WCA March 2012

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wire 2012 - New Products on show
March 26th – 30th 80
wire 2012
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Photo courtesy Rene Tillmann
©
The drums, which were needed for the
production of cables, also posed a real
challenge.
Borkener Kistenfabrik GmbH –
Netherlands
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BWE Ltd
Stand: 11F26
With five lines now in production, BWE’s
SheathEx™ process is becoming the
new alternative to seamless aluminium
sheathing of high voltage cables. A sixth
installation will be commissioned during
the first half of this year.
The SheathEx process is an extension of
the well established Conform™ and
Conklad™ continuous extrusion tech-
nology. The SheathEx machine extrudes a
continuous and seamless aluminium tube
from two 12mm diameter rods around a
high voltage cable core.
BWE collaborated with high voltage power
cable producers in China to develop the
product and process specifications for this
new and unique technology.
The SheathEx machine incorporates a large
crosshead to accommodate the large
diameter dies required for cable sheathing.
The aluminium sheath is seamless, with no
weld line or bead. The twin groove mode of
operation ensures the aluminium sheath is
concentric.
BWE’s patented induction heating system
provides a very even temperature
distribution around the tooling, leading to
very stable running conditions, and
consistent properties in the aluminium tube.
The feedstock material is standard CCR
aluminium rod, which is readily available
and cheap, compared to other materials
(such as flat aluminium sheets used in a
welding line). The cable core passes
continuously through the crosshead. A
cooled insertion tube protects the cable
core on entry to the crosshead, and rapid
quench of the aluminium tube immediately
after the die prevents thermal damage to
the core.
Downstream from the SheathEx machine
the cable sheath is corrugated in-line and
coiled onto large drums.
The SheathEx process is a continuous (no
stop marks), reliable (no weld) and cost
effective (cheap materials, low energy)
method of sheathing high voltage power
cables.
SheathEx, Conform and Conklad are
Registered Trade Marks of BWE Ltd.
International patents have been filed for the
SheathEx process, SheathEx tooling
system, machine arrangement, control
method and induction heating technology
that is employed.
BWE Ltd – UK
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Email:
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❍ The SheathEx production line