WCN Autumn 2009

Aluminium automotive wire drawing and bunching technology In order to save weight, leading car manufacturers are planning on replacing copper conductors, of 6mm 2 to 50mm 2 cross section, with aluminium conductors. The production equipment for aluminium wires – drawing lines, payoffs and bunching machines – must meet added and more difficult demands. Maschinenfabrik Niehoff has recently developed new aluminium multi-wire drawing and annealing technology. World-leading expert to be keynote speaker at Istanbul Cable & Wire ’09 Dr Heinz-Jürgen Büchner is vice-president of economics and research at the IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG in Düsseldorf. He has been with IKB since September 2000 having previously been at the Landesbank Rheinland-Pfaltz at Mainz. From 1981–1987 he was an assistant professor in the Economics department of the University of Bonn, having received his Ph.D with a dissertation on the ‘Economic theories of tax evasion.’ His important keynote address is entitled: ‘Recovery of the world economy: consequences for capacities and prices of metals.’ This presentation will provide all delegates with vital expert opinion on how the severe economic downturn of 2008/2009 is expected to impact on the metal industry. A compact version of the conference brochure is published in the centre four pages of this newsletter and the full six page version, including a hotel booking form, can be viewed and downloaded from the IWMA website www.iwma.org Dr Heinz-Jürgen Büchner ▲ ▲

Experience of the MH 120 type 2-wire intermediate drawing line with integrated RA 200 annealer, developed for drawing of up to 30 different aluminium alloys wires, has helped the design of the MMH 104/RMA 201 type multiwire drawing and annealing line. The line is designed for the simultaneous drawing of eight or sixteen aluminium or aluminium alloy wires from a maximum inlet diameter of 2.5mm to a finish diameter of 0.15 to 0.6mm with inline annealing and can work with a maximum speed of 31.5 m/s. The wires have highly homogeneous characteristics to meet the strictest specifications and processing requirements. The MMH 104 drawing machine can be used with different drawing lubricant supply systems and operated with drawing oil or drawing emulsion for a clean operation. Further features include special die holders and built-in drawing capstan sprayers tailor-made for the specific requirements of aluminium wire drawing and a vacuum system for extracting oil mist from the drawing area and returning it to the drawing lube system.

A detail from the MMH 104/RMA 201 multiwire line ▲ ▲

The RMA 201 continuous resistance annealer is designed for aluminium and aluminium alloy wires. The two-zone annealing principle with short annealing sections promotes economical and ecological energy consumption. The entire wire section from the final die in the MMH 104 to the end of the annealing operation is fully sealed off from the outside. In order to avoid oxidation of the aluminium wire surface nitrogen is used as protective atmosphere.

Niehoff’s D series double twist bunching machines are suitable for the bunching of aluminium and aluminium alloys wires. The one-bow design results in a significantly reduced energy consumption and noise emission compared to conventional bunching machines. D-series machines can be equipped with bows whose geometries and coatings are specially adapted to the requirements of aluminium wires. By means of a load cell inside the cradle, the wire tension on the spool is infinitely adjustable, monitored and controlled within tight tolerances across the entire bobbin filling. As an option, the bunchers can be equipped with the NBAT (Niehoff bunching automatic traverse) device that automatically detects spool flanges and controls the traverse width of empty and full spools by means of optoelectronic sensors. As the spools are filled perfectly, the strands can be paid off tangle-free and without wire damages even at very high speeds.

D 631 type series double twist bunching machine equipped for ▲ ▲ aluminium and aluminium alloy wires

Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax : +49 9122 977 155 Email : info@niehoff.de Website : www.niehoff.de

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WIRE & CABLE NEWS • Issue N° 41 – Autumn 2009 • www.iwma.org