WCA July 2013

Treatment of wires (heat treatment, furnaces, descaling, pickling, acid tanks and chemicals)

Bare wire very quickly acquires a number of other qualifiers, none of them to be desired: fungible, brittle, corroded, rusted, oxidised, degraded, deteriorated, “scabbed”. The transformation of lead into gold is alchemy, and it is the stuff of fairy tales. The transformation of bare wire into a reliable, saleable product – utilised with confidence by the building, automotive and power transmission industries worldwide – is known as surface treatment. It is the special province of dedicated professionals like those reviewed in this section of Wire & Cable ASIA .

❍ Ultrasonic wire and strip cleaning system from GEO

True cleaning specialist For almost two decades GEO Reinigungstechnik (GEO) has specialised in continuous cleaning equipment for wire, cable and strip. This includes in high-speed appli- cations, the manufacture of medical products, the contact-free cleaning of precious metal and aluminium alloy strips for the production of precision stamped parts, as well as the fully automatic cleaning of high-grade steel ribbon for the production of high temperature superconductors. In combination with plasma treatment or in the production process of fasteners such as bolts and nuts, GEO components and systems are used in a multitude of production and finishing stages.

either separately or in any combination, are available. For less demanding applications the ‘primary wire wipe’ system is the ideal choice. The wire to be cleaned passes between two strips of absorbing tape material, which moves in opposite directions laterally so that a clean tape surface is continuously presented to the wire. In this way the wire does not come into contact with contaminated wipers as is the case when rags or stationary felt pads are used. GEO’s product range is completed by powerful air wipes and a wide variety of spiral brushes with metal and synthetic filaments. GEO-Reinigungstechnik GmbH – Germany Website : www.geo-reinigungstechnik.de

Typical cleaning applications include the removal of oil, grease, stearates, soap and dust following the drawing process and final cleaning before further operations such as coating. Demanding applications often require wet chemical processes which are generally supported by compact high- performance ultrasound units and high pressure nozzles to boost the cleansing capacity of the purifying agent. Today’s high quality demands on the cleaning processes can normally be realised with proven GEO components, complemented by state- of-the-art systems for continuous bath monitoring, take-up and pay-off units and much more according to individual requirements. Depending on the applications, further methods like steam cleaning and mechanically supported washing,

Heat treating and testing furnace No 871 is an electrically-heated 2,000°F (~1,093.3°C) gas-heated box furnace from Grieve, currently used for heat treating and high temperature testing. 650,000 BTU/HR are installed in three modulating natural gas burners with a floor mounted combustion air blower. Workspace dimensions are 30" wide x 48" deep x 30" high. The unit has 7" insulated walls comprised of 5" of 2,300°F ceramic fibre and 2" of 1,700°F block insulation. The 6½" floor insulation is made of 4½" of 2,300°F firebrick and 2" of 1,900°F block insulation. The plate hearth is made of firebrick and is supported by firebrick piers. Controls onboard No 871 include a Partlow MRC 7000 recording and programming temperature controller and an electrically-operated vertical lift door. The Grieve Corporation – USA Website : www.grievecorp.com

❍ The No 871 furnace from Grieve

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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2013