Fujian Sanming Steel & Guangming Co, Ltd (Sanming MinGuang) has granted final acceptance for a new high-efficiency billet-grinding machine supplied by Danieli and installed at its steelworks in Sanming, Fujian province. The new grinding machine is designed to improve surface quality and production efficiency for special steel products. It is a latest-generation Danieli Centro Maskin machine equipped with the HiGrind® system and is capable of processing both billets and blooms.
The equipment provides full-skin and corner grinding capabilities and is dedicated to conditioning special steel products before downstream rolling. The complete supply included mechanical equipment as well as electrical and automation systems. The grinding line can process square billets and rectangular blooms across a wide range of dimensions. The grinding wheel operates at a constant linear speed of up to 80 metres per second, while the grinding trolley can reach a speed of 1.2 metres per second under load.
The machine provides positioning accuracy of ±1 mm. Full-skin grinding depth is automatically controlled between 0.5 mm and 3 mm, helping operators achieve consistent surface conditioning and remove defects efficiently. For 160×160-mm billets up to 12 metres long, typical processing time is less than 1,100 seconds in fully automatic mode when using a full-skin removal depth of 1 mm and three-pass corner grinding.
The machine incorporates a heavy-duty mechanical design and high-precision components. Special bearings are used to provide a grinding spindle service life of at least 8,000 hours. The HiGrind system provides grinding-depth control within a ±10% tolerance. This helps optimise material yield while ensuring that surface defects are removed. The system also provides precise control of grinding-wheel torque, supporting surface quality and helping extend the operating life of consumables.
Danieli’s automation system uses an open, multi-level architecture designed to provide flexible production management and control. Installation of the equipment was completed in December 2025. The machine subsequently completed hot commissioning successfully in a single trial and met all agreed technical performance parameters.
The successful commissioning strengthens Danieli Centro Maskin’s position in the global billet and bloom grinding equipment market. The company has supplied nearly 1,100 grinding units worldwide since 1953. The installation at Sanming MinGuang forms part of the steelmaker’s efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of its special steel production. The new equipment provides automated grinding capabilities designed to deliver consistent surface preparation for subsequent rolling operations.
The combination of high grinding speed, automated depth control, accurate positioning and advanced automation enables the machine to handle a wide range of billet and bloom conditioning requirements. The final acceptance confirms the successful completion of the project and demonstrates the equipment’s ability to meet the technical requirements agreed between Sanming MinGuang and Danieli.
