EuroWire January 2007

technology news

Troester, Germany, has launched a new generation of spoolers, used for direct winding on shipping reels in sheathing lines. Fully and semi-automatic double-reel spoolers have been used in the cable sector as automatic reel-changing take- ups in fast-running core insulation lines for years. The most obvious advantage of such spoolers is that a reel change can be made under full line speed. Ramping up and down due to reel changes in the take-up area are eliminated, increasing the production capacity. The constant line speed also results in improved dimensional stability. These benefits are also applicable to sheathing lines that are operated without the customary deceleration during a reel change. Reducing the highest possible manufacturing speed merely to change reels is no longer economically feasible, and fully and semi-automatic double- reel spoolers are the best way to solve that problem. Double-reel spoolers are particularly suitable for integration into constantly faster sheathing lines where short lengths are being produced, eg special coaxial or high frequency cable. Using double-reel spoolers in sheathing lines where the final product is being manufactured allows direct winding onto shipping reels, eliminating the additional, cost-intensive manufacturing step of winding from production to shipping reels. Cutting this process-step also reduces storage costs, and the shipping reels can be delivered direct to the customer. For its new machines, Troester has totally revised the design and the machine control of previously manufactured double-reel spoolers. The newly developed semi-automatic double-reel spooler replaces the portal take-ups, and the product is wound up, without using an accumulator, ready to ship. Standard Troester’s new spoolers for direct winding on shipping reels

Close-up view of the DAS 1630 double-reel spooler

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winding lengths are between 500m and 4,000m, and at maximum manufacturing speed a ready-to-ship reel is completed approximately every nine minutes – an increase in average manufacturing speed of up to 50 per cent. A conventional type DAF double-reel spooler winds up the conductor into a cross lay-up. Precise positioning (winding next to winding) can be dispensed with during this step. During reel changes, the loose end is not fixed on the full reel after cutting, and it whips around inside the blocked take-up area until the rotating reel has completely stopped. However, as the wire is only light, it does not cause any damage. The requirements placed on the new type DAS double-reel spooler are disproportionately greater. It not only has to cut when the preset length has been reached – whereby the sensitive cable end (‘cut end’) must not flail around – but it must also prevent any unwinding that would otherwise occur due to the retractive force acting on the cable. The double-reel spooler obtains its line speed from the line control. The take- up speed is controlled by a pneumatic vertical accumulator. The pressure of the accumulator’s pneumatic cylinder determines the tensile force in the cable and can be adapted on the machine’s monitor operator stations. During preparation of the take-up stations, various reel types can be called up from the machine’s database by entering a short code number. This immediately transfers all relevant reel dimensions to the take-up and positioning equipment. During reel positioning, errors and invalid positions are immediately reported as plain text

messages. It is also important that the reels are aligned to the exact cutting position after installation. This is automatically handled by special sensors and a disk that can be rotated relative to the reel, on which part of the cutting device is also installed. After the reel take-up automation has reported its sign-on message, the machine is ready for production. The required take-up length can be input manually or stored in the machine’s own database, and the machine calculates the ‘pre-length’ – the length by which a series of automatic processes are initiated for the queued reel change. After reaching the computed pre-length relative to the entered set-point length, the automatic reel change is initiated independently. The middle safety gate separating the take-ups during operation is automatically opened and makes room for the movable positioning platform. The positioning platform is then automatically moved over the second shipping reel while the traverser is still positioned over the first shipping reel. The second shipping reel is simultaneously accelerated. When the set-point length is reached, the traverse will already have arrived at the cutting position near the catcher disk. The first shipping reel is stopped, and the hold-down device presses the cable into a newly developed restrainer, preventing the cable from unwinding off the reel. The second shipping reel takes over, and the automatic change is concluded with the middle safety gate being closed. Troester GmbH & Co KG – Germany

Fax : +49 511 864 028 Email : info@troester.de Website : www.troester.de

DAS-type double-reel spooler

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EuroWire – January 2007