EuroWire November 2017

News Technology

Expertise on hand from Die Quip

THE economic pressure on wire mills has resulted in reviewing all non-production overhead costs including in-house die shops. There are many issues to consider when looking at outsourcing the re-working of dies. Reduction of overhead is often the motivating reason to close an internal die shop. It is not possible to dispense with all the personnel since someone will need to keep track of inventory to prevent running out of dies. An inspection programme must be implemented to ensure the quality being supplied, to prevent premature failures and inconsistent results and to be able to qualify different suppliers. This will require at least one operator in the die shop or added to the quality department. Since few wire mills inspect incoming dies, Die Quip has found inconsistencies with the dies’ internal geometry, complete non-conformance to specified die angles and bearing lengths and poor surface finishes.

▲ ▲ The MGF 200 from Die Quip

The key to operating a successful internal die shop is equipment that makes it easy and accurate to set the geometry of the die the same every time without operator influence, as well as proper training to understand the correct procedures for reworking worn dies into high quality dies and die designs to match the reductions, material and equipment. Die Quip has the machines, training programmes and design knowledge to make in-house die shops a production tool, not overhead expense. Die Quip Corp – USA Website : www.diequip.com

With outsourced or throw-away dies, usage increased since operators rarely inspect dies that have limited wire drawn through them for wear: they are just discarded with worn dies. Shipping costs increase since every die must be shipped to the mill, and when there is an emergency next-day air charges quickly add up. An internal shop can quickly produce dies to meet a customer’s demand for a new size, reduce lead-time by not waiting for a supplier, and adjust die geometry to solve drawing problems. These abilities will reduce scrap and make the mill more efficient.

LSOH – a special crosshead for special products Low-smoke zero-halogen is commonly used for a wide range of products, such as low-voltage power cables, automotive cables and premises cables. This material is very special with regard to its properties, since it only allows for low-temperature processing. Extrusion crossheads typically run at high temperatures and high pressure, which is why a special solution is required for the LSOH material. Rosendahl’s RX 40 F.1.0 extrusion crosshead is especially designed to run high output at low pressure to ensure safe and adequate handling of highly filled materials. The precise match of the crosshead and its tools allow for low shear rates and stable processing at low mass temperatures. The RX 40 F.1.0 is a single-layer extrusion crosshead that is easy both to assemble and disassemble. Maintenance is also kept very simple and easy. It is very user-friendly and meets the material’s special requirements to achieve best results on the final product.

Rosendahl Nextrom GmbH – Austria Website : www.rosendahlnextrom.com

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November 2017