Filton Rotary Unions in the Steel Industry

Filton rotary unions and swivel joints are used in a wide variety of industries, for our first blog of 2020 we thought we would look at how they are used in the steel industry. In this industry the rotary unions allow a constant flow of water into the rotating roll without leakage.

Perhaps the most common use is the cooling of copper conductor rolls on sheet tinning lines. They are also used extensively in rolling mills, for both cooling the rolls and the bearings. This ensures the roll is kept at a constant temperature and the product at a uniform thickness.

Furnace rolls and rolls adjacent to furnaces are also water cooled. Temperatures of the furnaces can reach over 1000°C, the water cooling prevents the rolls from melting.