WCA May 2022

Exhibitors at wire 2022

Fil-Tec, Inc

FMS Force Measuring Systems AG

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09 D16-3 Fil-Tec, Inc offers a complete line of performance yarns for applications in power cables, copper and fibre optic telecom and speciality cables. Products on display at wire 2022 will in clude binder yarns with water-blocking, non-wicking, flame-retardant/low-smoke finishes; core yarns; rip cords; filler yarns; marker yarns; and fibreglass reinforce ment yarns. New products include dry core yarn for dry core cable designs; virtually dustless water-blocking binder yarns for high speed; and a new line of water-blocking yarns for power cable applications.

11 D30 FMS Force Measuring Systems, a Swiss based supplier of strand tension control systems for the wire and cable industry, has worked on an upgrade for a supplier of automotive wire. The project was for a 1995 18-spool Niehaus planetary strander (including variable reverse rotation) with two cages (six and 12 payoffs each) that required an upgrade. The customer was seeking to include closed-loop tension control for each of the wire strands in addition to other upgrades. The strander is used for the production of highly flexible special cables, including some in very small production runs. As part of the upgrade project, an FMS RTM X42 telemetry system for continuous wire tension control was installed. Installation and start-up of the RTM X42 control system took two days. The entire revamp – carried out on-site – took several weeks, including grinding, new paint and new bearings. The project included a control centre that provides for closed-loop tension control on up to 42 individual wires, monitoring of tension limit values, recipe management and data logging for quality reference. It also required a brake control package that provides the mechanical actuators and integrated controls to ensure fully automatic wire tension through a production run.

FLYMCA manufactures rotating equipment for the industry

Many developments in recent years have been incorporated into machinery such as tubular stranders and bow cablers. These improvements have reduced stopping and changeover time, as well as improving safety by reducing operator intervention. Improvements include accumulators to allow for continuous operation; auto- matic loading and unloading systems to load and unload multiple reels simul- taneously; and automatic cutting and taping of cable ends with automatic changeover from one take-up to another. The company has recently seen high de mand for large stranding and armouring machinery to produce submarine cables. Armouring is achieved by two different configurations: large tubular stranders with bullhead configuration, mainly used for fibre optic submarine cables; and planetary armouring lines for heavy power transmission cables. These are produced on large and heavy machines for a high number of wires (eg 144 wires), and are applied by a single or dual cage in tandem operation. The machines also include automated loading systems to reduce the changeover time. In addition to submarine cables, there has been demand for large cross section cables (127 wires) produced on rigid stranders. These stranders include automatic loading systems, shaped wire stranding heads, heavy compaction systems and water-blocking application systems for yarn and powder. The machines are required to provide consistent and smooth tension across all wires. FLYMCA designs and manufactures its machinery in Spain. The company FLYRO is involved in second-hand equipment for the cable market, and holds a large inventory. FLYMCA, SL www.flymca.com

Performance yarns from Fil-Tec

The company’s water-swellable binder and core (wrap around the FRP) yarns are claimed to offer benefits that include very low dust, to extend the life of bearings and other moving parts; less downtime due to mechanical maintenance related to SAP dust problems; less clean-up time; and a cleaner working environment for the operator. Fil-Tec’s technology produces a water swellable binder with higher yield. It also produces a package that offers integrity and balance, and can run at 5,000 rpm without unwanted vibration. More metres per package allows longer runs without a break, and a more efficient stranding process overall. Various swell factors are available, providing design engineers with the flexibility to choose the yarn size and swell factor that best suits the cable. Fil-Tec, Inc www.fil-tec.com FLYMCA, SL 10 F78 FLYMCA engineers and manufactures rotating equipment for the cable industry, and is currently focused on large strand ing, cabling and armouring machinery.

The strander is used in production of highly flexible special cables

Following the upgrade, the customer reported increased plant productivity and process reliability through continuous production (without manual intervention) in the control of strand tension. Set-up times were reduced with the recipe management feature, and the monitoring of cradle locks increased operator safety. FMS Force Measuring Systems AG www.fms-technology.com

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May 2022