot strip bar cutting and measuring system, jointly with the POSCO research organization.
October 2004	POSCO Pohang, No.2 hot strip mill	Miss-crop cutting and measuring system placed in commercial operation.
December 2005	POSCO Gwangyang, No.3 hot strip mill	Installation of the hot strip bar uptrend detection device. This site only.
March 2006	POSCO Gwangyang, No.1, No.2 and No.3 hot strip mills	Installation of the crop drop detection device and the crop measuring system.
2010	POSCO	POSCO granted JWSM a license to work the miss-crop detection vision patents, for the purpose of supplying POSCO.

In 2010 POSCO granted JangWon SM Co., Ltd. a license to work the patents covering the miss-crop detection vision technology. Under that license the technology is worked for the purpose of supplying POSCO; it is not offered to third parties.

Related Marking and Inspection Line Work

JWSM delivered marking and inspection line systems to other Korean manufacturers over the same period.

• Dongkuk Steel – side marking system for the plate mill (April 2001); automatic side marking and paint dot marking for No.2 plate mill (April 2002); stamping marking for No.1 plate mill (December 2003).
• Samsung Corning, Gumi – automation of the CRT transfer and inspection line (May 2003).
• POSCO Pohang – automatic sample extraction device for the No.1 HSL of No.2 hot strip mill (June 2005).

This camera vision work was developed for and supplied to POSCO under a POSCO license. For general inquiries about JangWon SM’s steel plant engineering, please use the contact page.