The intelligent monitoring screen shows the operation data of an energy system. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China's largest private steelmaker Shagang Group, based in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, has made further steps in promoting the construction of intelligent factories.

The group recently signed a cooperative agreement with Baosteel Engineering and Technology Group on an unmanned cast steel project.

The project aims to make the robot a replacement for manual operations to complete some functions such as elongated nozzle installation, disassembly, cleaning and sampling, which will reduce labor intensity, improve work efficiency to a great extent, and further promote unmanned continuous casting.

According to Shen Wenrong, the chairman of Shagang Group Board, the group will learn from experience at home and abroad and plans to carry out an intelligent workshop transformation at factories, from sintering and coking to steelmaking and rolling ones.

"Shagang Group will make efforts to improve intelligent transformation to further promote technologies and equipment automation," Shen said.

In recent years, Shagang has been on the fast track to develop intelligent manufacturing, with the Shagang power plant energy control center.

The silicon steel workshop at Yangtze River Cold-rolled Sheet Company, a branch of Shagang Group, has created a complete intelligent manufacturing line to realize the digital control of the whole production process.

Since 2011, Shagang Group has launched a plan named "Robots replace humans". To date more than 100 robots has been settled which can realize automatic adding slag, automatic spray, automatic sampling and automatically online taking temperature.

In the next five years, the company will have 1000 to 1500 robots to be launched to help not only reduce labor and safety accidents but also improve operating accuracy and product quality.

A mechanical arm at work at the Shagang workshop. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An intelligent produce line at the workshop of Shagang Group. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]