WCA January 2007

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Dry & Wet Lubricants
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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2007
With lubricants for wire making,
excellence is available by the
can, pail, or drum
No one needs to be persuaded of the importance of lubricants,
least of all a wire maker. The words (and pictures) that spring
to mind in connection with inadequate lubrication – jamming,
snapping, breaking, rusting – have special force for the operator
of a modern wire production line that extends the length of the
plant floor and can be interrupted only at a stiff penalty in scrap
and productivity.
A wire is, after all, a strand of metal, and metal requires as much
protection during processing as before and afterwards. In fact,
it requires more. And protection here is to be understood in terms of the right lubricant, properly
applied and in the correct amounts, by mechanisms as precisely calibrated as any in the plant.
The pump which floods the dies must not drown them. The bottom portions of the blocks must run
in lubricant – not swim in it. Circulation, filtering, and temperature control of the lubricant must be
responsive to conditions at all times and at every point in the production cycle.
The differences among fatty alcohol-based lubricants and silicone, gel, wax, and a host of other
wet and dry types are fascinating on the page of a technical manual. They are critical to someone
at the console during a production run in a highly automated modern wire plant.
With lubricants for wire making, excellence is available by the can, pail, or drum. In the following
pages Wire & Cable ASIA reviews some products and services essential to a high-quality wire
making practice.
Kuwait Petroleum International
Lubricants is a developer, manufacturer
and supplier of high quality lubricants
for the metal manufacturing industries.
The company’s Germ-Allcard range
of lubricants is used for non-ferrous
wire drawing, from heavy duty to
super fine wire drawing, tube drawing,
strip rolling and non-ferrous hot
rolling applications, and yellow metal
protectives. The Priamus and Wirol
range of drawing lubricants provide
long life, consistent lubrication and
cleanliness in all wire size applica-
tions for non-ferrous drawing from
heavy duty to wire sizes of less than
20 microns.
The Cylroll range of rolling oils
are emulsion concentrates for use
in the hot rolling of copper rod.
The range of products is capable
of extending roll life by over 100%,
producing the highest quality smooth
rod. The company also supplies
Q8Oils-branded fastener production
lubricants, metalworking lubricants
and wire rope lubricants, and Q8 Bach
RF strip rolling oils for all material
types, including stainless steel, steel,
copper, phosphor bronze and all
yellow metals.
Kuwait Petroleum International
Lubricants – UK
Fax: +44 1483 228 484
Email:
Website:
New lubricants and
filtration for aluminium
wire drawing
In the process of drawing wires used
for medium and high voltage cables,
neat oils are used as lubricants. These
oils have a medium to high viscosity
and are not very fluid at ambient
temperature. ➣➢➣
Photo credit: Traxit International
Multiple ranges of lubricants from Q8
Germ-Allcard lubricants from Kuwait Petroleum International Lubricants t