WCA January 2007

Dry & Wet Lubricants

With lubricants for wire making, excellence is available by the can, pail, or drum No one needs to be persuaded of the importance of lubricants, least of all a wire maker. The words (and pictures) that spring to mind in connection with inadequate lubrication – jamming, snapping, breaking, rusting – have special force for the operator of a modern wire production line that extends the length of the plant floor and can be interrupted only at a stiff penalty in scrap and productivity.

A wire is, after all, a strand of metal, and metal requires as much protection during processing as before and afterwards. In fact,

Photo credit: Traxit International

it requires more. And protection here is to be understood in terms of the right lubricant, properly applied and in the correct amounts, by mechanisms as precisely calibrated as any in the plant.

The pump which floods the dies must not drown them. The bottom portions of the blocks must run in lubricant – not swim in it. Circulation, filtering, and temperature control of the lubricant must be responsive to conditions at all times and at every point in the production cycle. The differences among fatty alcohol-based lubricants and silicone, gel, wax, and a host of other wet and dry types are fascinating on the page of a technical manual. They are critical to someone at the console during a production run in a highly automated modern wire plant. With lubricants for wire making, excellence is available by the can, pail, or drum. In the following pages Wire & Cable ASIA reviews some products and services essential to a high-quality wire making practice.

Multiple ranges of lubricants from Q8

Q8Oils-branded fastener production lubricants, metalworking lubricants and wire rope lubricants, and Q8 Bach RF strip rolling oils for all material types, including stainless steel, steel, copper, phosphor bronze and all yellow metals. Kuwait Petroleum International Lubricants – UK Fax : +44 1483 228 484

Kuwait International Lubricants is a developer, manufacturer and supplier of high quality lubricants for the metal manufacturing industries. The company’s Germ-Allcard range of lubricants is used for non-ferrous wire drawing, from heavy duty to super fine wire drawing, tube drawing, strip rolling and non-ferrous hot rolling applications, and yellow metal protectives. The Priamus and Wirol range of drawing lubricants provide Petroleum

long life, consistent lubrication and cleanliness in all wire size applica- tions for non-ferrous drawing from heavy duty to wire sizes of less than 20 microns. The Cylroll range of rolling oils are emulsion concentrates for use in the hot rolling of copper rod. The range of products is capable of extending roll life by over 100%, producing the highest quality smooth rod. The company also supplies

Email : export@Q8oils.com Website : www.Q8oils.com

New lubricants and filtration for aluminium wire drawing

Germ-Allcard lubricants from Kuwait Petroleum International Lubricants t

In the process of drawing wires used for medium and high voltage cables, neat oils are used as lubricants. These oils have a medium to high viscosity and are not very fluid at ambient temperature.

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2007