The KOCKS process control system TUMICON TecBox fulfills these objectives and ensures reliable production performance for stretch-reducing mills.

Technological calculations are based on physical models adapted from more than 60 deflection-reducing mill references in the company's more than 70-year history.

Efficiency is significantly increased by shortening thickened pipe ends (Heavy End Control - HEC) and reducing the difference between the local average pipe wall thickness and the target value (Automatic Wall Thickness Control - AWC). Both optimizations are part of the online process control system TecBox, which varies the flex according to the position of each piece of the rolled tube within the Strain Relief Block (SRB®).

The main benefit of HEC is the significant reduction of thickened pipe ends. So-called heavy ends are formed by different levels of stress in the pipe ends and the pipe body. They are trimmed because they are outside the dimensional tolerances of the finished pipe. High-performance HEC eliminates the need for trimming, increases efficiency and therefore increases the economic efficiency of hot tube production.

AWC ensures the reliable production of an even wall thickness along the entire pipe length, even in large rolling campaigns. Geometric differences resulting from the upstream drilling and extension process are successfully compensated by the AWC.

The effectiveness of AWC can be expressed as the ratio between the standard deviation of the average finished tube wall thickness and the standard deviation of the average parent tube wall thickness. Up to 70% quality increase was achieved.