Servo-Powered Feeder/Straightener

The Power-Core series of feeder/straighteners from Feed Lease Corp., Rochester Hills, MI, is ideally suited for heavy-gauge, high-strength steels. Material to 84 in. wide and ½ in. thick can be fed and straightened.

Different than a servo feed with a pull-through straightener, the unit is designed so that the entry and exit feed rolls, along with all of the lower straightener rolls, are driven together. This is accomplished with a huge servo motor, helical-bevel reducer and gear train. All upper rolls will lift for pilot registration using a heavy-duty pneumatic or hydraulic system, a much heavier-duty design than the pilot-release systems available on pull-through straighteners, according to company officials.Power-Core Feed LeaseA benefit of the design is that the straightener rolls, while able to lift for pilot registration, are still independently adjusted. This gives them greater depth penetration and flexibility when compared to bank-adjusted and pull-through straighteners.

Power-Core feeder/straighteners have an outer-side plate thickness of 2 in. Since the upper roll assembly is built separately from the rest of the machine, for added structural rigidity, the side plate for the upper rolls is 2.5 in. thick.

The machines come in two sizes: heavy duty with 5.5-in.-dia. feed rolls and 4.25-in. straightener rolls, and extreme-duty with 6.5-in.-dia. feed rolls and 5-in.-dia. straightener rolls. The design can be upsized with 6.5- or 8-in.-dia. straightener rolls.