WCA March 2023

Technology News

Hot wire rod testing by eddy current Contrôle Mesure Systèmes (CMS) designs and develops a full range of NDT (non destructive testing) equipment using eddy current and ultrasonic technologies. The company offers in-line and off-line turnkey and customised solutions for the inspection of finished and semi-finished products such as wires, tubes or bars. hot rolling process: a wire temperature greater than 1,200°C. The hot-wire-rod specific software analysis allows quality indexes to be set up – determined by existing customer formulas and evolving with production feedback, or other parameters such as the defects’ density over a given length, their amplitudes, phases, frequencies, etc. The inspection results of the current coil, and/or former ones, can be communicated to any department within the factory to ensure quick intervention in the production process.

Eddy current testing can be carried out under extreme conditions, such as wire temperatures above 1,200°C

CMS works with manufacturers in aeronautic, automotive, oil and gas, nuclear, steel and railway industries worldwide, and has an extensive network of agents and an American subsidiary, Controle Mesure Systemes Inc. The company offers a wide range of eddy current equipment for in-line hot wire inspection in order to detect surface and subsurface defects. One such solution uses eddy currents to detect and analyse critical surface defects in hot rolling mill operations, such as inclusions, cracks, scabs, pitting, over-rolling, holes, scale, longitudinal defects, periodically recurring defects and cross-cracks. The test results are used to quickly intervene and optimise the production process. Eddy current testing can perform under the extreme conditions required by the

software for further processing and signal analysis, and to control the line automation accordingly, and to the manufacturing execution system (through the supervision software) to adjust the testing settings, if necessary. For working in harsh environments, Zet@ Master is manufactured in a sealed enclosure version and located in a cooled cabinet next to the production line. Once the inspection is completed, a report lists all of the detected defects and their amplitude, frequency and location. A quality rating is automatically assessed according to the defect density of each product section. Contrôle Mesure Systèmes www.cmseddyscan.com

CMS designed a robust eddy current coil carrier to withstand extreme tempera tures while keeping accurate results. This turnkey equipment can be directly inte grated in an existing production line and network. The system is located directly after the rolling mill, before the wire gets cooled and coiled. When the hot wire approaches the inspection station, it is detected and triggers the eddy current electronics. The product passes through the test encircling coil, and the resulting signals are received by the eddy current instrument Zet@Master. The live data is transmitted to the operator screen to check the production quality. It is also passed to the supervision

Low-smoke flame-retardant PVC compounds as alternatives to fluoropolymers

Teknor Apex has introduced newly developed FireGuard® PVC compounds for a variety of cable types, from copper data cable jackets to fibre optic, speciality and security cables. The compounds, which provide low smoke generation and low flame propagation, have enabled cables to meet and exceed all applicable performance testing requirements of UL Subjects 13, 1424 and 444, including those of NFPA 262 for Flame Travel and Smoke. In addition, cables made with these lower-flexural modulus compounds resist kinks and knuckling, making them easier to install, particularly in tight plenum spaces. Some of the latest innovations have even lower smoke and higher oxygen indexes, compared to the previously commercialised products, enabling larger, higher density cables to comply with NFPA 262 requirements.

The new compounds cover a range of applications, including copper data cables

“These features are critical in applications such as data centres, wireless infrastructure for buildings and campuses and security systems,” said David Braun, wire and cable industry manager for the vinyl division. “Cables used in these spaces are subjected to rigorous, large scale flame testing to ensure their safety performance. Teknor Apex works closely with UL and other regulatory bodies so cable manufacturers can be confident the materials they are using have been fully tested and comply with applicable requirements.” Teknor Apex www.teknorapex.com

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March 2023