WCA September 2010

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Furnaces and heat treatments
Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2010 67
RI type inductive annealers
Maschinenfabrik Niehoff and its subsidiary company NBM have completely
revised and optimised the inductive-conductive annealers of the RI series. The
RI annealers are built in four different sizes and can be combined
with rolling lines and drawing lines for the in-line heat treatment
of round, flat and profiled wires with a diameter from 0.15mm to
5mm. Designed for an annealing power of 10kW up to 250kW, the
RI annealers can now be applied for annealing temperatures of up
to 1,000°C and are particularly suitable for wires made of metals
with low electric conductivity, such as copper alloys, nickel and
nickel alloys, precious metals and their alloys, composite wires
and special material wires.
The revised design of the annealers includes
the most recent energy-saving drives and
energetically optimised components, corres-
ponds to the current safety regulations of
the machinery directive RL 2006/42/EG and
features a completely new and functionally
optimised machine design. The RI annealers
work on the principle of an excitation voltage
transformer. The induced electrical voltage
generates an electric current which heats the
wire and leads to a fine and homogeneous
structure with good processing properties
while ensuring a high wire surface quality. The
contactless energy transfer principle ensures
a high energy efficiency (80 to 90%).
Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax: +49 9122 977155
Email: Website :
RI 250 type inductive-conductive ❍ ❍
annealer in the new design
Wire and strand annealing furnaces
CM’s annealing furnaces are designed and manufactured for years of trouble-free
service in the processing of wire, rod, strand and strip products. They are said to
be ideal for copper, copper alloy, nickel, nickel chrome, titanium, stainless steel
and refractory metals. Temperature ranges are available from 1,000°C (1,850°F)
to 1,750°C (3,200°F). In addition to standard sizes, CM will modify existing
designs to meet the customer’s particular process requirements. All furnaces are
completely assembled, factory pre-tested and ready for immediate installation.
All CM strand annealers are manufactured from heavy gauge steel with
state-of-the-art electronics and an energy-saving combination of fibre and brick
insulation. A staggered tube array allows a greater number of tubes in a more
compact, energy efficient cavity, and minimises the temperature drop across the
cavity to provide greater temperature uniformity and improved product quality.
The processing tubes, available in a choice of alloys, are supported by silicon
carbide plates to minimise sagging and horizontal drift.
All CM furnaces are available with water
cooled tanks, fabricated from stainless steel
and incorporating stainless tubes. Optional
re-circulating systems with chillers are
available. Gas manifolds permit the operator
to individually control the flow of atmosphere
into each tube. All units utilising combustible
atmospheres include CM Furnaces’ own
hydrogen/nitrogen safety system to prevent the
unsafe operation of the equipment in the event
of failure. SCR power controllers are utilised
on each control zone and separate variable
set point over temperature instrumentation is provided. Thermocouple alloys
are selected depending on process and operating temperatures. A full array of
ammeters and volt meters are supplied, including all controls, switches, relays,
power transformers and other electrical components. All instrumentation is ready
for immediate operation.
CM Furnaces Inc – USA Fax: +1 973 338 1625
Email: Website:
Strand annealer from CM ❍
❍
Furnaces