JP6032603B2 - Air wiper and steel wire manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air wiper used when manufacturing a steel wire and a method for manufacturing the steel wire.

  Steel wires used for automobile tires and the like are known. This steel wire is generally manufactured through an initial wire drawing step, a plating step, a heat treatment step, and a final wire drawing step. In the plating step, a copper plating layer and a zinc plating layer are sequentially formed on the core wire, and then a thermal diffusion treatment is performed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-31333 A

By the way, such a steel wire is continuously manufactured on a series of manufacturing lines. Therefore, the core wire may be carried into a heat treatment furnace in a state where the plating solution for forming the galvanized layer remains attached to the core wire. Then, zinc sulfate (ZnSO ₄ ) contained in the plating solution may be deposited on the surface of the core wire. In the subsequent wire drawing step, the present inventors have identified that the precipitated zinc sulfate is sandwiched between the core wire and the mold, causing the core wire to break.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a steel wire with little risk of disconnection, and an air wiper used therefor.

An air wiper for producing a steel wire according to the present invention that can solve the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
A passage through which a core wire that is a steel wire passes,
An injection unit that opens above the passage and injects air into the core wire at an angle inclined in the opposite direction to the passage direction of the core wire;
A discharge portion that opens to face the opening of the injection portion and receives the plating solution released from the core wire by the air injected from the injection portion together with the air.

In the air wiper of the present invention, the discharge portion may have a diameter increased in a direction facing the passage.
Moreover, the opening area of the opening of the discharge part may be larger than the opening area of the opening of the injection part.
Furthermore, the said discharge part may be extended in the perpendicular direction as it distances from the said channel | path.
Furthermore, the crossing angle of the injection unit with respect to the passage direction of the passage may be 30 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less.

The method for producing a steel wire of the present invention is a method for producing a steel wire having a step of performing a heat treatment after forming a copper and galvanized layer on a core wire,
Before performing the heat treatment, using any of the air wipers described above, air is blown onto the core wire from a direction inclined in the opposite direction to the passing direction of the core wire, and the plating solution detached from the core wire is discharged to the discharge portion together with the air. Carry.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the manufacturing method of a steel wire with little possibility of a disconnection, and the air wiper used for it can be provided.

It is a schematic block diagram of the manufacturing apparatus which manufactures a steel wire with the manufacturing method of the steel wire of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of the air wiper of this invention.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an air wiper for manufacturing a steel wire and a method for manufacturing a steel wire according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The steel wire manufactured in the present embodiment is, for example, embedded in an automobile tire for reinforcement.

<Method of manufacturing steel wire>
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a steel wire by the steel wire manufacturing method of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a manufacturing apparatus 10 for manufacturing a steel wire includes an initial wire drawing die 11, a primary plating bath 12, a secondary plating bath 13, an air wiper 22, a heat treatment furnace 14, and a final wire drawing die 15. ing. In an actual production line, a plurality of the illustrated production apparatuses 10 are arranged in parallel, and a plurality of steel wires are produced at the same time.
Next, a process for manufacturing a steel wire by the manufacturing apparatus 10 will be described.

(Initial wire drawing process)
The core wire Ws is drawn out from the reel 16 around which the core wire Ws, which is a steel wire to be the steel wire W, is wound, and the core wire Ws is drawn through the initial wire drawing die 11 so as to have a predetermined outer diameter.

(Plating process)
The core wire Ws drawn to have a predetermined outer diameter is plated in the primary plating tank 12. The primary plating tank 12 stores a copper sulfate plating solution, and is immersed in a copper sulfate (CuSO ₄ ) or copper pyrophosphate (Cu (P ₂ O ₇ ) ₂ ) plating solution in the primary plating tank 12. Thus, a copper (Cu) plating layer is formed on the core wire Ws.
The core wire Ws plated with copper in the primary plating tank 12 is plated in the secondary plating tank 13. A plating solution of zinc sulfate (ZnSO ₄ ) is stored in the secondary plating tank 13, and the core wire Ws is zinc (Zn) plated by being immersed in the zinc sulfate plating solution of the secondary plating tank 13. Form a layer.

(Heat treatment process)
The core wire Ws subjected to copper plating and zinc plating is passed through a heat treatment furnace 14 heated to a predetermined temperature, whereby the core wire Ws is subjected to heat treatment.
By passing through the heat treatment furnace 14, the plating applied to the core wire Ws is alloyed by diffusion of copper of the copper plating layer and zinc of the zinc plating layer. Thereby, the core wire Ws is in a state where the surface is covered with brass which is an alloy of copper and zinc.

(Final wire drawing process)
The heat-treated core wire Ws is passed through the final wire drawing die 15 so that the outer diameter of the product is drawn to obtain a product steel wire W, which is wound around a reel 17.

  By the way, when the core wire Ws is carried into the heat treatment furnace 14 while the plating solution for forming the zinc plating layer remains attached to the core wire Ws, the zinc sulfate hydrate contained in the plating solution becomes the core wire Ws. May precipitate on the surface. Then, in the subsequent final wire drawing step, the precipitated zinc sulfate hydrate may be sandwiched between the core wire Ws and the final wire drawing die 15, which may cause the core wire Ws to be disconnected.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the contact wiper 21 and the air wiper 22 are installed on the upstream side of the heat treatment furnace 14, and the contact wiper 21 and the air wiper 22 are used to adhere to the core wire Ws. Remove the plating solution.

  The contact-type wiper 21 is disposed so as to come into contact with the core wire Ws, and wipes the plating solution adhering to the core wire Ws. As the contact wiper 21, for example, ceramic, sponge, rubber, cloth, or the like can be used.

  The air wiper 22 removes the plating solution adhering to the core wire Ws by injecting air toward the core wire Ws. The air wiper 22 is supplied with air injected from the air header 23 through the branch pipe 24 to the core wire Ws. The air header 23 is configured to be able to send air to a plurality of air wipers 22 arranged in parallel via a plurality of branch pipes 24.

<Air wiper>
Next, the structure of the air wiper 22 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the air wiper of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the air wiper 22 has a wire insertion path (passage) 31. The wire insertion passage 31 is formed to extend in the horizontal direction. The wire insertion passage 31 has an insertion port 31a on the contact wiper 21 side and a delivery port 31b on the heat treatment furnace 14 side. The core wire Ws passes through the wire insertion passage 31 from the insertion port 31a toward the delivery port 31b. The wire insertion passage 31 has a sufficiently large inner diameter of about 25 mm, whereas the outer diameter of the core wire Ws to be passed is about 1 mm.

  The air wiper 22 has an injection unit 33 that injects air onto the core wire Ws. The injection unit 33 includes a flow path formed on the upper side of the wire insertion path 31. One end of the ejection unit 33 is an ejection unit opening 34 that opens above the wire insertion passage 31 with an opening area S1. Further, the injection unit 33 has an air supply unit 35 opened at the upper part of the air wiper 22, and a branch pipe 24 connected to the air header 23 is connected to the air supply unit 35. The injection unit 33 is inclined in the opposite direction at an intersecting angle (angle) θ with respect to the passage direction A of the core wire Ws toward the wire insertion passage 31. It is preferable that the crossing angle θ with respect to the passing direction A of the wire insertion passage 31 of the injection unit 33 is set to 30 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less. In the present embodiment, the intersection angle θ is set to 45 degrees.

  Air is supplied to the injection unit 33 from the air header 23 via the branch pipe 24. And the air supplied to this injection part 33 is injected by the core wire Ws with the crossing angle (theta) inclined in the reverse direction with respect to the passage direction A of the core wire Ws.

  Further, the air wiper 22 has a discharge part 37 that receives the plating solution M separated from the core wire Ws by the air jetted from the jet part 33 together with the air. The discharge portion 37 is composed of a flow path formed on the lower side of the wire insertion passage 31. One end of the discharge portion 37 is a discharge portion opening 38 that opens below the wire insertion passage 31. This discharge part opening 38 is opened so as to face the injection part opening 34 of the injection part 33. Further, the discharge portion 37 has an exhaust port 39 opened at the lower portion of the air wiper 22, and a drain pipe (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port 39.

The discharge portion 37 has an enlarged diameter in a direction facing the wire insertion passage 31, and the discharge portion opening 38 has an opening area S <b> 2 larger than the opening area S <b> 1 of the injection portion opening 34.
Moreover, the wire insertion passage 31 side of the discharge portion 37 is inclined in the passage direction A of the core wire Ws toward the wire insertion passage 31 and extends in the vertical direction as the distance from the wire insertion passage 31 increases.

  The air wiper 22 having such a configuration causes air to flow from the injection unit 33 to the core wire Ws moving in the passage direction A through the wire insertion passage 31 in an opposite direction to the passage direction A of the core wire Ws at an intersecting angle θ. Spray. Then, the plating solution M adhering to the core wire Ws is blown off by the air sprayed from the injection unit 33 and detached from the core wire Ws. Then, the plating solution M detached from the core wire Ws is carried together with air to the discharge portion 37 and is discharged to the drain pipe through the discharge portion 37.

  According to the air wiper 22 having the above configuration, the plating solution M attached to the core wire Ws can be satisfactorily separated from the core wire Ws by air. For this reason, it is suitable for the manufacturing method of the steel wire W with little possibility of a disconnection. Further, since the plating solution M is carried to the discharge unit 37 and discharged through the discharge unit 37, there is no possibility that the plating solution M adheres to the core wire Ws again. In addition, since air is blown from above, the plating solution M can be efficiently blown using gravity.

  Here, if the crossing angle θ of the injection unit 33 with respect to the passage direction A of the wire insertion passage 31 is too large, the plating solution M cannot be sufficiently separated from the core wire Ws, and the crossing angle θ is too small. The plating solution M cannot be sufficiently separated from the core wire Ws. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the crossing angle θ of the injection portion 33 with respect to the passage direction A of the wire insertion passage 31 is 45 degrees, the plating solution M adhering to the core wire Ws is blown off very satisfactorily. Can be separated from Ws.

  In addition, since the diameter of the discharge part 37 is increased in a direction facing the wire insertion path 31, the plating solution M detached from the core wire Ws can easily enter the discharge part 37.

  By the way, when water evaporates from the plating solution M, the plating solution M becomes a gel, and this gel-like plating solution Mg may accumulate in the discharge part 37 to some extent. However, since the opening area S2 of the discharge portion opening 38 is larger than the opening area S1 of the injection portion opening 34, the discharge portion 37 is not clogged even if the gel-like plating solution Mg stays in the discharge portion 37 to some extent.

  Further, the discharge portion 37 extends along the vertical direction as the distance from the wire insertion passage 31 increases. For this reason, the plating solution M and the gel-like plating solution Mg collected in the discharge part 37 are easily discharged to the outside through the drain pipe.

  And according to the manufacturing method of the steel wire W using this air wiper 22, before heat processing with the air wiper 22 upstream of the heat treatment furnace 14, the plating solution M adhering to the core wire Ws is separated from the core wire Ws by air. Thus, precipitation of zinc sulfate hydrate can be prevented during the subsequent heat treatment in the heat treatment furnace 14. Therefore, in the subsequent final wire drawing step, the deposited zinc sulfate hydrate is prevented from being sandwiched between the core wire Ws and the final wire drawing die 15. Therefore, disconnection can be made difficult to occur.

  Here, after the core wire Ws having a diameter of 0.92 mm is immersed in the plating solution M, the plating solution is separated from the core wire Ws by the air wiper according to the reference example having no discharge port and the air wiper 22 according to the present embodiment, and then downstream. The filter paper placed on the side was brought into contact with the core wire Ws for 10 seconds, and the weight change of the filter paper was measured.

  As a result, in the air wiper according to the reference example, the weight change of the filter paper was 0.175 g. On the other hand, in the air wiper 22 according to this embodiment, the weight change of the filter paper was 0.062 g. Thus, like the air wiper 22 according to the present embodiment, the jet that opens above the wire insertion passage 31 and injects air to the core wire Ws at an angle inclined in the opposite direction to the passage direction A of the core wire Ws. The air wiper 22 according to the present embodiment includes a portion 33 and a discharge portion 37 that opens so as to face the opening of the injection portion 33 and receives the plating solution separated from the core wire Ws by the air injected from the injection portion 33 together with the air. Then, the plating solution M adhering to the core wire Ws could be satisfactorily separated by air.

In the above embodiment, the air wiper 22 may have a negative pressure source connected to the discharge portion 37. Thus, if the negative pressure source is connected to the discharge part 37, the plating solution M detached from the core wire Ws can be discharged together with air.
Air, nitrogen, water vapor, or the like is used as the air that is ejected from the ejection unit 33 of the air wiper 22.

  In the manufacturing method of the steel wire W described above, an example in which the plating treatment is performed in the order of copper plating and zinc plating has been described. However, the core wire Ws is immersed in a plating tank in which a plating solution containing copper and zinc is stored in a lump. Then, copper and zinc may be plated. In this way, the plating process time can be shortened.

Further, nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), or the like may be included in the plating solution, and these nickel, cobalt, or the like may be included in the copper / zinc plating layer.
Furthermore, in the plating process, the core wire Ws may be washed with water after being pulled up from the plating tank. Thereby, the density | concentration of the plating solution adhering to the core wire Ws can be reduced, and a plating solution can be removed still more easily. Further, after the plating step, the core wire may be washed with water, passed through the air wiper 22, the core wire may be washed with hot water, and further passed through the air wiper 22, and then heat treatment may be performed. Thereby, precipitation of a sulfate hydrate can be prevented more reliably.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the air wiper 22 is configured as block bodies 22a and 22b that can be divided vertically with the wire insertion passage 31 as a boundary, and a bolt 22c and the like in a state where the upper and lower block bodies 22a and 22b are combined. You may comprise so that it may fix with a fastener. According to such a configuration, it is easy to perform maintenance of the passages such as the wire insertion passage 31, the injection unit 33, and the discharge unit 37 in the air wiper 22.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the meanings described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

22: Air wiper, 31: Wire insertion path (passage), 33: Injection part, 34: Injection part opening, 37: Discharge part, 38: Discharge part opening, A: Passing direction, M: Plating solution, Mg: Gel-like plating Liquid, S1, S2: Open area, W: Steel wire, Ws: Core wire, θ: Crossing angle (angle)

Claims (5)

A passage through which a core wire that is a steel wire passes,
An injection unit that opens above the passage and injects air into the core wire at an angle inclined in the opposite direction to the passage direction of the core wire;
The opened to face the opening of the injection unit, have a, a discharge section for receiving with air the plating solution is removed from the core by injected air from the jet unit,
The said discharge part is an air wiper for steel wire manufacture which is diameter-expanded in the direction which faces the said channel | path. The air wiper according to claim 1 , wherein an opening area of the opening of the discharge unit is larger than an opening area of the opening of the injection unit. The air wiper according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the discharge portion extends in a vertical direction as the distance from the passage increases. The air wiper according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein an intersection angle of the injection unit with respect to a passage direction of the passage is set to 30 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less. A method of manufacturing a steel wire having a step of performing a heat treatment after forming a copper and galvanized layer on a core wire,
Before performing the heat treatment, air is blown to the core wire from the direction inclined in the direction opposite to the passage direction of the core wire using the air wiper according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , and then separated from the core wire. A steel wire manufacturing method that transports the plating solution together with air to the discharge section.

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