GB2246086A - Coating cables - Google Patents

Coating cables Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2246086A
GB2246086A GB9109825A GB9109825A GB2246086A GB 2246086 A GB2246086 A GB 2246086A GB 9109825 A GB9109825 A GB 9109825A GB 9109825 A GB9109825 A GB 9109825A GB 2246086 A GB2246086 A GB 2246086A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
cable
coating material
coating
contact
molten
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB9109825A
Other versions
GB2246086B (en
GB9109825D0 (en
Inventor
Brian James Hazzard
Randall Kenneth Wheaton
Johnathon Robin Otani
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
POWERSAFE CABLES Ltd
ROBIX Ltd
Original Assignee
POWERSAFE CABLES Ltd
ROBIX Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by POWERSAFE CABLES Ltd, ROBIX Ltd filed Critical POWERSAFE CABLES Ltd
Publication of GB9109825D0 publication Critical patent/GB9109825D0/en
Publication of GB2246086A publication Critical patent/GB2246086A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2246086B publication Critical patent/GB2246086B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
    • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
    • B05D7/00—Processes, other than flocking, specially adapted for applying liquids or other fluent materials to particular surfaces or for applying particular liquids or other fluent materials
    • B05D7/20—Processes, other than flocking, specially adapted for applying liquids or other fluent materials to particular surfaces or for applying particular liquids or other fluent materials to wires
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C48/00—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor
    • B29C48/03—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor characterised by the shape of the extruded material at extrusion
    • B29C48/06—Rod-shaped
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C48/00—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor
    • B29C48/15—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor incorporating preformed parts or layers, e.g. extrusion moulding around inserts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C48/00—Extrusion moulding, i.e. expressing the moulding material through a die or nozzle which imparts the desired form; Apparatus therefor
    • B29C48/25—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
    • B29C48/88—Thermal treatment of the stream of extruded material, e.g. cooling
    • B29C48/911—Cooling
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
    • C03C—CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES OR VITREOUS ENAMELS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS, MINERALS OR SLAGS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS
    • C03C25/00—Surface treatment of fibres or filaments made from glass, minerals or slags
    • C03C25/10—Coating
    • C03C25/12—General methods of coating; Devices therefor
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B13/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing conductors or cables
    • H01B13/06—Insulating conductors or cables
    • H01B13/14—Insulating conductors or cables by extrusion
    • H01B13/145—Pretreatment or after-treatment

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Extrusion Moulding Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

A process for coating a cable with a layer of coating material in which molten coating is cooled prior to contact with the cable whereby the cable is not affected by contact with the coating material and an apparatus for coating a cable with a layer of coating material comprising a cable support, means for moving the cable in relation to the cable support, and a supply of molten coating material in which molten material is cooled prior to contact with the cable.

Description

A PROCESS FOR COATING ELONGATE ARTICLES, COATED ARTICLES PRODUCED BY THE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR COATING ELONGATE ARTICLES This invention relates to a process for coating elongate articles such as electrical cables, including coaxial cable, wires, optical fibres and the like, with materials such as plastics and to articles produced by the process. The term cable as used herein embraces such articles.
Cables are coated to improve, for example, their mechanical strength, to increase their resistance to chemical attack or to extremes of temperature or to screen the cable for electrical interference purposes. A conventional process for coating a cable is shown schematically in the accompanying drawing labelled "PRIOR ART". A length of uncoated cable 2 is drawn from a cable supply through a die 4 and molten plastics coating material is applied to the cable in the die and coated cable 6 emerges from the die to be cooled and then subjected to any further processing further downstream. A problem with known processes for coating cables is that the mechanical or electrical properties of the cable may be affected by the heat given off by the molten coating material as it is applied to the cable.Hitherto it has not been possible to coat cables with many plastics materials which have desirable mechanical and chemical resistance properties because the temperatures required to melt such plastics material affect the cable or its conventional soft p.v.c covering. Cables protected by a layer of certain plastics materials have been formed by drawing a cable through a pre-formed tube of the coating material.
However this approach has not been adopted widely because of the expense involved and limitations on the length of coated cables which may be thus produced. Another approach has been to coat the cable with foil and then apply the coating material. This latter approach has also not been adopted widely because of the expense involved.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a process for coating a cable with a layer of coating material to form a coated cable in which molten coating material is cooled prior to contact with the cable whereby the cable is not affected by contact with the coating material.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a process for coating a cable with a layer of coating material comprising forming a body of molten coating material about the article and cooling the coating material whereby the coating material contracts to coat the cable and produce a coated cable.
The coating material may be cooled by contact with air.
The coated cable may be cooled. Preferably the coated article is cooled by contact with cooling media. The cooling media may be for example water or oil.
The coating material may be a thermoplastic material.
Preferably the coating material is selected from polyetheretherketone, polyethersulphone, polyphenylensulphide, polysulphone, polyetherimide, liquid crystal polymer, polyamide-nylon 6, polyamide-nylon 66, polyamide-nylon 11, polyamide-nylon 12, acetal, acrylic, fluoropolymer, polycarbonate, polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polyester, polyesterelastomers, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyvinylchloride, polyarylate and polyarylamide and alloys thereof.
With the process of this invention thin coatings can be achieved which cannot be produced with prior art techniques.
The thickness of the layer of coating material may be less than about O.20-O.40mm. The diameter of the coated cable may be greater than lOmm.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a coated cable having an inner coating layer of a first plastics material and an outer coating of a second plastics material which has a higher melting or softening point than the first plastics material in which the first and second layers are not fused together. Thus the outer coating can be stripped from the cable without damage to the coating layer below.
Either layer may be 0.20-0.40mm thick.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for coating a cable with a layer of coating material to form a coated cable comprising a cable support, means for moving the cable in relation to the cable support, and a supply of molten coating material, in which molten material is cooled prior to contact with the cable.
The molten material may- be cooled by contact with air. The coated cable may be cooled by contact with cooling media which may be for example water or oil. The apparatus may be arranged to supply molten material about the cable. Preferably the apparatus includes an outlet for molten material about the cable support. Preferably the outlet comprises an annular orifice. Preferably the apparatus is arranged such that the coating material has cooled sufficiently after leaving the coating material supply whereby it will not affect the cable on contact with it. Cooling of the coating material may be accelerated after it has left the material supply.
The distance between the point of contact of the coating material with the cable and the coating material outlet may be altered according to the coating material used. Thus for a coating material which cools rapidly the distance between the outlet and the point of contact with the cable will be less than for a material which cools slowly. The apparatus may be arranged to apply more than one layer of coating material to the cable. More than one coating material may be applied to the cable. In particular the apparatus can be arranged to supply an inner coating layer of a first plastics material and an outer coating of a second plastics material which has a higher melting or softening point than the first plastics material whereby the first and second layers are not fused together.
An apparatus process and coated cable in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the further accompanying drawing, Fig. 1, which is a schematic cross section of the apparatus together with a cooling bath. The apparatus comprises a die 10 formed from a metal, ceramic or plastics material. The date 10 is in flow communication with a supply (not shown) of molten thermoplastic coating material 12 through inlet 14 in the die. A length of cable 16 supplied from a roll of cable (not shown) passes through a central passage 18 formed by the die 10. The cable 16 emerges from a cable outlet 20 in the direction indicated by arrow A. The configuration of the die outlet 20 is determined by the cable to be formed which may be round, ribbon or any other shape. Molten coating material 12 emerges from an annular orifice 22 (the aforementioned outlet for molten coating material) which is concentric with the cable outlet 20.
The configuration of the orifice 22 may be altered according to the shape of the cable to be produced which may, as mentioned above, be round, ribbon or any other shape. The coating material contacts and coats the cable at a contact point 24 to produce a coated cable 26.
The coating material 12 cools as it emerges from outlet 22 such that by the contact point 24 it has cooled sufficiently so that no damage to the cable 16 is caused on contact with the coating material. The length of the substantially frusto-conical body of molten material 26 formed between the material outlet 22 and the contact point 24 can be altered, for example by altering the speed at which the cable is drawn through the die, according to the coating material employed to ensure adequate cooling of the material prior to coating the cable. Thus for a coating material having a high melting temperature the length of the frusto-conical body 26 would be relatively long to ensure cooling prior to contact with the cable whereas for a coating material having a relatively low melting temperature the length of the frusto-conical body will be short.
The coated cable 26 is immediately immersed in a bath of cooling media 30, for further cooling, which may be for example water or oil and is held under the surface of the cooling media 30 by a roller 32. Alternatively, the coated cable may be cooled by gas or air. The cooled coated cable 26 emerges from the cooling media and is then subjected to downstream processing which may include forming the coated cable into a coil, or dividing the coated cable into lengths, or applying further coats of the same or a different coating material.
Coating materials which may be used with the process and apparatus of this invention are given by way of example only in Table 1, together with details of their chief characteristics which make them suitable as coating materials for cables.
TABLE 1 Coating material Major characteristics Polyetheretherketone Good chemical, temperature, radiation, electrical and flame resistance Polyethersulphone High temperature and fire resistance Polyphenylenesulphide Temperature, chemical, fire, electrical and radiation resistance Polysulphone Temperature, electrical and fire resistance Polyetherimide Temperature, electrical, chemical and fire resistance LIquid crystal polymer High stiffness Polyamide-nylon 6 General purpose, average properties Polyamide-nylon 66 General prupose, average properties Polyamide-nylon 11 Good chemical resistance Polyamide-nylon 12 Good chemical resistance Acetal General purpose Acrylic General purpose Fluoropolymer High chemical, electrical and temperature resistance Polycarbonate High stiffness Polyethylene Low temperature and chemical resistance High density polyethylene Low temperature, chemical, abrasion and chemical hydrolysis resistance TABLE 1 (continued) Coating material Major characteristics Polyester Low temperature, chemical, abrasion and chemical hydrolysis resistance Polystyrene Low temperature, chemical and abrasion resistance Polyurethane Low temperature, chemical and abrasion resistance Polyvinylchloride Economical Polyetherketone Improved charateristics over polyetheretherketone Polyarylate As polyamide-nylon 66 but improved water absorption Polyarylamide As polyamide-nylon 66 but improved water absorption It will be appreciated that a variety of other coating material will be suitable for use in the process, and with the apparatus, of this invention.

Claims (12)

1. A process for coating a cable with a layer of coating material to form a coated cable in which molten coating material is cooled prior to contact with the cable whereby the cable is not affected by contact with the coating material.
2. A process for coating a cable with a layer of coating material comprising forming a body of molten coating material about the article and cooling the coating material whereby the coating material contracts to coat the cable and produce a coated cable.
3. A process according to claim 1 or 2 in which the coating material is cooled by contact with air.
4. A process according to claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the coated cable is cooled.
5. A process according to any preceding claim in which the coating material is a thermoplastic material.
6. A process according to claim 5 in which the thermoplastic material is selected from polyetheretherketone, polyethersulphone, polyphenylenesulphide, polysulphone, polyetherimide, liquid crystal polymer, polyamide-nylon 6, polyamide-nylon 66, polyamide-nylon 11, polyamide-nylon 12, acetal, acrylic, fluoropolymer, polycarbonate, polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polyester, polyesterelastomers, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyarylate and polyarylamide and alloys thereof.
7. An apparatus for coating a cable with a layer of coating material to form a coated cable comprising a cable support, means for moving the cable in relation to the cable support, and a supply of molten coating material, in which molten material is cooled prior to contact with the cable.
8. An apparatus according to claim 7 which includes an outlet for molten material about the cable support.
9. An apparatus according to claim 8 which includes the outlet comprises an annular orifice.
10. An apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9 which is arranged such that the coating material has cooled sufficiently after leaving the coating material supply whereby it will not affect the cable on contact with it.
11. A coated cable having an inner coating layer of a first plastics material and an outer coating layer of a second plastics material which has a higher melting point than the first plastics material in which the first and second coating layers are not fused together.
12. A coated cable obtainable by a process according to any one of claims 1-6.
GB9109825A 1990-05-04 1991-05-07 A process for coating elongate articles,coated articles produced by the process and apparatus for coating elongate articles Expired - Fee Related GB2246086B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB909010182A GB9010182D0 (en) 1990-05-04 1990-05-04 A process for coating elongate articles

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9109825D0 GB9109825D0 (en) 1991-06-26
GB2246086A true GB2246086A (en) 1992-01-22
GB2246086B GB2246086B (en) 1994-10-12

Family

ID=10675571

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB909010182A Pending GB9010182D0 (en) 1990-05-04 1990-05-04 A process for coating elongate articles
GB9109825A Expired - Fee Related GB2246086B (en) 1990-05-04 1991-05-07 A process for coating elongate articles,coated articles produced by the process and apparatus for coating elongate articles

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB909010182A Pending GB9010182D0 (en) 1990-05-04 1990-05-04 A process for coating elongate articles

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (2) GB9010182D0 (en)

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1241166A (en) * 1967-08-22 1971-07-28 Robinson Waxed Paper Co Ltd Method of coating material in web form

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE514893A (en) * 1951-10-22 1900-01-01
GB798520A (en) * 1957-02-08 1958-07-23 Osnabruecker Kupfer Und Draht Improvements in and relating to metal-sheathed electric cables
US3503818A (en) * 1966-12-01 1970-03-31 Union Carbide Corp Polyarylene polyether insulated conductors and process for making same
NL7001315A (en) * 1970-01-29 1971-08-02 Bekaert Sa Nv
FR2337620A1 (en) * 1976-01-07 1977-08-05 Bottigliengo Louis DEVICE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF THERMOPLASTIC RESIN TUBES INTERNALLY EQUIPPED WITH AT LEAST ONE WIRE OR CABLE

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1241166A (en) * 1967-08-22 1971-07-28 Robinson Waxed Paper Co Ltd Method of coating material in web form

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9010182D0 (en) 1990-06-27
GB2246086B (en) 1994-10-12
GB9109825D0 (en) 1991-06-26

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 19950507