EoW September 2008

rod & bar production

T he expression raising the bar is more suggestive of athletics than of wire production but the concept is very well understood by wire makers. An abstract of an article on steel wire rod and bar production begins: “Technical themes based upon market needs . . .” It ends with the warning, “Environmentally friendly material excellence will be necessary.” The material in the middle is more typical of technical journals, with its concern for higher strength (at no sacrifice of toughness andworkability), precise control of rolling temperatures (for more consistent mechanical and metallurgical properties), and product microstructure (such that subsequent heat treating and double handling may be eliminated). No doubt abstracts on nickel bar and rod – and copper bar and rod, and titanium bar and rod – are similarly bracketed at both ends by the “soft” 21 st century considerations migrating from general discourse into the vocabulary of the laboratory and the factory. Rod and bar must be friendly to the environment. The rolling of rod and bar must be responsive to the needs of the market. The solid professionals whose pro- ducts and services are reviewed here don’t mind. From long experience of meeting their expectations of themselves, they can confidently be expected to meet – and exceed – these new ones. They have raised the bar on us.

DEM high-speed ribbed bar production DEM Wire Rolling Technology, a company specialised in cold rolling processes and well-known for its cold rolling cassettes, has, thanks to its considerable experience on these machines, developed a special high-speed ribbed bar line starting from wire rod in coils and finishing with 4.0 to 16mm diameter ribbed wire in bars in lengths ranging from 0.9 – 14m, running at speeds of up to 8 m/sec. The line generally consists of a double pay-off for wire rod uncoiling, a mechanical descaler, a soap applicator unit, a rolling unit (undriven cassette plus driven rolling stand), a twin axis straightening unit, a cutting-to-length high speed flying shear and an unloading bench with a special DEM patented bar braking and unloading system as well as all auxiliary equipment.

High-speed ribbed bar production line ▲ ▲

High straightness of the bar is guaranteed by a special twin roller straightening configuration unit which acts without any friction on the material. This concept avoids any form of wire marking compared to other straightening systems. The smart design allows quick and simple setting up of straightener roll adjustment for any production change. Straightening and cutting-to-length finishing lines for bar production can also be installed on existing cold drawing/rolling lines for coil production.

DEM Costruzioni Speciali srl – Italy Fax : +39 0432 655484 Email : info@demills.com Website : www.demills.com

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EuroW ire – September 2008