GB2143870A

GB2143870A - Wire coil package

Info

Publication number: GB2143870A
Application number: GB08418771A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Carlis E Cassel
Original assignee: National Standard Co
Current assignee: National Standard Co
Priority date: 1983-07-25
Filing date: 1984-07-24
Publication date: 1985-02-20
Also published as: GB8418771D0; BE899819A; IT1177921B; DE3417096A1; FR2549813A1; CA1247500A; FR2549813B1; JPS6026579A; GB2143870B; IT8448613A0

Abstract

A wire 12 is wound into a coil, employing a wrapping mechanism 10, either onto a conventional reel (not shown) or onto the core 15 of a reelless coil 14, with one twist per convolution. Upon the subsequent removal of wire overend from the coil, for example, utilizing a wire dispensing apparatus having a flying pick-up arm over the side of the coil, each convolution of the removed wire possesses zero twist. Because the core of the coil continually supports the coil until it is unwound, snags and tangles are substantially minimized during the removal of the wire and a twist-free substantially snag-free wire product is provided. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Wire coil package This invention relates to a coil of wire and to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a coil of wire.

Wire packages which provide twist-free wire from a stationary package are described in U.S. Patents Nos. 3,272,455 and 3,512,635. However, in both of these wire packages, the wire is withdrawn from the centre of the coil and, accordingly, found limited application because of snagging and expensive post wind packaging necessary for withdrawal of the wire from the coil package.

Also, such coil packages require let-off devices that are expensive and difficult to maintain.

More recently, dispensers for coiled wire, particularly dispensers for reel less coils of welding wire weighing up to 500 kg, have been developed; see, for example, the dispenser described in British Patent Application No.

2085842 A, which provides a reliable let-off wire dispenser for a conventional reel less coil.

However, when dispensing wire overend from a conventional reel less coil of wire, for example to robotic welding equipment, one twist in the wire occurs for each convolution of the wire as it is removed from the coil, so that the removed wire has a tendency to flip or wander as it comes out of the welding gun nozzle, causing weld defects.

According to one aspect of the present invention, in a coil of wire supported internally by a core on which it is wound, the wire has one twist per convolution of the wire. The twist is not removed until the wire is unwound from the coil at its intended destination.

The core may be the core of a reelless coil, or the core of a conventional reel, such that when the reel is laid on its side, a conventional whirley or wire letoff device may be utilized to remove the wire from the reel.

When removing wire overend from a coil in accordance with the invention, whether it be from a reelless coil or a conventional reel, the wire comes off with a zero twist and is in a spin-free or twist-free state, with the wire unexpectedly possessing a reduced back tension. Thus, the present invention can provide large economical coils of wire from which wire can be dispensed which is twist-free for each convolution of the coil.

When wire having one twist per convolution is wound onto a core during the manufacturing of a coil, the resultant wire possesses zero twist or is twist-free upon its removal overend from the coil. Such a property is extremely desirable in the case of welding wire supplied to robotic welding equipment, because with a twist in the wire upon its removal from a coil there is a tendency for the wire to flip or wander as it comes out of the welding gun nozzle.

The wire dispenser described in British Patent Application No. 2085842 is particularly suitable for dispensing wire from a coil in accordance with the invention.

According to a further aspect of the invention, means for winding a wire coil in accordance with said first aspect of the invention, comprises a wrapping means mounted for rotation about the axis of said core to lay convolutions of wire on the core, whereby the wire wound on the core has one twist per convolution.

In one embodiment of such a coil winding means, a take-up reel having sides and a support for said core is clamped to a traversing shaft. Said wrapping means includes a hollow shaft which is supported upon bearings and rotated by suitable drive means. A plurality of guide pulleys are associated with said hollow shaft to direct the wire to the outside of the take-up reel, whence it is wound onto said core. The wrapping means rotates with respect to the take-up reel and the wire passes around the guide pulleys and is wound onto the core to build up the wire thereon.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing a coil of wire comprises winding the wire onto a core in a plurality of convolutions with one twist in each convolution of the wire.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a sectional partial side view of a winding apparatus used to make a reel less coil in accordance with the present invention, and Figure 2 is a side view of a dispensing system for a reelless coil in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1 shows an apparatus 10 for winding wire 1 2 tightly onto a reelless coil core 15, the partially wound coil being designated by the numeral 14. The core 1 5 is supported by a reelless coil take-up reel 1 6 comprising sides 17 and 1 7a and a core support 18. The take-up reel 1 6 is clamped to a traversing shaft 20 by a nut or other fastening means 21. The conventional support and mechanism for traversing the shaft 20 are not shown.The sides 1 7 and 1 7a of the take-up reel 1 6 have a plurality of slots 23 therein through which straps (not shown) may be passed about the completed wound coil of wire to strap the coil to the core 1 5 before removing the fastening means 21 and the sides 17 and 17a to permit the completed wound and strapped coil 1 4 to be removed from the traversing shaft 20.

The apparatus 10 includes a wrapping mechanism 25 which includes a hollow shaft 27 which is supported on bearings 28 and rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 29 by a suitable drive means (not shown).

The wrapping mechanism 25 further includes a plate 31 keyed to the hollow shaft 27 by a key 32. On one end 33 of the plate 31 a support bar 34 is mounted on which guide pulleys 36 and 37 are rotatably mounted. On the other end 33a of the plate 31 a counterweight 38 is attached to balance the wrapping mechanism 25. Additionally the plate 31 includes supporting means (not shown) for mounting and supporting a guide pulley 35 thereon, which guide pulley is so positioned that its peripheral surface is in alignment with the centre line of the hollow shaft 27. As shown in Figure 1, the incoming wire 1 2 from a let-off reel (not shown) passes through the hollow shaft 27 and around the guide pulley 35.The wire 12 is then directed outward about the guide pulley 36 and across to the guide pulley 37, whence it passes onto the core 1 5 to form the partially wound coil 14 which builds up on the core. In winding the wire 1 2 onto the core 1 5 to form the stationary coil 14, the wrapping mechanism 25 rotates once about a twist axis during each rotation thereof, to provide the wire on the core 1 5 with one twist for each convolution of the wire on the core.

Referring now to Figure 2, the fully wound reelless coil 14 is shown clamped between a pallet 42 and a cover 43. After clamping the reelless coil to the pallet, but before unwinding the wire from the coil, the straps (not shown) are removed from the reelless coil 14.

A wire dispensing apparatus 45 is mounted on the clamped coil and rotates to remove and pull the wire 1 2 from the coil 14. Further details of such a suitable dispenser may be found in British Patent Application No.

2085842A.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that a conventional reel, when wound in the same manner as the reelless coil described above, also results in a coil of wire having one twist for each convolution. However, the pallet, cover and clamping mechanisms utilized in mounting the wire dispensing apparatus 45 on the reel are unnecessary when utilizing a conventional reel. However, when the dispensing apparatus 45 is utilized to dispense wire from a coil in accordance with the invention, whether it be a reelless coil or a reel coil, each convolution of the wire is removed twist-free.

The invention is not, of course, limited to the particular embodiment described with reference to Figure 1. For example, either the let-off reel (not shown) or the take-up reel 1 6 may be rotated about the twist axis and it is possible to provide a single drive mechanism for rotating either the take-up reel for winding the wire onto a reel or for rotating the appropriate reel or reelless coil to rotate about the twist axis of the wrapping source.

From the above description, it is readily apparent that the present invention provides a coil of wire wound tightly around a core or upon a reel which possesses one twist per convolution, which twist is removed when the wire is dispensed in the manner shown in Figure 2. Such a coil can be in the form of a large economical package which is substantially trouble-free during withdrawal of the wire from the coil. The twist-free wire removed from the coil is desirable in many applications, but is particularly desirable for welding wire which is supplied to robotic equipment.

Claims

1. A coil of wire supported internally by a core upon which it is wound, the wire having one twist per convolution of the wire.

2. A coil of wire according to claim 1, wherein said core is the core of a conventional reel.

3. A coil of wire according to claim 1, wherein said core is the core of a reelless coil.

4. A reelless coil of wire wound upon an internal core and clamped between a cover plate and a pallet, wherein the wire has one twist per convolution of the wire.

5. A reelless coil of wire wound upon an internal core and clamped between a cover plate and a pallet, the condition of the wire being such that upon removal overend of one convolution of wire from the coil, the removed convolution of a wire possesses zero twist.

6. A coil of wire substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing.

7. Means for winding the coil of wire claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising a wrapping means mounted for rotation about the axis of said core to lay convolutions of wire on the core, whereby the wire wound on the core has one twist per convolution.

8. Means for winding a coil of wire on a core, constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing.

9. A method of manufacturing a coil of wire comprising winding the wire onto a core in a plurality of convolutions with one twist in each convolution of the wire.