Rolled Stock Inventory

a listing of all rolled sections, with dimensions, produced in a country, in a metallurgical factory or group of factories, or on a given rolling mill. A distinction is made between section inventories (listings of sections designed for a single use) and dimension inventories (listings of sizes of a single shape). A rolled stock inventory is often categorized for both shape and size. The entire rolled stock inventory may be divided into three major groups: standardized rolled products (including special sections), rolled sheets, and pipes.

The problem of organizing the rolled stock inventory for a country is solved only in countries with a planned socialist economy. It includes the establishment of the optimum characteristics for various types of rolled sections, the number of sizes of each rolled section, and the size gradations, that is, the intervals between consecutive sizes. The most economical inventory results in the least wasted metal.

The organization of section and size inventories is primarily based on “weight losses” in the use of an actual inventory relative to an “ideal” inventory. The ideal inventory would have a continuous selection of all possible sections and sizes. An increase in the number of sizes of individual rolled sections reduces the overall cost for structures as a result of a decrease in weight losses; on the other hand, it increases the cost of rolled production as a result of the greater number of different lots produced in metallurgical factories. An insufficient assortment in a rolled stock inventory leads to excess waste in metal cutting or increases the total weight of structures, machines, and mechanisms.

A correct evaluation of the quality specifications for rolled sections is a primary requirement for the organization of an efficient rolled stock inventory. In the USSR, a series of parameters has been proposed for evaluating the quality of structural sections, and methods have been proposed for organizing efficient rolled stock inventories. Such methods continue to be improved and expanded as a result of the introduction of lightweight, thin-wall, complex, shaped, and other economical sections. Shaped items, for example, shafts, balls, gears, drills, and screws, that are rolled on specially designed mills have become common.

In order to meet fully the requirements of the national economy for rolled products and to provide a more proper distribution for the production of the various shapes and sizes of rolled stock among factories, specialization of rolling mills has been established in the USSR. A particular inventory for each mill is specified, and the specialization takes into account the territorial distribution and production use of each rolling mill.