Hyundai Steel Automates Wire Rod Tagging with Robots

Hyundai Steel (004020.KS) is accelerating its smart manufacturing initiatives by deploying robots in wire rod inspection and packaging processes.

The company announced Thursday that it began operating Korea's first "wire rod tagging robot" last month at the wire rod coil shipping line of its Dangjin specialty steel small rolling mill. The robot automatically attaches tags containing product history and specification information.

Hyundai Steel has been pursuing unmanned automation of its shipping operations to minimize errors such as steel grade mix-ups caused by incorrect tag attachment and to improve safety. The robot deployment is part of this initiative.

The wire rod tagging robot system consists of an assembly robot, an attachment robot, conveyors, coil fixing devices, and safety fences. The assembly robot first attaches clips to printed product tags, while wire rods are transported along the conveyor and placed on the fixing device. The attachment robot then scans the wire rod to identify the tag attachment location and automatically affixes the tag.

Hyundai Steel has been working with Politec, an Italian company specializing in steel industry automation, to introduce the robot since last year. The company spent approximately two years designing the system to ensure efficient and safe operation, and recently completed final testing (FAT2) before deploying it on site. The company paid particular attention to safety by clearly separating the area around the robot into equipment operation zones and worker access zones.

"Work efficiency has improved as robots have replaced the wire rod tag attachment work that previously relied on manual labor," a Hyundai Steel official said. "We plan to continue expanding robot-related investments in line with global steel industry trends."