Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery, Inc. has developed and has been manufacturing and
marketing contact type inline strip shape meters for hot rolling in order to enable continuous
accurate measuring of strip shape during rolling and improve strip threading stability on hot strip
mills. The inline strip shape meter is designed to accurately measure the shape of a strip, even
under a harsh, hot, humid and dusty environment. This shape meter consists of seven segmented
rolls aligned in the strip width direction. Low hysteresis is attained by applying torque meters at
each segment. In addition, an internal water cooling system is employed and it was confirmed that
sufficient durability, even in harsh environments, was established. The strip shape meter has been
operating satisfactorily for more than eight years on an actual hot strip mill. This paper describes
the development details of the strip shape meter.
