WCA September 2009

products & equipment

Wire cleaning Boockmann GmbH’s Helicord technology, based on a push-pull-controlled textile cord wrapped around a wire or cable, has been successful in cleaning round wire, strands and insulated cables as well as in applying different types of additives, such as corrosion inhibitors, strip aids and adhesion enhancers. The cord is continuously fed into the process area of the machine, with the cord speed being adjusted to the speed of the production line, thus wiping off impurities or distributing liquids evenly on the surface.

A successful application is abrasive removal of stearates and of thin oxide layers before plating (for example copper on ferrous, or silver on copper alloys), where chemical and other processes often cause health and environmental issues, or high costs for the proper disposal of used chemicals. In the cable industry, removing particles from conductors is known to decrease the number of blowouts and failures in high voltage tests, to reduce the risk of extruder head clogging and wire breaks, and to increase bandwidth. Another well established application is cleaning wire after the rod breakdown, in order to prevent metal dust from travelling with the wire into other parts of the production and contaminating following production steps or processes nearby.

Helicord technology ❍ ❍ from Boockmann

The main advantages of Helicord include: Multiple 360° contact between the cable and cleaning medium •

The cleaning medium is constantly refreshed • The process is independent of production speed •

Cleaning can be done by a dry cord, or supported by solvents or other • cleaning liquids. Standard Helicord machines are currently capable of treating diameters up to 20mm but require customised modifications to handle larger diameters

Boockmann GmbH – Germany Email : info@boockmann.com

Fax : +49 9708 571

Website : www.boockmann.com

Wire treatment products and equipment Installations for the continuous induction heat treatment of wires, bars and tubes.

In the production of high quality steel wires an increasing role is played by continuous induction heat treatments, which achieve high production rates with reduced installation space requirements, minimum energy consumption and a better working environment.

Wire treatment equipment from ❍ ❍ ATE of Italy

The large number of ATE installations and equipment in operation all over the world is evidence of the reliability of this technical solution, and of customer satisfaction with the quality of the finished product. ATE’s production programme includes: Induction furnaces for the in-line thermal treating of PC wires and strands • Annealing furnaces of steel tubes, wires, strips, round and square section bars • Annealing furnaces of non-ferrous wires, tubes strips (aluminium, copper, • brass and precious alloys) Hardening and tempering equipment for steel bars, tubes and wires • Continuous through-heating of bars and tubes for subsequent hot forming • Localised heating of steel tubes and bars • ATE Applicazioni TermoElettroniche Srl – Italy Fax : +39 0444 406434 Email : info@ate.it Website : www.ate.it

100

Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2009