Indianapolis, IN - Lafayette Steel Sales, a prime coil ferrous and non-ferrous and sheet distributor and processor has installed a new Braner/Loopco Automatic Slit Coil Packaging System in its Indianapolis, IN coil processing facility. The new Coil Packaging System efficiently handles and packages carbon steel and aluminum slit coils generated from Lafayette's Braner/Loopco Turret Head™ Slitting Line. Slit coils range in size to 10,000# x 72" OD in slit widths from 1" through 24" wide.

A Coil Car unloads finished slit coils from the Slitting Line and transfers the slit coil group to a 4-Arm Turnstile at the entry end of the Packaging System. The Car is equipped with adjustable narrow coil support stanchions that stabilize and secure the slit coil group during the coil transfer. A hand-held "wireless" Coil Car control provides excellent operator control mobility and allows the Car to be operated from a safe distance.

Slit coils generated from the 72" Braner/Loopco Slitting Line will be packaged on Lafayette's Automatic Slit Coil Packaging Line.

"Operatorless" Programmable Slit coil Downender: The 4-Arm Turnstile positions the slit coil group at the unloading station where a Slit Coil Downender removes individual slit coils one at a time from the Turnstile arm and deposits each coil onto a powered roller conveyor. The Downender is controlled by a programmable controller into which the width of each slit coil at the Turnstile unloading station is entered via operator console keypad. After all coil widths are entered, the Downender:

Programmable Slit Coil Downender automatically travels to the 4-Arm, "picks" individual slit coils off the 4-Arm, and downends the coils for strapping & stacking.

Staging Conveyor automatically advances coils to the Strapping Machine.

Narrow coil being strapped while wide coils await advancing into the Strapper.

Semi-Automatic Slit Coil Strapping Machine: The Strapping Machine receives coils from the Staging Conveyor. The Strapper applies multiple radial straps onto the coil in a quick and efficient "semi-automatic" manner. Coils from the Staging Conveyor are transported into and centered on the Strapping Machine via power conveyor rolls. Three (3) powered conical rolls lift the coil from the conveyor rolls and rotate the coil in a horizontal plane for radial strap positioning. Joystick operator controls allow coil positioning to be accomplished quickly and efficiently. A Signode strapping head mounted in a parallelogram balance frame above the coil applies 3/4" steel strapping. Strapping head up-down-in-out handles mounted on the balance frame position the strapping head on the coil. A "strap feed" control mounted in the up-down handle feeds the strap through the coil ID and under the coil. The free end of the strap is manually guided into a chute in the Signode head, and the "cycle" pushbutton mounted in the in-out handle initiates the strap tension and seal cycle securing the strap on the coil. Three (3) radial straps are normally applied to a coil in about 30-40-seconds.