EoW November 2007

feature

Cutting &Welding

W ire cutting is the very model of a simple, straight- forward operation. But it has an extraordinary requirement for precision, and always has had. The highly mechanised, top-speed wire cutter of 2007 can trace a direct connection to the wire shears that enjoyed pride of place in the workshop of an artisan of the middle industrial period. This was a precision tool from its first appearance. The electronic servo feeder on a modern cut-to-length line ensures that precision to an extraordinary degree, featuring a control with display, speed potentiometer, safety guard and powerful shock absorbers. Guide rollers keep the feedstock straight and perfectly perpendicular to the cut. At the same time, shearing knife clearances can be preset – with a screw adjustment – by hand. Wire welding, too, was and is a hands-on operation – even if, these days, those hands are on the keyboard of a console. A renowned institute of welding technology declares on its website: “Necessity being the mother of invention, we developed our own.” Butt welding. Spot welding. Arc welding. MIG. TIG. Stick. Orbital. Each serves a special need; and, impressive as it is, this partial list will grow.Welding is an evolutionary process if there ever was one. Cutting and welding may serve the obverse functions of separating and joining, but they have this in common: they began as bench operations in the service of high ideals of craftsmanship. And they have never lost touch with their origins.

The Strecker type SS 120

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Meeting demand for high quality welds August Strecker has recently increased its contacts in the fastener industry – adding to its 75 years’ experience in providing buttwelding equipment to the wire and cable industry. The increase is to meet the demand for a high performance reliable welder to produce excellent weld quality at the feed of individual lines for manufacturing cold- heading wire parts. A typical machine for this process would be the Strecker type SS 120, working a range of steel wires from 8-24mm in diameter. The welder is mounted on a platform that can be moved into a working position close to the wire ends to be joined. This unit works with two upset cycles to produce welds of high quality (the heat-affected liquid material is almost completely pressed out of the joint), and incorporates an automatic de-burring cycle producing flash-free joints of identical cross-section compared to the original materials. Another feature is that welding and, if necessary, annealing, can be done on the same working height as often it is not possible to reposition the welded/de-burred wire into annealing clamps on another level. August Strecker GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax : +49 5431 44221 Email : strecker@strecker-limburg.de Website : www.strecker-limburg.de

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EuroWire – November 2007