EuroWire November 2021

Technology News

New rigid strander model developed and commissioned

The system uses reliable Wi-Fi electronic control, avoiding brushes and corre- sponding possible failures. Real-time, continuous production status is reported, and sensitive items can be monitored. The range of working wires in copper and aluminium is wider, allowing higher final conductor sections in a single pass, up to 127 wires. FLYMCA SL www.flymca.com

avoids wire tension variations. Braking systems on the bobbins allow a constant tension from full to empty bobbin, and also between the different wires of each stranding cage. Minimum values have been reached allowing the use of smaller wire diameters. An optimised stranding cage structure allows an increase in maximum rotating speed andmaximises production capacity, while an improved automatic bobbin loading system gives higher efficiency through lower machine stopping time.

FLYMCA has announced that a newmodel of rigid strander has been developed and commissioned, focused on overhead, underground and subsea cables for low, medium and high voltage cables. This type of machine is used in processes such as stranding, armouring and screening. The machine incorporates advanced technical improvements that allow higher conductor quality level and higher production capacity to be obtained. Wire contact with the machine body is reduced, which decreases friction and

New approach to bending to form insulated bus bars without coating damage

bar stock can be coated, compared to bar that has already been shaped. However, it is possible to over-stress the coating and cause stretches and cracks if the material is bent too far or too tightly. For this reason, research and development efforts were carried out on formulating the capabilities and limits of the materials and the processes. Using bending machines, the minimum bend radius for the high edge is approximately the same as the material’s height, while the minimum radius for the small edge is approximately the same as the material’s thickness. 90° twisting is also possible for confined areas where a bend could be problematic. In all instances, William Hughes can work with customers to help define the material cross section, the bend radii, the curve forms and the geometry possibilities based on the installation space. “EV bus bars were a natural evolution of our capabilities,” said Ms Burgon. “We spotted the market requirement for this a few years back and, never being one to shy away from innovation and new markets, we started developing the process and procedures based on the technologies we had in-house. “Additional capital assets have since boosted these capabilities, and we are now in a very strong position to serve the needs of the global EV market.”

“Battery advances and high voltages mean that bus bars are just as at home under the bonnet as they are in a control cabinet backplane,” explained Emma Burgon, engineering director at William Hughes. “But automotive applications are not quite as smooth sailing as their significantly less complex industrial peers. As well as electrical insulation, the copper has to be protected from Mother Nature too, which is why the efficacy of the insulation covering is so important.” The development was driven by the relative ease with which straight copper

William Hughes Group has announced that it has perfected a method of com- posing and forming complex automotive electric vehicle (EV) bus bar geometries out of pre-coated copper stock, in such a way that the insulation/protective cov- er remains completely viable along the length of the bar. Traditionally, bus bars are stamped and bent, but stamping cannot always deliver the features required to navigate around the under-bonnet complexity of new- generation EVs. For this reason, bending machines are a better proposition.

▼ William Hughes is nowmaking bus bars

William Hughes Ltd www.wmhughes.co.uk

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November 2021