EuroWire March 2018

wire 2018 show

16 th - 20 th April

The second, more reliable, alternative to these rudimentary oiling devices is the use of a lubricant coating developed by Chase Corporation. This coating is applied to the foil side of the shielding tape, and is designed to deliver a precisely controlled level of lubrication between the tape and the forming tool without compromising any of the other performance require- ments. The dry coating, trademarked as Slicktape®, provides an alternative to maximise cabling process speeds while minimising friction and build-up of debris in the forming area. Slicktape eliminates the inconsistencies of direct oiling methods through both its chemistry and an innovative coating pattern. This pattern ensures the optimum amount of lubrication is applied but also maintains a pathway for metal to metal continuity to the foil surface. The tape remains dry until there is enough friction to release the lubricant from the proprietary coating. Only a thin film of oil is present, and coats the surrounding tape surface and the folding tool itself. Because the lubricant is built into the tape construction, operator intervention is not required to ensure a consistent application. As a result, manual oilers can be eliminated, the work area remains clean, and cable defects are minimised. Chase Corporation – USA Website : www.chasecorp.com The cable industry is starting to adopt the principles of Industry 4.0, or the “smart factory”. Whether it is a revolution, or an evolution of automated systems of the past, it is an opportunity. ‘Smart’ means not just doing things better, but doing things differently. Ali Shehab, CEO of Cimteq, said: “There is tremendous confusion around Industry 4.0, the Smart Factory and the Internet of Things (IoT). When people think of Industry 4.0, they think of technology, but when they hear the word Smart, they think of intelligence. The two concepts go hand in hand. Smart is the act of applying an intelligent solution to solve a problem and Industry 4.0 is the collection of technologies to enable this function. Another error that people make is equating the Internet of Things (IoT) to Industry 4.0. IoT is only one of the new and evolved technologies which we collectively call Industry 4.0.” Using smart assets in a factory does not make the factory a smart factory, in the same way that a person using a smartphone does not make the person smart. Cimteq Ltd Stand: 11D15

Chase Corporation Stand: 09E41

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Most cable manufacturers rely on forming tools to properly fold and align shielding tapes with the precision necessary to meet strict cable performance criteria. Running a foil tape across a metal forming tool creates friction that abrades both the tape and tooling itself. Any debris generated during the process, either from the tape or from its contact with the forming tool, eventually accumulates in the tooling, causing unwanted cable defects and/or tape breaks due to space limitations. The typical practice in the wire and cable industry is to attempt to minimise this type of scuffing by directly lubricating either the tooling or the tape with oiling devices. Some forming guide manufacturers offer anti-friction inserts as a part of their basic designs. These inserts are made from materials such as PTFE film. Unfortunately, this form of lubrication is only a temporary solution because, due to wear, the film must be replaced frequently. Replacement frequency depends on the amount of friction and the length of the cable run. Long cable campaigns may even require planned line stops so that these inserts can be replaced. A forming tool designed with a friction-reducing insert cannot be used without the insert because the gap has been adjusted to compensate for the PTFE thickness. There are two basic methods for applying lubrication directly to a foil tape. One is the use of mineral oil, or other inexpensive hydraulic/machine oil, added directly to the tape during processing. This is a simple process where a small reservoir supplies a gravity-fed drip mechanism that keeps a cloth, or other membrane, moist with oil. The oil is transferred to the surface of a tape in-line as it is pulled through or across the membrane. These application devices are relatively simple to add to a cabling line; however, their drawback is that they are quite inconsistent in the amount of lubricant deposited on the tape. The amount of oil varies when the speed of the machine changes. The amount can also vary from operator to operator as they adjust or refill these very basic manual devices. An inconsistent level of lubrication can result in inconsistent cable performance. If too little lubrication is applied, the process is not effective, and scuffing continues to occur. If too much lubricant is added it may interfere with other performance properties within a cable. This can be a significant issue with tapes that are designed to bond to other components within a cable.

The company will display a range of its equipment, including: • Surface quality measurement for fine wires: After 14 years of development, SQM instrumentation is almost ready for sale. It works on any wire below 2mm diameter, including drawn, plaited and enamelled. A demonstration of the prototype will be shown on the stand. • Optical fibre: A complete line of measurement instruments and software for full in-line quality certification. The company has over 20 years’ experience, and has supplied, worldwide, more than 350 fully equipped Cersa drawing towers. The company offers technology for high speed draw-towers: LIS-G, NCTM, CM5, AIR and shortly the BUB, all cover the need for fibre drawing control, from the bare fibre (diameter, airline, spinning, defects, accurate tension) to the coating (diameter, lump and neck, bubbles, delamination). • Fine wire: LDS (laser diffraction sensor) for fine wires down to 5µm diameter. High accuracy measurement, including all accessories and software for in-line or lab measurement. Cersa will soon launch its three-axis LDS-U at 40kHz for very fine cables down to 50µm diameter. • High speed diameter measurement for fine cables: LPS-H. Measurement at 40,000 samples per second on three axes for diameter, lump and neckdown detection. An all-in-one instrument for up to 20mm diameter. • CIM software: providing a comprehensive set of tools for production traceability with statistics analyses, spool by spool for in-line quality certification, and sample by sample for lab control. All these products are the result of customer demand, and close cooperation between industry experts and Cersa engineers, to improve in-line continuous production checks for material saving and quality certification, and to reduce off-line checks and cost. The company has an office in Wuhan, China, to cover the whole of Asia for technical assistance and maintenance. Cersa-MCI – France Website : www.cersa-mci.com ▲ A range of measurement and control systems from Cersa-MCI

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March 2018