WCA November 2013

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2013
The costs for product quality have
mainly been spent by the dies and their
manufacturing tolerances, which have
been determined throughout the
drawing hollow. In order to get along
with the requirements, it is necessary
to use an improved drawing tool.
The resulting requirement of the
improved die geometry requires a
sustainable further development of the
currently used die-working machine.
The target of the new development
was a secure and efficient observation
of the die working geometry during the
manufacturing process with improved
manufacturing tolerances. Beside the
quality observation, the safety of the
process and observation of the die
quality is of crucial importance.
The machine is equipped with an
automatic needle exchange device and
a fully automatic measuring system,
which sends the data of the
manufacturing process to the
controller. This allows the automation
of a small series without the
intervention of staff members to switch
the measuring pins. Because of the
needle exchange device, it is possible
to perform this with a completely
automatic workstation. All three steps
such as grinding, polishing of the cone
and processing of the cylinder are fully
automatic.
The demand and the urgent
requirement of the wire processing
industry to such intelligent solutions for
process observation will grow even
stronger in the future.
Willi Bremer GmbH – Germany
Website:
New development for the automatic die working machine
Coats plc, an industrial thread and
consumer textile crafts business, has
made a unique enhancement to its
Ultrabloc S/SC range that protects
delicate fibre optic cables against the
damaging effects of sea and salt
water.
Coats Ultrabloc S/SC is a
water-swellable yarn, suitable for dry
blocking in fibre optic cables. It is
appropriate for use in any application
that requires no mess processing and
soft, uniform surfaces around the
cables, such as inside and outside
tube blocking, to produce completely
dry cable designs.
Coats Ultrabloc S is a spun
super-absorbent polymer yarn, while
Ultrabloc SC incorporates a polyester
core for added strength. These yarns
have been tested and proven to
withstand temperature cycling, heat
aging, and freeze/thaw testing.
One of the benefits of Coats Ultrabloc
is that it eliminates the need for gel
inside tubes, allowing for totally dry
fibre optic cables. Dry cable designs
are preferred by service providers
because they are lighter in weight and
make installation and repair of cables
much easier and more cost efficient.
Coats Ultrabloc S/SC yarns have
extremely smooth surfaces because
they are not coated and are spun on
state-of-the-art equipment for precise
diameter and quality control. The
smooth outer surface provides less
chance of signal weakening in the
cable, which can lead to loss of signal
strength.
Since there is no coating on the yarn
there is no ‘shedding’ or ‘dusting’
during cable manufacture. Having a
much cleaner procedure can save both
time and money in cable processing
due to reduced machine setup time
and increased machine lifetime.
Coats Ultrabloc S/SC is used throughout
the cable industry for loose tube, ribbon
or central tube optical fibre cables, and
for energy/power cables.
Shantanu Banerjee, managing director,
global speciality, Coats plc, said: “The
technological enhancements in Coats
Ultrabloc S/SC are a world first for the
totally dry cable market. The range can
now protect against sea water which
has a damaging effect on fibre optic
cables. Coats Ultrabloc S/SC is yet
another example of Coats’ varied
portfolio of apparel, footwear and
speciality thread, yarn and zip
innovations.”
Coats Ultrabloc S/SC yarns are now
also available on fibre reels. This
allows for easy introduction and
processing on existing buffer tube lines
with no need for tooling or
modifications to existing lines. It also
allows for more precise tension control.
Coats Plc – UK
Website:
Protecting against effects of sea and salt water
❍
❍ Coats Ultrabloc is used to protect
delicate fibre optic cables against the
damaging effects of sea and salt