GB1192916A - Apparatus for the Manufacture of Pre-Spiralled Wire Strands - Google Patents

Abstract

1,192,916. Stranding machines. B. & F. CARTER & CO. Ltd. 8 June, 1967 [9 June, 1966], No. 25816/66. Heading D1T. [Also in Division G3] A stranding machine has a cable compacting die formed by grooved rolls 3 which are driven by a differential speed device which automatically adjusts the applied torque to each roll so that the roll is driven at a speed appropriate to its effective diameter. As shown in Fig. 1, the torque passes through gear teeth 9 of a cage 8 of bevel type differential gear (which, is rotatably mounted on hollow shaft 2), through bevel gear pinions 12 to inner and outer sleeves 13 and 23 respectively and than directly to each of the rolls 3 via spur gear wheels 16, 26, pinions 18, 28, shafts 17, 27 and worm gears 19, 29. The hollow shaft 2 is rotatably driven by an independant drive through spiral gear 4. The rolls 3 are thus also rotated about the axis of the cable. In Fig. 2 (not shown) the differential gear is replaced by two electric motors driving the inner and outer shafts; the motors being controlled by micro-gap switches (84, 85) mounted on either side of the cable passed through the nip of the rolls. This arrangement is such that if one roll runs too fast the issuing cable moves transversely between the switches which are thus operated to reduce the power applied to one motor and increase the power applied to the other. In Fig. 3 (not shown) a bevel type differential gear of the type shown in Fig. 1 is directly coupled to an electric motor (88) and is also rotatably mounted on a shaft (92). In each of the above arrangements the final worm drives 19, 29 to the rolls 3 permits slight relative movements of the rolls toward and away from each other. Where greater movement is required, e.g. when rolls of different diameter are used, the worm wheels 21, 31 may be mounted on lay shafts which also carry spur wheels meshing with further spur wheels on the neighbouring roll shaft. The rolls can thus be moved to a considerable extent without these, lay shaft spur wheels and roll shaft spur wheels becoming too much out of mesh. Rolls 31 can be associated with further side rolls. In an alternative embodiment the compacting die can be formed by a pair of similar rolls and one or more different rolls with the applied torque being distributed between the two similar rolls and the remaining rolls.