EuroWire July 2015

News Technology

Frigeco to the automotive rescue

can be used. The following are some of these conceptual constructions and are not intended to reflect preferred constructions. The final construction is determined to meet a specific requirement as determined by the supplier and the final customer. A typical construction on the Frigeco machines for 160mm 2 would be – 798 wires of x 0.51mm – 17.9mm Cond OD. This is made of 19 sub units of 42 wires of 0.51mm diameter and assembled into a 1+6+12 to produce the final conductor. First the 0.51mm wires are made on the multi-wire as above. These sub units of 42 wires are assembled on a Frigeco double twist buncher. Once the sub units are assembled, the bobbins are placed into 19 driven dancer controlled payoffs to produce the larger conductors. Each of the payoffs has a motor and the speed of the bobbin is controlled with the pneumatic dancer. These individual units are assembled using a lay plate where the sub units are arranged in a 1+6+12 symmetrical orientation and placed into the 1,600mm single twist cabler to produce a very high quality unilay construction. Once the primary or battery cable conductor is produced, it must be insulated. These insulated conductors need to meet the hostile and demanding requirements of the engine compartment where the temperature can range from -40 to +180ºC. Mario Frigerio SpA – Italy Website : www.mariofrigerio.com

has to be increased for the same current capacity. There are also other factors such as tensile strength, thermal expansion and thicker oxide layers. Regardless, the future of automotive cables is moving in this direction. The finished conductor sizes are typically 0.75 to 2.5mm 2 for primary cable and 3 to 160mm 2 for intermediate power/battery cables. To produce these conductors there are several steps in manufacturing. Firstly, the small wires need to be produced. Typically these are made on a Frigeco multi-wire line, a single row of 16 wires with 100mm capstans. Once the wires come off the multi-wire machine and onto reels they need to be twisted into small bunches or sub units. The preferred method of production of the small sub units is to pay them off into a double twist buncher (typically 630mm or an 800mm). Depending on the number of wires required in the sub unit and the number of wires that can be processed on the multi-wire, the number of payoffs required needs to be determined. Once the sub units are assembled,

There are many factors that have contributed to manufacturers moving from copper to toward aluminium for many automotive applications. Today aluminium is used in primary cable and power/battery cables for passenger and commercial vehicles. The justification for going to aluminium is reduced weight, which provides up to a 47 per cent mass reduction compared to copper. This can result in improved fuel economy, easier assembly and cabling that is easier to handle. In addition, copper prices are much more volatile. Aluminium is abundant and copper is getting more difficult to find. This, coupled with the pressure being placed on copper demand from other industries, gives the manufacturer a much more stable supply chain and cost source. However, there are other factors to consider when using aluminium. For example, the conductivity of aluminium is approximately 60 per cent of copper. Therefore the conductor cross section

▼ ▼ A Frigeco multi-wire line

the reel holding the sub unit is either sent to insulating, if the desired cross section has been reached, or multiple reels coming from the bunchers are placed into driven, dancer controlled payoffs and assembled into a larger cross section using a larger single twist cabler. There are many constructions that

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July 2015

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