EuroWire November 2019

UK F c s t

Photos – www.bigstockphoto.com – Stockdevil and mtrommer

Extrusion machine specialist

BWE Ltd is a UK engineering company specialising in continuous extrusion machines and cold pressure welders for many different applications. Conform™ and Conklad™ are well- established continuous extrusion technologies in the non-ferrous, cable and tube industries. Typical applications include copper and aluminium rectangular wire (magnet wire for transformers), solid aluminium conductor (SAC for cables), copper bus bar, trolley wire and other shaped conductors, AS wire, OPGW, CATV, round refrigeration tube, and multiport or PFC tubes in different alloys. BWE’s SheathEx™ technology is fast becoming a new alternative to seamless aluminium sheathing of high-voltage cables. A new SheathEx™ 400 line was supplied earlier this year to extrude a ‘seamless’ and ‘smooth’ aluminium sheath over an oil-impregnated cable. The SheathEx process provides a continuous and seamless aluminium sheath with no weld. The aluminium sheath has good conductivity and environmental properties, is light in weight and has proven reliability. By using standard CCR aluminium rod, the material costs are very low, making SheathEx™ an effective method of sheathing medium, high and extra-high voltage power cables. A new Conform machine has been specifically designed to extrude solid

▲ A typical BWE Conform 550 installation for copper bus bar and sections

aluminium conductor (round or sector shaped) from 2 x 9.5mm diameter rods, providing a cost-effective process to a product in demand. A new Conklad machine has also been added to the range, enabling small and delicate cores to be sheathed from one aluminium feedstock rod instead of two. The machine will reduce capital and running costs for applications such as AS wire, OPGW, sheathed composite cores, reinforced aluminium wire and solid aluminium conductor (SAC). BWE continues to develop new products, and a new Conform machine will be supplied to Sheffield University in the UK in 2020. Following extensive and

successful trials at BWE, the university will use the machine to continue the development of processing titanium powders into a solid wire or strip profile for automotive springs. Other applications include wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), which is becoming a more attractive way of 3D printing metals. BWE also manufactures and supplies a complete range of cold welders and dies for a fast and reliable solution to welding non-ferrous materials from fine wire to round rod. BWE Ltd – UK Website : www.bwe.co.uk

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November 2019