EoW May 2010

Spools, reels & pre-packaging systems

Wire, strand and cable handling For over a decade the Niehoff Package System (NPS) has provided an efficient, safe, reliable and economic handling system for wires, bunches, strands, conductors and cables. The NPS consists of specially developed spoolers and spools. NPS high-speed double spoolers, SV 400 D and SV 410 D, use a patented conical wire-laying technology to spool the insulated wire inline with an extrusion line onto NPS spools. The collapsible multi-way NPS spools made of ABS plastic offer a secure, stable and tangle-free package when full or partially empty and enable high cable payoff speeds into downstream processes.

The system works efficiently for all automotive wire and cable including small cross section wire, 0.22mm² and 0.13mm². The empty NPS spools can be separated into a flange and a cone/flange that can be nested into each other for reduced storage space. An NPS spool takes up only a third of the space of a comparable conventional spool and requires less return shipping space than traditional spools and packages of the same capacity, resulting in considerable savings in shipping and handling costs. On return to the cable manufacturer NPS spools can be easily and quickly reassembled and reused for dozens of cycles.

SV 410 D type spooler with a filled and an empty NPS spool ▲ ▲

A recent development from Niehoff and its partners is a radio frequency identification (RFID) based braiding bobbin management system that simplifies spool tracking logistics. The system can be connected to a production data acquisition (PDA) system with a manufacturing execution system (MES). The RFID transponders, inserted into the NPS spools by manufacturer Astroplast, carry production data. They have a higher data storage capacity, thus more information, than

traditional barcode systems and cannot be erased or rendered illegible. The stored data is secure as the RFID transponder is insensitive to conventional pollutants.

NPS double spooler type SV 410 D ▲ ▲

The new RFID system enables decentralised data storage beyond factory boundaries, tracking of individual spools and data documentation. When further processing the spools, a machine operator can compare the spool data with the order data and identify whether or not a spool is suitable for the production process. Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax : +49 9122 977 155 Email : info@niehoff.de Website : www.niehoff.de

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EuroWire – May 2010