WCA September 2014

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2014
Technologynews
THE requirement for very long offshore power cables having
a diameter of up to 350mm led to the development and
market availability of systems designed to meet the
demands of modern production.
During this development process, in addition to the
conventional stranding of three-phase AC cables on
cage-type stranding machines with back-twist, the principle
of the vertical stranding machine, which had been used for
many years in various areas of cable and rope production,
pushed its way back to the forefront of consideration.
This principle makes possible the particularly cost effective
and efficient manufacture of AC power cable. In a second
subsequent process, the stranded energy cable cores are
armoured with one or two layers of steel wire armour and
provided with additional optic elements, tapes, yarn and
bitumen.
SKET Verseilmaschinenbau and its partners have been
among those companies meeting the requirements of the
market in this way for over ten years.
At the end of 2013 two further vertical stranding machines
were supplied to customers in Europe and Asia. Since then,
the machine installed in the European cable works has
successfully completed trials and has produced its first
cable contracts for the offshore power cable market.
The machine supplied to a leading Japanese customer has
already successfully produced its first test and acceptance
cables and is just about to go into production.
SKET presented its latest development at the wire 2014
international trade fair in April, in Düsseldorf, Germany. The
company exhibited a model of a vertical stranding machine,
attracting great interest.
Many visitors from both domestic and foreign markets used
their visit to the stand to inform themselves concerning the
advantages of and the applications for vertical stranding
machines.
These machines are customised to the particular
requirements of the individual customer. The next machines
for customers in Asia are already in the planning stages.
In production at SKET during the fourth quarter of this year
is a two-cage type stranding machine which is additionally
designed to apply over 200 armouring wires together with
several optic elements to AC or DC offshore power cables.
SKET Verseilmaschinenbau GmbH – Germany
Website:
Stranding machine for the manufacture of AC and
DC offshore energy cables
❍ SKET MVD type vertical laying-up machine for making
submarine cables with a maximum diameter of 300mm
DSE Test Solutions, a global provider
of instruments for curing measurement
in the production of enamelled/magnet
wire, has added a new tangent delta
tester to its expansive product
portfolio.
In the development of the new TD3
tangent delta tester, DSE has focused
on reducing the number of mechanical
parts with the aim of optimising costs
as well as reducing the need for spare
parts.
Adapting the dynamic direct heating
technology from the top model TD5, it
has become possible to achieve a level
of repeatability of the measurements
not currently available anywhere in the
market at this price level for tangent
delta testers.
“Intensive use of the latest 3D
technology in prototyping has not only
reduced the end price, but has also
proven to be a great tool for testing and
development of new ideas and, last but
not least, 3D technology has allowed us
to integrate mechanical parts more
extensively than ever before,” said
product manager Poul Knudsen.
Visually, the compact instrument is an
example of Danish quality and sharp
industrial design. The instrument
measures wire samples up to 350ºC
and handles both round and flat wire.
DSE Test Solutions A/S – Denmark
Website:
Optimising costs with the launch of new tester