WCA January 2011

Technology news

clean wire after drawing

Solutions for fibre optics At wire China 2010, PolyOne focussed on its portfolio of solutions for optical fibres. The product family includes several grades of ECCOH™ and ECCOH™ PF low smoke and fume, zero-halogen (LSFOH) compounds, as well as OnColor™ and OnCap™ colourant and additive solutions. PolyOne Corp sees rising global demand for optical fibre is being led by China, Japan and Korea. In China, government stimulus funds promoting rural infrastructure and major construction programmes have significantly expanded the optical fibre market. In the past, optical fibre cables were mainly for outdoor use and, as such, did not require flame retardant sheathing materials. Increasingly, however, bandwidth providers are bringing fibre optics into buildings. These cables must not only be flame retardant, but must also contain materials that are low-smoke, low-fume, and non-halogenated (also called LSFOH, for Low Smoke and Fume, Zero Halogen). Responding to this trend, PolyOne developed a range of solutions for the FTTB and FTTH markets, called ECCOH™ and ECCOH™ PF compounds. Both product families are said to meet the requirements for LSFOH material use inside buildings, and are classified as a PolyOne Sustainable Solution. In addition to excellent flame retardance, these solutions offer low smoke and low toxicity benefits, and include the following features: ECCOH™ compounds meet tight buffering and sheathing requirements, offer • low corrosion, very low shrinkage (less than 1%), good mechanical strength to prevent fibre breakage, and low memory retention to ensure good attenuation properties ECCOH™ PF grades are recommended for mini-ducts through which fibre is • routed. These compounds offer good flame retardance, while an inherent stiffness allows easy installation and provides bend radius control OnCap™ anti-static compound enables optical fibres to be blown further. This • compound can be coextruded as an internal layer 0.5mm thick. A patent is pending on the application using LSFOH as an outer layer and antistatic slip compound as the internal layer Each ECCOH™ compound can also be provided with suitable OnColor™ • colour concentrates to match specific requirements, with masterbatches available for other materials such as HDPE, PBT and TPU. PolyOne also offers OnCap™ UV additive and slip additive masterbatches suitable for FTTx applications PolyOne Corp – USA Fax : +1 440 930 3064 Website : www.polyone.com 344 superconductor has a new name American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) has introduced Amperium wire, the new brand name for the company’s proprietary second generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire. Previously called “344 superconductors,” the new name reflects the product’s ability to conduct more than 100 times the electrical current (amperage) of copper wire of the same dimensions. In high-voltage power transmission systems just one of these ultra-thin wires is believed to be capable of carrying enough power to serve the needs of approximately 10,000 homes. The high power density of Amperium wire dramatically reduces the footprint and cost of large-scale electrical equipment, such as power cables and wind generators. In the USA, Amperium wire is utilised by Nexans to produce an extension of the superconductor power transmission cable system that has been running in Long Island Power Authority’s (LIPA) primary power corridor since April 2008. Additional cable projects that are expected to utilise Amperium wire include the Tres Amigas™ SuperStation, which aims to connect America’s three power grids for to unlock the country’s renewable energy resources.

candor

can do wire equipment

Electrolytic plating ◆ Candojet hot water cleaning ◆ Electrolytic & Ultrasonic ◆ degreasing Welding wire cleaning and ◆ copper coating Pickling & phosphating ◆

CANDOR Sweden AB Tel: +46 11 21 75 00 Email: info@candorsweden.com Fax: +46 11 12 63 12 Website: www.candorsweden.com

American Superconductor Corporation – USA Website : www.amsc.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2011