L-TEC scarfing machines, having individually selected scarfing units, can be used for "spot" scarfing random defects from the slab surface, or for "band pass" scarfing, to scarf individual bands along the length of the slab where defects are commonly located, such as along the corner surfaces of cast slabs. These processes, developed by L-TEC, provide the means for reducing yield-loss, while still producing high quality product to meet the demands of today’s competitive steel industry. Several types of machines are available that will allow them to be custom tailored to a particular application.

Both the "overhead" type machines, designed for two-sided or top-only scarfing, and the "pass-through" type machines, designed for four-sided scarfing operations, have the capability of making end starts at the leading end of flat slabs which have a square uniform end or conventional starts sufficiently in from the leading end on unsheared hot rolled slabs. L-TEC’s most sophisticated machines are capable of single pass, full scarfing coverage of either two or four sides of slabs or blooms from ambient to hot rolling temperature (21°C/70°F - 1092°C/2000°F). These machines utilize the latest technology in programmable logic controllers with the ability to communicate with level 1, 2, and 3 computers, and are fitted with individually controlled scarfing units for band pass operation scarfing. They are also capable of providing automatic selective spot scarfing when effective automatic defect detection technology becomes available. Precision gas control is maintained using our EPC control systems (for more information on EPC control, click here).  

Other types of L-TEC scarfing machines are available which are designed primarily for mechanized spot scarfing applications. These machines can greatly reduce the disadvantages of low productivity and high operating costs associated with hand scarfing to remove random defects from semi finished steel. Several patented features make mechanized spot scarfing an effective and superior method of scarfing. These features include a simple effective method for making "flying starts" on cold steel and a new spot scarfing unit which produces fin-free cuts so that virtually no additional clean up is required before the steel can be finish rolled, regardless of whether an individual cut or multiple adjacent cuts are made. The spot scarfing units are especially noted for the absence of gouging at the flying start and the cleanliness of these wide, smoothly blended fin-free cuts. Flying starts are possible at full scarfing speed.