JP2006133753A - Manufacturing method of helical spacer and manufacturing apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a helical spacer which permits the desired high speed production and to provide a manufacturing apparatus of a helical spacer. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing apparatus is used when manufacturing a helical spacer provided with a tension wire located on the center and a spacer main body part which is formed so as to cover the outer circumference of the tension wire and has a plurality of grooves formed on the outer circumference of the spacer main body part, and is provided with a twisting device 10 which clamps the tension wire A and affords twisting to the spacer main body part just in front of a non-rotation die 12 of extruding molten resin for forming the spacer main body part to the outer circumference of the tension wire A. The twisting device 10 is provided with a clamping mechanism part 100 of the tension wire A and a twisting mechanism part 101 of the clamping mechanism part 100. The clamping mechanism part 100 comprises a plurality of steel rollers, a pair of which is located so as to face the tension wire A around the same and clamps the tension wire A, and has a plurality of the sets of steel rollers arranged along the extension direction of the tension wire A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a spiral spacer, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a spacer having an SZ spiral groove.

  In an optical fiber spacer manufacturing apparatus equipped with an SZ groove, when using a rotating die that reciprocally reverses, it takes into account the resin flow path that forms the spiral groove and the resin flow path of the groove identification tracer. When the mechanism is provided, the manufacturing apparatus becomes complicated and large, and a large-capacity drive motor is required to rotationally drive the rotary die having such a structure.

  However, in the manufacturing apparatus having such a configuration, in order to improve productivity, high-speed rotation of the drive motor is an indispensable condition. However, as the motor capacity increases, the internal resistance of the motor increases. There was a limit to increasing the production rate.

  On the other hand, by twisting the tensile body upstream of the rotating die and the downstream product in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the rotating die, the twist angle of the rotating die is suppressed and the load during rotation is reduced. Thus, it has been proposed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 to manufacture spacers at a higher speed.

  However, these proposals all improve the secondary problems that occur when rotating dies are used, and there is no change in using rotating dies themselves. Improvement was difficult.

  Patent Document 3 proposes a method of manufacturing a spacer that forms a spiral groove (SZ groove) in which spiral grooves are alternately reversed without using a rotating die by rotating (reversing) the tensile strength wire in front of the die. Has been.

According to the manufacturing method proposed in Patent Document 3, since a rotating die is not used, a significant improvement in production speed can be expected, but there are technical problems described below.
JP-A-1-303408 JP-A-11-95077 JP 61-167522 A JP-A-55-597

  That is, in the manufacturing method proposed in Patent Document 3, a tensile strength wire is gripped between a pair of belts, and the tensile strength wire is twisted together with the belt to form an SZ-shaped spiral groove. Even if a material with a sufficiently large friction coefficient, such as resin rubber, is used for the belt that grips the belt, it is difficult to sufficiently improve its gripping force and frictional force, and it is difficult to execute high-speed production as it is. is there.

  In addition, in order to reinforce the adhesive strength with the spiral coating portion, the tensile strength wire may be preliminarily coated on the tensile strength wire before forming the spiral coating portion. In addition, in the above-described gripping mechanism using the belt, the gripping portion is likely to slip, a sufficient twist angle cannot be obtained, and a desired high-speed production cannot be expected.

  In addition, Patent Document 4 proposes an example in which the product is twisted downstream of the rotary die. However, in this method, the melt-extruded product needs to be completely solidified. Therefore, the cooling section becomes longer in proportion to the manufacturing speed, the twistable positions are separated, the twisting effect is diluted, and high-speed manufacturing becomes difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a spiral spacer that enables a desired high-speed production. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a helical spacer comprising a tensile wire disposed in the center, and a spacer main body formed with a coating on the outer periphery of the tensile wire and having a plurality of helical grooves formed on the outer periphery. Manufacturing a spiral spacer that grips the tensile strength wire and imparts a twist to the non-rotating die immediately before the non-rotating die for extruding the molten resin for forming the spacer main body to the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire. In the method, the gripping of the tensile strength line is performed by a pair of steel rollers that are arranged so as to face each other with the tensile strength line in the center and sandwich the tensile strength line, and the set of the steel rollers Are arranged in at least one or a plurality along the extension direction of the tensile strength line.

  According to the manufacturing method of the helical spacer configured as described above, the gripping of the tensile strength wire is arranged so as to be opposed to each other centering on the tensile strength wire, and a pair of steels sandwiching the tensile strength wire. Since a plurality of sets of steel rollers are arranged along the extension direction of the tensile strength line, the tensile strength line can be firmly gripped without slipping, and a sufficient twist angle can be obtained. And the desired high speed production is achieved.

  The gripping force of the steel roller can be set to a stress equal to or greater than 30 kgf × diameter (mm) of the tensile wire.

  According to this configuration, when a tensile strength wire, for example, a single steel wire is used, the stress necessary for gripping is proportional to the steel wire diameter, so the gripping force is 30 kgf × diameter of the tensile strength wire (mm ) If the stress is set to the above-mentioned stress, a constant reversal angle can be reliably given without causing slippage during reciprocal reversal of the twist. The gripping stress can be set so that the sliding torque of the steel roller against the tensile strength line is 0.1 N · m or more, preferably 0.12 N · m or more.

  The non-rotating die includes a first layer extrusion path for extruding an adhesive resin in contact with the tensile strength line, a second extrusion path for extruding a resin for forming the spacer main body in contact with an outer periphery of the adhesive resin, A three-layer coextrusion die having a third extrusion path for extruding a resin for forming a tracer portion provided in a part of the spacer main body portion can be provided.

  According to this configuration, since the SZ twist angle can be formed in the groove only by twisting the tensile wire, it is not necessary to use a rotating die, and even as a three-layer coextrusion, compared to the rotating die, The structure can be greatly simplified.

  Further, according to this configuration, in addition to the spacer main body part and the tracer part, the adhesive resin for reinforcing and improving the adhesion between the tensile strength line and the spacer main body part can be simultaneously coated with the three-layer pressing die. It is possible to manufacture a spacer having an SZ spiral groove excellent in adhesion performance without providing a separate preliminary coating layer on the tensile strength line.

  Further, the present invention, when manufacturing a spiral spacer comprising a tensile wire disposed in the center and a spacer main body formed with a coating on the outer periphery of the tensile wire and having a plurality of spiral grooves formed on the outer periphery. Manufacture of a spiral spacer in which a twisting device for gripping the tensile strength wire and applying a twist to the tensile strength wire is provided immediately before a non-rotating die for extruding molten resin for forming the spacer main body to the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire. In the apparatus, the twisting device includes a gripping mechanism portion of the tensile strength line and a twisting mechanism portion of the gripping mechanism portion, and the gripping mechanism portion is arranged so as to face each other with the tensile strength line as a center. A plurality of steel rollers that are paired and sandwich the tensile strength wire, and at least one pair or a plurality of the steel roller pairs are disposed along the extension direction of the tensile strength wire. did.

  According to the helical spacer manufacturing apparatus configured as described above, as in the above manufacturing method, the tension line can be firmly gripped without slipping, and a sufficient twist angle can be obtained. The twisting device installed on the upstream side of the rotating die can add the necessary twisting angle to the tensile strength line, so there is no need to introduce a twisting mechanism on the downstream side of the die, and the spiral spacer extruded from the die. Can be easily cooled slowly by cooling means such as air cooling, hot water cooling, and water cooling, and in this way, the influence of shrinkage due to cooling of the coating resin can be reduced, and the shape of the spiral spacer is stable. Can be obtained.

  In addition, when manufacturing the spiral spacer at a higher speed, it is possible to easily introduce an accumulator on the downstream side of the cooling means.

  The steel roller is provided with a V-shaped groove for holding the tensile wire at opposing positions, the opening angle of the V-shaped groove is set to 60 to 120 °, and the depth is equal to the radius of the tensile wire. Can be formed.

  According to this configuration, the contact point between the tensile strength line and the V-shaped groove is symmetric at four locations, and the stress is evenly distributed, making it even more difficult to slip.

  The steel roller can be selected from steel materials whose material is HRC + 16 or more of the tensile strength line. The helical spacer manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a hot water cooling device including a horizontal cooling tank for cooling the spacer main body forming molten resin immediately after the non-rotating die, and the spacer main body forming melt. The resin cooling start point can be fixed at the introduction position of the horizontal cooling tank. In this case, the horizontal cooling tank includes a decompression unit at the cooling start point, and can circulate and supply hot water cooling water in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the spiral spacer introduced into the cooling tank. The hot water cooling water can be mixed with a surfactant that promotes bubble separation and removes bubbles.

  According to the manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus of the spiral spacer having the above-described configuration, the tensile strength line can be firmly held without slipping, a sufficient twist angle can be obtained, and desired high-speed production can be achieved. Moreover, according to the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of the helical spacer having the above-described configuration, the surface condition is good by suppressing water running and stabilizing the cooling start point by using a hot water cooling tank for cooling immediately after coating. A spiral spacer can be obtained. Moreover, the cooling proceeds evenly from the outer periphery of the spiral spacer by the hot water cooling, the temperature difference between the inside of the rib and the rib root portion is reduced, and the deformation amount of the spiral spacer is reduced. Further, since the extrusion is performed in the horizontal direction and a horizontal cooling water tank is used, the cooling distance can be easily extended, and high-speed production can be easily performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a method and apparatus for manufacturing a spiral spacer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and specific examples. 2-10 has shown one Example of the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of the spiral spacer which concern on this invention.

  In the embodiment shown in these figures, the spiral spacer S shown in FIG. 1 is manufactured, and the spiral spacer S is coated on the outer periphery of the tensile line A disposed at the center and the tensile line A. Adhesive resin layer B and spacer main body D having a plurality of spiral grooves C formed on the outer periphery.

  As the tensile strength wire A, for example, a single steel wire having an outer diameter of 3.0 mm or less can be used. The adhesive resin layer B is formed to have a predetermined thickness so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the tensile strength line A without a gap, and improves and reinforces the adhesive structure between the tensile strength line A and the spacer main body D.

  The spiral groove C provided on the outer periphery of the spacer main body D is for accommodating an optical tape core wire or the like. In the example shown in FIG. However, the shape and the number of the grooves are not limited to the illustrated state, and can be arbitrarily set.

  Further, the spiral groove C is formed in a so-called SZ spiral that repeatedly inverts at predetermined inversion angles along the longitudinal direction of the spacer S. The inversion angle in this case can also be set arbitrarily according to the number of spiral grooves C and the like.

  The spacer main body D is formed by extruding a synthetic resin. At this time, the tracer T is provided on a part of the outer periphery. The tracer portion T is for identifying the spiral groove D, and for example, a colored resin different from the spacer body portion D is used.

  FIG. 2 is an overall layout view of a manufacturing apparatus used in the manufacturing method of the present invention. The manufacturing apparatus includes a twisting device 10, a non-rotating die 12, and three first to third extruders 14, 16, 18, a bobbin 20 around which a tensile strength line A is wound, a take-up machine 23 and a winder 24 for the cooling device 22 and the spiral spacer S.

  The twisting device 10 is installed on the upstream side immediately before the non-rotating die 12 and is installed and supported on the support base 26. Details of the twisting device 10 are shown in FIGS. The twisting device 10 shown in these drawings includes a gripping mechanism portion 100 of a tensile strength line A and a twisting mechanism portion 101 of the gripping mechanism portion 100.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the gripping mechanism unit 100 is provided on a pair of support columns 28 erected on a support base 26 and is rotatably supported via a bearing 30. This is shown in FIG. The gripping mechanism portion 100 shown in these drawings includes a substantially concave frame body 100a having one end opened, at least one pair or a plurality of steel rollers 100b that form a pair, and a pair of hollow shaft portions 100c. Have.

  The frame 100a is formed in a substantially rectangular planar shape, and a pair of hollow shaft portions 100c are coaxially fixed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Although the pair of hollow shaft portions 100c is slightly longer than the other side, the other is substantially the same configuration, and the longitudinal center axis is coaxial. It is fixed to the body 100a.

  In the hollow shaft portion 100c, the tensile strength line A is inserted on the central axis, and the bearing 30 attached to the column 28 is fitted on the outer periphery of the intermediate position of each hollow shaft portion 100c. The frame 100c is rotatably supported on the central axis of the hollow shaft portion 100c.

  The steel roller 100b has a hardness of +16 or more in HRC with respect to a steel wire (Rockwell hardness scale HRC 44.7 to 47) as a tensile strength wire A, for example, high speed steel (SKH51) = HRC60. ˜65, carbide (G2) = HRC74.5, carbide (SH20) = HRC80.2, and the like.

  The steel roller 100b is disposed in such a manner that the pair of pairs is centered on the tensile strength line A and is sandwiched from both sides thereof, and at least one or a plurality of sets are predetermined along the longitudinal direction of the tensile strength line A. Are arranged in a row at intervals of.

  In FIG. 5, three steel rollers 100b are rotatably supported by the fixed plate 100d, and three lower rollers are rotatably supported by the movable plate 100e.

  The fixed plate 100d and the movable plate 100e are flat plates having the same length, and are extended in the longitudinal direction of the frame body 100a. These plates 100d and 100e are supported by a pair of guide rods 100f extending in the short direction of the frame 100a.

  In this case, the fixed plate 100d is fixed to the guide rod 100f, and the movable plate 100e is attached to the guide rod 100f so as to be close to and away from the fixed plate 100d.

  Three compression coil springs 100g abut on the side surface of the movable plate 100e, and an adjustment screw 100h for adjusting the amount of compression is attached to each compression coil spring 100g. The adjustment screw 100h is screwed into a screw hole formed through the frame body 100a. With this configuration, when the screwing amount of the adjustment screw 100h is changed, the clamping force between the movable plate 100e and the fixed plate 100d changes, and as a result, the clamping force between the pair of steel rollers 100b can be adjusted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, each steel roller 100b has a V-shaped groove 100i formed around the outer peripheral surface. A tensile strength line A is inserted into the V-shaped groove 100i. In this embodiment, the opening angle is set to 90 °.

  Further, the depth of the V-shaped groove 100i is equal to the radius of the tensile strength line A. When the tensile strength line A is sandwiched between the pair of steel rollers 100b using the V-shaped groove 100i configured as described above, the contact points between the tensile strength line A and the V-shaped groove 100i are symmetric at four locations, and the stress is even. It becomes more difficult to slip by being dispersed in. Note that the opening angle of the V-shaped groove 100i need not be limited to 90 °, and can be arbitrarily set within a range of 90 ° to 120 °, for example.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the twisting mechanism 101 includes a driving motor 101a, driving and driven pulleys 101b and 101c, and a timing belt 101d. The drive motor 101 a is fixedly installed on the support base 26.

  A driving pulley 101b is fixed to the rotating shaft of the drive motor 101a, a driven pulley 101c is fixed to the end of one hollow shaft 100c of the gripping device 100, and a timing belt is provided between the driving pulley 101b and the driven pulley 101c. 101d is wound.

  The drive motor 101a is driven so that the rotation direction is reversed at every predetermined rotation, whereby the hollow shaft portion 100c connected through the timing belt 101d is swung and rotated, and as a result, the tensile strength line A is drawn. The frame body 100a of the gripping mechanism section 100 sandwiched between the steel rollers 100b is swung and rotated at a predetermined cycle, whereby a predetermined twist is applied to the tensile strength line A.

  In this case, it is desirable that the twisting torque applied to the tensile strength line A is 90 ° / 10 m or less. When such a twisting torque is set, the twisting torque inherent in the tensile strength line A is reduced by the spiral spacer S. It has been confirmed that the reversal pitch and reversal angle are not affected.

  Details of the non-rotating die 12 arranged on the downstream side of the twisting device 10 are shown in FIG. The non-rotating die 12 shown in the figure includes a base portion 12a, first and second die blocks 12b and 12c, a nipple 12d, and a nozzle holder 12e.

  An insertion hole 12f is formed through the central axis of the nipple 12d, and the tensile strength line A that has passed through the gripping mechanism portion 100 is inserted into the insertion hole 12f. The base portion 12a is fixed to the tip surface of the nozzle holder 12e, and a through hole having a cross section similar to that of the spiral spacer A to be manufactured is formed on the central axis. This through hole is provided in the nozzle holder 12e. It communicates with the insertion hole 12f of the nipple 12d through the hole.

  The first die block 12b is fitted to the outer periphery of the nipple 12d, and a first extrusion path 12g for extruding the adhesive resin E in contact with the outer periphery of the tensile strength line A is formed at these interfaces.

  The second die block 12c is fitted on the outer periphery of the first die block 12b, and the second extrusion of extruding the forming resin E of the spacer main body D in contact with the outer periphery of the adhesive resin E at these interfaces. A path 12h is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the first and second extrusion paths 12g and 12h are equally divided into eight directions by the tournament groove, and then the flow rate is made uniform over the entire circumference by the spiral groove.

  The first extrusion path 12g communicates with a resin reservoir 12i provided in the nozzle holder 12e, and the resin reservoir 12i can be adjusted in flow rate by an adjustment valve 12j.

  When the tensile body A passes through the resin reservoir 12i, a substantially uniform thickness resin layer is formed on the outer periphery of the tensile body A, and a uniform thickness resin layer is formed from the first extrusion path 12g. The resin forms a structure protruding outside the rib portion of the spacer A to be manufactured in the base portion 12a. When the strength member A is twisted into SZ by the twisting device 10, the protruding resin is inclined in the direction opposite to the twisting direction.

  A third extrusion path 12k for extruding the resin J for forming the tracer part T provided in a part of the spacer main body part D is formed on the front end side of the first die block 12c, and this path 12k is formed by the nozzle holder 12e. Thus, the first and second extrusion paths 12g and 12h are joined together.

  The first extruder 14 shown in FIG. 2 is communicated with the first extrusion path 12g, and the adhesive resin E is supplied from the first extruder 14. The second extruder 16 shown in FIG. 2 is communicated with the second extrusion path 12h, and the resin F for forming the spacer body D is supplied from the second extruder 16. A third extruder 18 shown in FIG. 2 is communicated with the third extrusion path 12k, and the resin G for forming the tracer portion T is supplied from the third extruder 18 (resin path from the second extruder 16). Is omitted in FIG. 2).

  In this case, if the installation interval between the gripping position of the tensile strength line A of the twisting device 10 and the non-rotating die 12 is too large, twisting or the like influences, and the main body resin follows the twist imparted by the twisting device 10. Therefore, the twist angle applied to the tensile strength line A (to the steel wire) is uniformly reflected in the groove trajectory. Further, it is desirable that the distance from the gripping position of the tensile strength line A to the take-up machine 23 is 3000 mm or more, more preferably 10,000 mm or more, so that the twist angle is uniformly grooved by the die 12 for providing the SZ groove. It is reflected in.

  In order to grip and twist the tensile strength line A itself and to provide the adhesive resin layer B, it is necessary to coat the spacer main body D with the adhesive resin before coating. Since the distance from the device 10 to the non-rotating die 12 cannot be increased, both the adhesive resin layer B and the spacer main body D can be covered together with the same die 12 (two-layer coating). I did it.

  As a result, the adhesive resin layer B having good affinity exists at each interface between the tensile strength line A and the spacer body D, and the distance from the twist point to the resin coating is within the predetermined range. Therefore, even when the tensile strength line A was twisted at a high speed, the helical coating resin quickly solidified after exiting the die 12, and the followability by the high-speed twist was remarkably increased. At the same time, the application of the tracer resin F is also incorporated into the same die 12, so that all three types of resins can be performed with one die.

  When the production speed is increased, since the resin discharge amount is relatively increased, the pressure in the die tends to increase, and the twist angle is affected by the fluctuation of the pressure. Therefore, it is preferable to stabilize the discharge amount by introducing a gear pump immediately before the die or installing a breaker in the flow path in the die.

  During high-speed production, a melt fracture phenomenon is likely to occur in the die 12, and therefore it is preferable to use polyethylene having MI = 0.01 to 2.00 g / min as the coating resin.

  The first to third extruders 14, 16, 18 have a known structure, and include a hopper, an extrusion motor, and the like. A tensile strength line A is wound around the bobbin 20, and these are successively fed out. The cooling device 22 solidifies the molten resin extruded from the non-rotating die 12, and can employ slow cooling such as air cooling, hot water cooling, and water cooling. After being taken up by the take-up machine 23, the take-up machine 24 winds up the spiral spacer S manufactured at a predetermined speed.

  In the manufacturing apparatus configured as described above, a tensile strength wire A disposed in the center and a spacer main body portion D formed on the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire A and formed with a plurality of spiral grooves C on the outer periphery. When manufacturing the spiral spacer S, the tensile strength wire A is gripped immediately before the non-rotating die 12 for extruding the molten resin E for forming the spacer main body D to the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire A, and twisting is applied thereto. The twisting device 10 is installed, and the twisting device 10 includes a gripping mechanism portion 100 of the tensile strength line A and a twisting mechanism portion 101 of the gripping mechanism portion 100, and the gripping mechanism portion 100 transmits the tensile strength line A. It has a plurality of steel rollers 100b that are paired to sandwich the tensile strength line A and are arranged so as to face each other in the center, and the set of steel rollers 100b extends along the direction in which the tensile strength line A extends. A plurality of them are arranged.

  According to the manufacturing apparatus of the spiral spacer S configured as described above, the tensile strength line A can be firmly gripped without causing a slip, and a sufficient twist angle can be obtained, and the upstream side of the non-rotating die 12 can be obtained. The twisting device 10 can be used to add the necessary twisting angle to the tensile strength line A, so there is no need to introduce a twisting mechanism downstream of the die 12, and the spiral spacer extruded from the die 12 Can be easily cooled slowly by cooling means such as air cooling, hot water cooling, and water cooling, and in this way, the influence of shrinkage due to cooling of the coating resin can be reduced, and the shape of the spiral spacer is stable. S can be obtained.

  FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus of the spiral spacer according to the present invention. The same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Only the feature points will be described in detail.

  In the embodiment shown in the figure, the spiral spacer S shown in FIG. 1 is manufactured in the same manner as in the above embodiment. The spiral spacer S includes a tensile line A and a tensile line A arranged at the center. An adhesive resin layer B formed on the outer periphery of the spacer and a spacer main body D having a plurality of spiral grooves C formed on the outer periphery. For the tensile strength wire A, for example, a single steel wire having an outer diameter of 3.0 mm or less can be used.

  FIG. 12 is an overall layout diagram of a manufacturing apparatus used in the manufacturing method according to the present embodiment. The manufacturing apparatus is similar to the next container embodiment in that the twisting device 50, the non-rotating die 52, and the third 1 to 3rd extruders 54, 56, and 58, a bobbin (not shown) around which a tensile strength wire A is wound, a take-up machine and a winder (not shown) for the cooling device 60 and the spiral spacer S are provided. Yes.

  The twisting device 50 is installed on the upstream side immediately before the non-rotating die 52 and is installed and supported on the support base 62. Like the above embodiment, the twisting mechanism portion of the tensile strength line A and the gripping mechanism portion The gripping mechanism portion has at least one pair or a plurality of steel rollers that form a pair.

  The steel roller grips the tensile strength line A. At this time, the sliding torque with respect to the tensile strength line A is 0.1 N · m or more, preferably 0.12 N · m or more. The gripping stress can be set. In this case, the sliding torque is measured by the following method.

  A single steel wire of a predetermined size (strength line A) is set in the production apparatus shown in FIG. 12, and is gripped by a steel roller of the twisting device 50 arranged at a location 550 mm upstream of the non-rotating die 52. At the exit of the non-rotating die 52, a torque meter was attached to the single steel wire and the torsional torque was read. At this time, a predetermined gripping stress (kgf) was applied to the steel roller, and the torsional torque when the single steel wire started to slide was measured.

  Table 1 below shows the measurement results at that time.

  In actual production, for example, in order to obtain a spiral spacer with an inversion angle of 295 ° as described in 1.6BL (single steel wire having a major axis of 1.6 mm) of 65 °, The wire must be twisted 360 °. That is, at a distance (550 mm) from the gripping portion of the steel roller to the spiral resin coating portion, the angle is attenuated by 65 °, and the torsion torque necessary to maintain this torsion angle is 0.0970 N · m. As is clear from the above, the torsional torque (sliding torque) necessary for obtaining the SZ helical spacer having a reversal angle of 295 ° is 0.1 N · m or more. 12N · m or more. The non-rotating die 52 is made of steel similar to the above embodiment.

  The first to third extruders 54, 56, and 58 have a known structure as in the above embodiment. The cooling device 62 solidifies the molten resin extruded from the non-rotating die 52. In this embodiment, the cooling device 60 has a horizontal structure and is installed immediately after the non-rotating die 52. The non-rotating die 52 is used to cool and solidify the molten resin E for forming the spacer main body D, which is extruded to the outer periphery of the tensile strength line A.

  The cooling device 60 of the present embodiment includes a cooling tank main body 60a, a movable support base 60b on which the main body 60a is placed, a hot water coolant storage tank 60c, a circulation pump 60d, and a vacuum pump 60e. .

  A hollow conduit 60f having a predetermined diameter is horizontally supported in the cooling tank body 60a, and a pressure reducing part 60g is provided at the tip thereof. The conduit 60f is a hollow tube having an inner diameter that is slightly larger (+3 mm) than the virtual outer diameter of the spiral spacer S. The conduit 60f is provided with a pressure reducing portion 60g at one place on the inner periphery of the distal end of the conduit 60f, and this portion is vacuumed. By sucking with the pump 60e and reducing the pressure, the hot water cooling water circulated and supplied to the cooling tank was drained, and the cooling start point of the spiral spacer S was fixed uniformly.

  The hot water cooling water is fed from the storage tank 60c into the conduit 60f by the circulation pump 60d, and is returned to the storage tank 60c. At this time, the hot water / cooling water is passed through the gap between the spiral spacer S and the conduit 60 f to generate a counter flow with respect to the traveling direction of the spiral spacer S. In the hot water / cooling water, a surfactant is mixed in order to improve foam separation and easily remove bubbles. In this case, by using the hot water cooling water containing the surfactant, the bubbling of the bubbles adhering to the surface of the spiral spacer S is promoted by the boiling of the cooling water and the entrainment at the cooling start point, and the spiral spacer S By improving the wettability of the hot water and the cooling water, the water separation position in the decompression part 60g was stabilized.

  In the case of the present embodiment, since the production speed is as high as 15 to 30 m / min, the cooling water tank length (the length of the conduit 60f) needs to be 3 m or more. In this case, if the vertical cooling cylinder is used, the apparatus becomes large and there is a problem with the operability and the sealing performance of the cooling cylinder outlet. However, when the horizontal cooling water tank is used, the workability is good and the cooling distance can be easily extended. Can do. In the case of the present embodiment, since the cooling device 60 is movable back and forth, the position is separated by an integral multiple of the reciprocal reversal pitch of the spiral spacer S extruded in the horizontal direction (from the outlet of the coating die 12 to the hot water tank decompression unit). The depressurization point (decompression unit 60g) was adjusted to a distance of up to 60g). In this case, the positions are preferably 0 and 1 times.

  The manufacturing apparatus configured as described above includes a tensile strength wire A disposed at the center and a spacer main body D that is formed on the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire A and has a plurality of spiral grooves C formed on the outer periphery. When manufacturing the spiral spacer S, the tensile strength wire A is gripped immediately before the non-rotating die 12 for extruding the molten resin E for forming the spacer main body D to the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire A, and twisting is applied thereto. The twisting device 50 is installed. At this time, the gripping stress is set so that the sliding torque of the steel roller against the tensile strength line A is 0.1 N · m or more, preferably 0.12 N · m or more. To do.

  In addition, the helical spacer manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment includes a hot water cooling device 60 including a horizontal cooling tank that cools the molten resin for forming the spacer main body D immediately after the non-rotating die 52, and forms the spacer main body D. Since the cooling start point of the molten resin is fixed at the introduction position of the horizontal cooling tank, it is possible to suppress the water running by stabilizing the cooling start point by using the hot water cooling tank for cooling immediately after the coating, and the surface state The helical spacer S can be obtained with good temperature, and the cooling proceeds evenly from the outer periphery of the helical spacer S by warm water cooling, so that the temperature difference between the rib interior and the rib root is reduced, and the deformation amount of the spiral spacer S is reduced. In addition, since the horizontal extrusion and the use of the horizontal cooling water tank, the cooling distance can be easily extended, and high-speed production can be easily performed.

  Below, the manufacturing method of this invention is demonstrated with a comparative example about a more specific manufacturing method Example.

Manufacturing Example 1
A spiral spacer S having the shape shown in FIG. 1 was manufactured by the following method. In this embodiment, the number of spiral grooves C is three. A single steel wire (HRC 44.7) having an outer diameter of 1.6 mm is used as the tensile strength wire A, and a high density polyethylene (Prime Polymer Co., Ltd.) with MI = 0.07 g / 10 min is used as the resin F for forming the spacer body D. Manufactured by: HI-ZEX6600MA), maleic anhydride modified polyethylene (Nippon Unicar Corporation: GA006) with MI = 1.8 g / 10 min as adhesive resin E, MI = 0.8 g / 10 min as resin J for forming tracer part T These are produced by co-extrusion of these high-density polyethylene (manufactured by Sumika Color Co., Ltd .: PE-8Y1760) using a non-rotating die 12.

  The tensile strength line A is drawn at a linear speed of 30 m / min by a take-up machine 23 installed at a position 12 m downstream of the die 12 and preheated so that the surface temperature is 60 ° C. immediately before the die 12. After that, a pair of steel rollers 100b having a 90 ° V-shaped groove 100i (introduced into the twisting device 10 provided with the gripping mechanism portion 100 of the tensile strength line A at a position 450 mm upstream of the die 12 ( The high-speed tool steel SKH51: HRC63.1) is clamped by applying a pressure of 54 kgf.

  The twisting mechanism portion 101 of the twisting device 100 was rotated at a twisting angle of 360 ° and an inversion speed of 86 cycles / min, and a spiral spacer S for optical fiber having an SZ groove locus was obtained with a die 12.

  After passing through the inspection device, the optical fiber spiral spacer S is introduced into the accumulator and wound around the drum by the winder 24. The dimension and shape of the obtained spiral spacer S has three spiral grooves with a U-shaped cross section with an outer diameter of the rib portion of 6.5 mm, a groove width of 1.6 mm, and a groove depth of 1.5 mm. The reciprocating pitch was 350 mm and the inversion angle was 290 °. The centerline average roughness Ra of the spacer groove bottom thus obtained was measured and found to be 1.00 μm.

  FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a cross section of the spiral spacer S obtained in the manufacturing method example 1. FIG. In the helical spacer S obtained in the manufacturing method example 1, the adhesive resin layer B in contact with the steel wire (tensile wire A) has an annular shape with substantially the same thickness. It was found that the rib portion protrudes outward and the tip side is inclined along the twisting direction of the tensile strength line A. When the adhesive resin layer B having such a shape is formed, a part of the adhesive resin layer protrudes toward the spacer main body D side and the tip end side is inclined sideways. In addition, since the mechanical coupling between the two is strengthened, it can be expected that the coupling force between the two is further enhanced. Moreover, since the protrusion part of the adhesive resin layer B is inclined in the direction opposite to the twisting direction of the steel wire (strength body A), and further, the rib interior is composed of two types of resins having different characteristics. The effect of relaxing the rib inclination due to resin shrinkage during cooling can be expected.

Comparative Example 1 (Comparison of steel roller materials)
Production method examples except that carbon tool steel (S45C: HRC45.0) and alloy tool steel (SKD11: HRC60.1) are used as the material of the steel roller 100b that holds the tensile strength line A in the twisting device 10 1 was produced in the same manner as in Example 1.

  In this case, the target reversal angle of the spiral spacer was 290 °, but the V-shaped groove formed on the steel roller was worn away from the contact of the tensile strength line A, and sufficient gripping force was not obtained. Therefore, when obtained, the reversal angle of the spiral spacer was 290 ° in the initial stage of production, but decreased to 200 ° at the time of 10 km production. It has been found that a steel roller made of such a material is not suitable for manufacturing a spiral spacer because the ground contact surface of the tensile strength wire A may be worn out.

Comparative example 2 (comparison of gripping force of the tensile strength line A)
The stress for gripping the tensile strength wire A is configured in the same manner as in manufacturing method Example 1 except that the single steel wire having an outer diameter of 1.6 mm is gripped with a stress of 24 kgf (15 kgf × steel wire diameter (mm)). As a result of manufacturing the spiral spacer, the dimensions and shape of the obtained spiral spacer are five spiral U-shaped cross-sections with an outer diameter of the rib portion of 6.5 mm, a groove width of 1.6 mm, and a groove depth of 1.5 mm. The pitch was 350 mm and the reversal angle was 275 to 290 °. Thus, the reversal angle of the spiral spacer obtained from the lack of the gripping force of the tensile strength wire A has a difference of 15 ° at the maximum, and the slip at the steel wire gripping part causes the wear of the steel roller. there is a possibility.

Comparative Example 3
A single steel wire having an outer diameter of 1.6 mm is used as the tensile strength wire A, and maleic anhydride-modified polyethylene (GA006) is used as an adhesive layer, and a medium density polyethylene (Prime Polymer Co., Ltd.) is used as a pre-coating layer with MI = 1.2 g / 10 min. Manufactured by NEO-ZEX2015M) to obtain a pre-coated core having an outer diameter of 2.4 mm.

  The pre-coated core is taken up at a linear speed of 30 m / min, and is pre-heated so that the surface temperature is 60 ° C. immediately before the rotating die, and is then introduced into the twisting device 10 and the steel roller 100b. Apply and hold a pressure of 25 kgf.

  The rotating die is operated at an inversion angle of 290 ° at a maximum rotation speed of 54 cycles / min, and in conjunction with this, the twisting device 10 is operated in the opposite direction to the rotating die at a twisting angle of 120 °, A spiral spacer having an SZ groove locus at the die portion was obtained.

  If the rotary die is operated at 54 cycles / min, the servo motor may stop due to the operation load. The position of the grip portion of the tensile strength line A in the twisting device 10 was a position 600 mm upstream of the rotary die. After passing through the inspection device, the optical fiber spacer is introduced into an accumulator and wound around a drum by a winder.

  The dimension and shape of the obtained spiral spacer has five spiral U-shaped cross-sectional grooves with a rib portion outer diameter of 6.5 mm, a groove width of 1.6 mm, and a groove depth of 1.5 mm. The pitch was 556 mm and the inversion angle was 290 °. In order to set the pitch of one reciprocation to 350 mm as in manufacturing method Example 1 under the manufacturing conditions as described above, the manufacturing speed needs to be 19 m / min or less, and there is a problem in increasing the manufacturing speed. is there.

Manufacturing method example 2
A single steel wire having an outer diameter of 1.6 mm was used as the tensile body A, and 6600MA as the spiral coating resin, GA006 as the adhesive resin, and PE-8Y1760 as the tracer resin were coextruded to constitute the spacer body D. The tensile body A is taken up at a linear speed of 15 m / min by a take-up machine installed on the downstream side of the non-rotating die 52 and preheated in the preheating tank 62 so that the surface temperature becomes 60 ° C. immediately before the die. ing.

  The tensile strength body A is gripped by a steel wire gripping roller at a position 550 mm upstream of the non-rotating die 52 so as to have a sliding torque of 0.12 N · m, and is rotated 360 ° by the twisting device 50 at a speed of 50 cycles / min. The non-rotating die 52 is used to apply a resin coating with a virtual outer diameter of 6 mm having an SZ groove locus to the tensile strength A to obtain a coated steel wire.

  The coated steel wire is provided with a conduit 60f with an inner diameter of 9 mm at the inlet, introduced into the reduced pressure circulating hot water cooling water tank 60 adjusted to 60 ° C., cooled evenly to the inside of the cross section, stable with a pitch of 150 mm and an inversion angle of 295 ° A spiral spacer S having an SZ groove locus was obtained.

When the resin density of the rib base of the obtained spiral spacer S was measured, it was 0.9446 g / cm ³ and the standard deviation was 0.0010. The rib inclination was 5.5 °.

Comparative example 4 (cooling comparison: air spray cooling)
In the same manner as in Production Example 2, a coated steel wire obtained by applying a resin coating with a virtual outer diameter of 6 mm having an SZ groove locus to the tensile strength A with a non-rotating die 52 was subjected to 24 pairs of air sprays in a 3 m section ( The air pressure 0.1 MPa) was passed through a cooling device alternately arranged to obtain a temple spacer. As a result, a cooling effect from the inside of the rib could not be expected, a temperature difference occurred between the inside of the rib and the rib root portion, and a groove inclination occurred at the reversal portion due to a difference in contraction amount of each part inside the spiral spacer.
When the resin density of the rib base of the obtained spiral spacer was measured, it was 0.9450 g / cm ³ and the standard deviation was 0.0130. The rib inclination was 22 °.

Comparative Example 5 (gripping force comparison: steel wire sliding torque 0.05 N · m)
In the manufacturing method of the spiral spacer configured in the same manner as in manufacturing method Example 2, the spiral spacer was manufactured under the same conditions except that the twisting torque of 0.05 N · m was set as the steel wire gripping condition.

  In this case, a 1.6BL single steel wire as a tensile body is gripped by a steel wire gripping roller installed at a position of 550 mm upstream of the non-rotating die 52 so that the steel wire sliding torque is 0.05 N · m, The steel wire twisting device 50 was operated to reciprocate at 360 ° at a speed of 50 cycles / min. Under such conditions, the gripped steel wire slipped at a twist angle of 30 °.

  The obtained spiral spacer had a pitch of 150 mm, but the inversion angle varied from 260 to 295 °, and a phase shift of the SZ groove locus inversion position occurred. Such a spiral spacer is not suitable for housing an optical fiber.

  According to the manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus of the spiral spacer according to the present invention, the SZ spiral spacer can be produced at high speed, so that it can be effectively used in this kind of field.

It is a principal part perspective view which shows an example of the spiral spacer obtained by the manufacturing method concerning this invention. It is a side view which shows the whole arrangement | positioning of the manufacturing apparatus used with the manufacturing method of the spiral spacer concerning this invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the twisting device of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3. It is an enlarged top view of the holding | grip mechanism part shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5. It is an enlarged view of the steel roller of the holding | grip mechanism part shown in FIG. It is an expanded sectional view of the non-rotating die shown in FIG. It is expansion | deployment explanatory drawing of the 1st extrusion path | route shown in FIG. It is expansion | deployment explanatory drawing of the 2nd extrusion path | route shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional enlarged view of the spiral spacer obtained by the manufacturing method Example 1 concerning this invention. It is a side view which shows the whole arrangement | positioning of the other manufacturing apparatus used with the manufacturing method of the spiral spacer concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

S Spiral Spacer A Tensile Line B Adhesive Resin Layer C Spiral Groove D Spacer Body T Tracer Part 10 Twisting Device 100 Gripping Mechanism Part 100b Steel Roller 101 Twisting Mechanism Part 12 Non-Rotating Dies

Claims (10)

When manufacturing a spiral spacer comprising a tensile wire arranged in the center and a spacer main body formed on the outer periphery of the tensile wire and having a plurality of spiral grooves formed on the outer periphery.
In the manufacturing method of the spiral spacer, gripping the tensile strength wire and imparting a twist to the non-rotating die that extrudes the molten resin for forming the spacer main body to the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire,
The tensile wire is gripped by a pair of steel rollers that are arranged so as to face each other around the tensile wire and sandwich the tensile wire, and the steel roller pair is the tensile strength. A method of manufacturing a spiral spacer, wherein at least one pair or a plurality of the spacers are arranged along a line extending direction.   The method for manufacturing a spiral spacer according to claim 1, wherein the gripping force of the steel roller is set to a stress equal to or greater than 30 kgf x the diameter (mm) of the tensile strength line.   2. The helical spacer according to claim 1, wherein the gripping stress is set so that a sliding torque of the steel roller with respect to the tensile strength line is 0.1 N · m or more, preferably 0.12 N · m or more. Manufacturing method.   The non-rotating die includes a first layer extrusion path for extruding an adhesive resin in contact with the tensile strength line, a second extrusion path for extruding a resin for forming the spacer main body in contact with an outer periphery of the adhesive resin, The method for producing a spiral spacer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the three-layer coextrusion die is provided with a third extrusion path for extruding a resin for forming a tracer part provided in a part of the spacer body part. . When manufacturing a spiral spacer having a tensile strength line disposed in the center and a spacer main body formed on the outer periphery of the tensile strength line and formed with a plurality of spiral grooves on the outer periphery, the formation of the spacer main body is performed. In the manufacturing apparatus of the spiral spacer in which the twisting device is installed immediately before the non-rotating die for extruding the molten resin for the outer periphery of the tensile strength wire to grip the tensile strength wire and to twist the tensile strength wire.
The twisting device includes a gripping mechanism portion of the tensile strength line and a twisting mechanism portion of the gripping mechanism portion,
The gripping mechanism portion is disposed so as to be opposed to each other centering on the tensile strength line, and has a plurality of steel rollers that form a pair that sandwich the tensile strength wire, and the set of the steel rollers. An apparatus for manufacturing a spiral spacer, wherein at least one pair or a plurality of the spacers are arranged along the extension direction of the tensile strength line. The steel rollers are each provided with a V-shaped groove for holding the tensile wire at opposing positions,
5. The helical spacer manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the V-shaped groove has an opening angle of 60 to 120 [deg.] And a depth equivalent to the radius of the tensile strength line.   The said steel roller consists of steel materials whose material is HRC + 16 or more of the said tensile strength line, The manufacturing apparatus of the spiral spacer of Claim 4 or 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The spiral spacer manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 includes a hot water cooling device including a horizontal cooling tank that cools the molten resin for forming the spacer main body immediately after the non-rotating die.
An apparatus for manufacturing a spiral spacer, wherein a cooling start point of the molten resin for forming the spacer main body is fixed at an introduction position of the horizontal cooling tank.   The said horizontal cooling tank is equipped with the pressure reduction part in the said cooling start point, and circulates and supplies warm water cooling water in the direction facing the running direction of the spiral spacer introduce | transduced into the said cooling tank. Manufacturing equipment for spiral spacers.   The helical spacer manufacturing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the warm water cooling water is mixed with a surfactant that promotes bubble separation and removes bubbles.

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