WCA November 2008

news

Absolute cleanliness is essential in high-voltage cable production. With super clean PE-material, higher voltage insulation strength with identifiable wall thicknesses and no defect charges can be achieved. With the CSS 2 for real time control and detection of contamination in XLPE-materials, Sikora believes it offers the technology to guarantee process stability and product quality. Contamination can be caused by material handling. Shavings can be created by wear of the extruder screw, or the cleaning of the extruder screw can leave dust particles. Contamination in the form of combustion particles such as amber and scorches are also a risk. Cleanliness in high-voltage cable production

Puller range with extra-heavy duty caterpillar haul-offs Gillard has enlarged its range of precision caterpillar haul-off/take-off machines with extra long belt versions of its ‘work-horse’ range. The extended belts are available in lengths of either 1,500mm or 1,800mm, in widths of either 225mm or 300mm. Gillard claims that these longer belts enable higher tractive efforts to be achieved with considerably less clamping pressure on the extruded products. This avoids distortion and damage, particularly to thin-wall products. The new caterpillars also feature an updated drive package with direct drive AC servomotors to power the belts. Two digital servo drives are used in a master/slave configuration for optimum speed control. The machines are fully guarded to the latest CE standards and Gillard offers a wide range of options to enable users to customise their machine to their needs.

Peter Gillard & Co Ltd – UK Fax : +44 1684 290330 Email : sales@gillard.co.uk Website : www.gillard.co.uk

CSS 2 detects contamination in XLPE-materials m m

The flow channel between the extruder and crosshead has sight glasses and an optical CCD-camera system, which transilluminates the insulation material. The high-resolution CCD-colour camera detects particles of 20 µm in the PE-melt and the identified constituents are classified according to size. Particles that exceed the specified tolerance value are analysed and the results displayed. Besides the graphical display of the detected particles, monitor pictures show a live image of the complete material flow – even if the selected tolerance level is not exceeded – and a trend curve of particles per litre. The system informs the operator when production can start and shows when contaminations exceed the tolerance value and operator intervention is needed. In contrast to granulate control the system actually detects contamination in the material before the cable is produced.

Sikora AG – Germany Fax : +49 421 489 0090 Email : sales@sikora.net Website : www.sikora.net

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2008