WCA January 2011

Dies

Die Saver finisher Die Quip has released the Die Saver line of die finishing machines for tungsten carbide wire drawing dies. The line comprises three models, said to be capable of grinding or polishing dies in either manual or automatic cycles to meet the requirements of any die shop. All models are of a heavy-duty construction, with simple controls and Die Quip’s sine bar angle setting for accurate angles and faster polishing times. The HDF-100 is the starting machine, designed mainly for high speed polishing but capable of grinding small numbers of dies per day with its 9,000rpm spindle. The MGF-200 is a semi-automatic machine with a high-speed spindle to meet the needs of most wire mills, and the SGF-300 (with the largest die holding capacity of 100mm) has the most powerful grinding spindle and automatic cycle.

For large production of dies the MGF or SGF machines can be combined with Die Quip’s Die Flex line of calibrating and polishing machines. Die Quip’s machines are designed to produce tooling in-house to improve material delivery times, reduce tooling costs and provide productivity improvements by increasing die life through better design, but the company also offers extensive training programmes, with on-site training, detailed manuals and the exclusive Die Making handbook.

Die grinding machine from Die Quip ❍ ❍

Die Quip Corporation – USA Fax : +1 412 835 6474 Email : diequip@diequip.com Website : www.diequip.com

Cable compacting and stranding dies

Sanxin Nano dies, for compacting and stranding operations, are manufactured from a tungsten carbide die, to which a very thin layer of nanocrystalline diamond particles is applied to the working surface of the nib. The particles are in the nanometre size range and all the particles are the same size, locked together in a pattern to produce exceptional hardness and strength. Tungsten carbide and PCD dies continue to wear until they go out of tolerance; Nano dies hold +0 tolerance for their entire working life. When a Nano die finally fails it is due to the collapse of the diamond surface, caused by metal fatigue in the tungsten carbide foundation material. In compacting and stranding applications, the +0 working life of a Nano die might be as high as 1,000km, but typical die life is in the range 500-800km. The Nano die +0 tolerance offers savings in raw material. For example, if compacting a 240mm copper cable at 18.4mm diameter, a comparison may be made between a tungsten carbide die which opens out by 0.1mm in 100km of cable compacted, and a Nano die which holds +0 tolerance. The Nano die is said to have the potential to pay for itself in the first few kilometres, and to continue to save raw material costs over 600 or 700km. Nano dies are thought to impart a better surface finish on the cable than TC dies. Furthermore, less energy is required to run compacting and stranding machinery when using Nano dies, due to the extremely smooth working surface.

Sanxin Wire Die Inc – USA Email : admin@sanxinamerica.com Website : www.sanxinamerica.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2011