WCA July 2008

and

descaling

Fumeless Pickling Sirio Wire srl is specialised in the in-line chemical and electrochemical treatment of wire. This includes HCl fumeless pickling and H 2 SO 4 electrolytic pickling that can be used in galvanising, phosphating or plating processing lines. The Sirio Wire fumeless pickling bath is made of polypropylene, which allows more flexibility in the design of the line than the classical GRP. Special attention is paid to the water cascade at the entrance and the exit of the line. The lateral sides of the bath have a water seal with continuous recycling of the water. This system ensures excellent sealing, even where there is slight deformation of the cover. Lateral sealing is used for a particularly easy and fast threading of the wire in the bath.

The modular approach to descaling

Barcelona-based Electrorrec SA is specialised in the supply of machines for the steel wire industry and well positioned to offer complete projects for the manufacturing of calibrated and threaded bars. In this field, mechanical descaling and polishing machines are becoming increasingly popular because they cause little environmental pollution and reduce investment, running and energy costs. DECL mechanical descaling machines descale the rod by a combined bending and polishing system. The modular design of DECL descaling machines offers a wide range of configurations to suit customer requirements. When heavy-duty cleaning is required, the heavy descaling unit DECL-G joins the fine descaling unit DECL-F and a polishing unit UP. However, using just the heavy descaling unit DECL-G and a polishing unit UP is sufficient many applications, with a significant reduction in cost. There are three descaling models (DECL-16, DECL-20 and DECL-28) and two polishing units (UP-1 and UP-2) available. The heavy descaling unit is a fabricated frame, which houses a double set of bending rollers in two 90º planes (models DECL-20 and DECL-28 have only one set of bending rollers) with central rollers driven hydraulically. The bending rollers are equipped with tungsten carbide central rings. The fine descaling unit consists of two sets of wire brushes, also allocated in two 90º planes. An independent pneumatic cylinder ensures a permanent contact between the wire brushes and the wire rod surface. The brushes’ motors are placed outside, so avoiding any problem from scale powder. The UP polishing units can be equipped with metallic wire brushes (UP-1) or abrasive wheels (UP-2) depending on final product specifications. DECL-16 DECL-20 DECL-28 Maximum inlet diameter ( mm ) Minimum inlet diameter ( mm ) 16,0 20,0 28,0 5,5 12,0 14,0 Maximum speed ( m/s ) Installed power ( kW ) 3,3 2,5 1,5 5,5 10,0 10,0

View of an electrolytic pickling line ❍ ❍

The polypropylene cover can be easily opened with a crane or a forklift for maintenance and cleaning purpose of the bath. The bottom of the reservoir tank is inclined in the direction of the drain in order to facilitate the removal of the sludge. When space is a problem or speed particularly high, electrolytic pickling in H 2 SO 4 can be an excellent alternative to HCl pickling.

In the case of a gal- vanising line, special care has to be taken on the rinsing sections following the pickling bath, in order to avoid pollution of the flux bath by the sulphuric acid. Sirio Wire uses its special high pressure rinsing device in cascade in order to solve this problem. The length of the pickling bath can be two or three times shorter with an electrolytic process in comparison with a chemical process. The Sirio Wire electrolytic pickling is achieved without contact on the wire by the alternating of anodes and cathodes immersed in several separated working tanks. Detail of water cascade of a HCl fumeless pickling bath ❍ ❍

Electrorrec SA – Spain Fax : +34 936 820 383

Email : sales@electrorrec.com Website : www.electrorrec.com

Sirio Wire Srl – Italy Email : info@siriowire.it Website : www.siriowire.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2008