GB1047683A - Improvements in and relating to a method of and apparatus for controlling the feeding of wire and like material - Google Patents

Abstract

A capstan feeding device for wire, or other filamentary material is provided with a narrow groove in which longitudinally spaced stretches of the material being fed are held in radially superposed position and the tension in the outer of these stretches prevents slippage of the inner stretch relative to the capstan by pressing the material into form frictional engagement with the groove. Wire is drawn by capstan 10 (Fig. 1, not shown), from a device 8 such as a wire-drawing die, and passes as an outer stretch 20 round the capstan to a guide pulley 12, returns to the capstan to pass around it as the inner stretch 21, and becomes disengaged finally from the capstan at the point where the outer stretch passes to the guide pulley 12. The groove is provided with converging side walls (Fig. 3 not shown). The capstan is driven at constant rotational speed through shaft 11 by means not shown, to control the feed rate of the wire. When used as a pay-out device the wire or filament is fed into engagement with the capstan as the inner stretch (Fig. 4 not shown). In an alternative embodiment (Figs. 5 and 6 not shown) the grooved capstan remains stationary while the guide pulley moves in a circular path around the capstan. In this embodiment the wire is continuously laid in the groove as the outer stretch by a further feed pulley which also rotates about the capstan.