JPS63123525A - Method and apparatus for continuously producing line conductor for electric wire and cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the productivity by holding a line conducting raw material between first and second galvanizing baths, in which the raw material is galvanized, under inert atmosphere and also heating the raw material to annealing temp. by charging electricity in both galvanizing baths, to execute continuously wire drawing, galvanizing and annealing. CONSTITUTION:The galvanizing treatment for the line conducting raw material 1 is composed of executing in order in the first and second galvanizing vessels 10, 20. The raw material 1 supplied from a wire drawing station 2 and a pickling station 3, is discharged from a die 17 through a die 16 in the galvanizing station 4. Next, when it passes through in a piping 30 of annealing station 5, the raw material 1 is held to the inert gas atmosphere by filling up the inert gas in the piping 30. At the same time, the electrode switch 32 is turned on and DC voltage is impressed on the vessels 10, 20 in the galvanizing stations 4, 6 by DC source 31. And, the current is applied to the raw material 1 in the piping 30 through the guiding members 14, 24 in the vessels 10, 20 and molten metal to anneal the raw material 1 by Joule heat under inert gas atmosphere. Next, it is introduced to the galvanizing station 6 and its temp. is fallen to the temp. of molten tin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention mainly relates to a method and apparatus for continuously manufacturing wire conductors for electric wires and cables for electric power or communication.

(Background Art) When manufacturing the wire conductors for electric wires and cables as described above, a continuous wire material made of, for example, copper or a copper alloy is subjected to wire drawing and annealing treatments, and in many cases, for example, to a molten state. It is common to perform a hot-dip metal plating process using tin as the plating bath. As for the chronological combination of each of the above processing steps, there are two methods: one in which each step is performed separately as a batch process, and the other in which wire drawing and annealing are performed simultaneously using a continuous wire drawing and annealing device, and the plating treatment is performed in a separate process. It is known that it is done as follows.

The known embodiments of each of the above-mentioned steps have essential drawbacks inherent to batch processes, such as a poor product yield and a tendency to vary product quality because the unit throughput is self-limited. be. Although it is necessary to increase the unit throughput in order to stabilize product quality, it is difficult to improve productivity while effectively preventing the occurrence of variations.

Further, when wire drawing and annealing are performed at the same time, the following specific problems have been pointed out. That is, in such cases, an annealing device having at least one pair of movable rollers is generally used, and the annealing is performed by applying electricity to the filament material using these movable rollers as electrodes to generate heat in the material.

However, slippage is likely to occur between the filamentous material and the electrode roll, and sparks caused by instantaneous current interruptions at the time of slipping or slipping tend to melt the surface of the material, resulting in defective products with damage. For this purpose, we strictly control the diameter of the electrode surface of the electrode roller and prevent wear on the electrode surface as much as possible to prevent momentary interruption of contact between the wire material and the electrode roll. Considerable expense is required.

(Disclosure of the Invention) An object of the present invention is to propose a continuous manufacturing method and apparatus for a wire conductor for electric wires and cables, which can solve the problems of the prior art described above all at once.

In order to achieve this objective, the present invention has a structure in which the plating of the wire conductor material, which was conventionally performed only in one tank, is performed sequentially in the first and second plating tanks, and the plating process is performed sequentially in the first and second plating tanks. The material is held in an inert atmosphere and the molten metal in both plating tanks is used as a current-carrying electrode to heat the material to the temperature required for annealing.

That is, according to the present invention, since the molten metal in both plating baths is used as the current-carrying electrode for annealing, it is possible to reliably prevent erosion of the material surface as in the conventional technology using electrode rollers. Since each process of wire drawing, plating, and annealing can be performed completely continuously, it is possible to continuously manufacture high-quality products with high productivity.

(Best mode for carrying out the invention) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing each step of a continuous manufacturing method for wire conductors for electric wires and cables according to the present invention. To explain an embodiment in which the wire conductor is made of copper or a copper alloy, the continuous material l of the wire conductor is first drawn at a wire drawing station 2.
A wire is drawn to a predetermined diameter. The wire drawing device used for this wire drawing process is of a known type having an appropriately configured die. Next, the wire-drawn material is washed in a pickling station 3 with, for example, a dilute sulfuric acid solution to remove copper oxide on the surface. In the present invention, the hot-dip metal plating treatment of the material 1, which was conventionally performed in only one tank, is performed sequentially in the first and second plating stations 4.6, as described in detail below. An annealing station 5 is arranged between the .6 and 6, and the material 1 is
Annealing is performed. Furthermore, the material that has been subjected to the wire drawing, plating, and annealing treatments as described above is cooled with water, for example, at the cooling station 7, and the metal, such as tin, that has adhered to the surface of the material due to hot/dip metal plating is cooled. A final product 8 is obtained.

First and second plating stations 4.6 configured for plating and annealing materials in the manner described above.
, and the annealing station 5 shown in FIG. 2 will be described below.

First, the first plating station 4 includes a molten metal tank 10 with an open top, and the tank 10 is made of a heat-resistant hard insulating material such as ceramic. An electric heater 11 is disposed below the tank 10, and is configured to heat and melt the metal tin for plating charged into the tank IO to about 250 to 350°C. The top of the tank 10 can be closed by a top cover 12, and a protrusion 13 that is immersed in molten tin is attached to the lower surface of the cover 12. Further, a rod-shaped material guide member 14 is attached to the side surface of the protrusion 13. Further, since the top cover 12 is connected to a DC power source as described later, the entire tank 10 is housed within the protective cover 15 in order to ensure work safety.

The inlet and outlet of the material to the tank 10 are constituted by diamond-like dies 16 and 17 placed on the upstream and downstream walls of the tank 10. The die 16 on the inlet side is arranged so that the material is introduced into the tank 10 almost horizontally,
It is desirable that the die 17 on the exit side be arranged so that the material is discharged from the tank 10 diagonally downward.

The second plating station 6 also has a molten metal tank 20 and an electric heater 2 having the same configuration as the first plating station 4.
1, a top cover 22, a protrusion 23, a material guide member 24, and a protective cover 25. In connection with arranging the outlet die I7 in the first plating station 4 such that the material exits the bath 10 diagonally downward, the second plating station 6 is lower than the first plating station 4. place in position. The material inlet to the bath 20 of the second plating station does not include a die and is constituted by the outlet end of the annealing station, which will be described later. On the other hand, the outlet of the material from the tank 20 is constituted by a diamond-like die 27 placed on the downstream wall of the tank 20 so as to discharge the material horizontally.

As mentioned above, the first and second plating stations 4
, 6 comprises a conduit 30 forming a material transfer path between the two plating stations. This conduit 30 is arranged with its upstream end adjacent to the outlet die 17 of the molten metal bath 10 in the first plating station. The downstream end of the conduit 30 connects to the molten metal bath 2 at the second plating station.
The opening is made in a region located above the molten metal surface within 0. That is, since the first plating station 4 is arranged at a higher position than the second plating station 6, the conduit 30 is arranged diagonally downward toward its downstream end. . The annealing station 5 also includes an inert gas supply source (not shown) for filling the conduit 30 with an inert gas such as nitrogen, and a top cover for the vessel 10.20 for energizing the material in the conduit 30. 12.22 and a DC power supply 31 and a power switch 32. The inert gas source is arranged in the tank 10.2 so as to maintain an inert atmosphere not only in the conduit 30 but also in the top spaces of the first and second molten metal tanks 10.20.
It is desirable to communicate with the inside of 0. Also, DC power supply 3
1 applies a predetermined DC voltage to both ends of the material located in the conduit 30 via the molten metal in the first and second plating stations, and anneales the material using Joule heat generated by applying current to the material. It generates heat to the required temperature. The value of this DC voltage is, for example, 50 to 15, depending on the length of the pipe 30 and the diameter of the material.
It can be set to 0■.

In the first and second plating stages 4 and 6 and the annealing station 5 having the above-described configuration, the continuous VE wire material 1 supplied from the wire drawing station 2 and the pickling station 3 is treated with molten metal. Plating treatment and annealing treatment are performed in the following manner. That is, the raw material 1 supplied from the wire drawing station 2 and the pickling station 3 is introduced into the tank 10 almost horizontally through the die 16 on the inlet side of the first plating station 4, and is introduced into the tank 10 by the guide member 14 within the tank 10. It is deflected and discharged from the outlet die 17. The material 1 is further introduced diagonally downward into a tank 20 in a second plating station 6 through a pipe 3o in an annealing station 5, deflected by a guide member 24 in the tank 20, and discharged almost horizontally from an outlet die 27. be done. Subsequently, the blank 1 is fed to the cooling station 7 as described above.

In the process of conveying the material 1 as described above, the electric heater 11 at the first and second plating stations
．． When electricity is applied to 21, the metal tin in tank 10.20 is heated and melted. As a result, the material l is plated with hot-dip tin,
The thickness of the plating layer is controlled within a predetermined range by a die 17.27 on the exit side. The dies 16, 17 and 27 on the inlet and outlet sides of both plating stations 4 and 6 also function to prevent molten tin from flowing out of the tank 10.20.

When the material 1 discharged from the first plating station 4 passes through the pipe line 30 in the annealing station 5,
The pipe line 30 is filled with an inert gas to maintain the material 1 under an inert atmosphere. At the same time, the power switch 32 is turned on and the DC power supply 31 applies a DC voltage between the baths 10 and 20 in the first and second plating stations 4.6. This allows the guide member 14 in each tank 10.20 to
．． 24 and the molten metal to the material 1 located in the conduit 30, and the resulting Joule heat allows the material 1 to be annealed in an inert atmosphere. Note that the annealed material l is introduced into the second plating station, is immersed in molten tin in the tank 20 to be lowered in temperature to the temperature of molten tin, and is subsequently cooled with water, for example, in a cooling station. The temperature is lowered to room temperature by

In the present invention, since the molten metal in both plating stations is used as a current-carrying electrode during annealing of the material, the material is always energized even if the mechanical contact between the material 1 and the guide member 14, 24 is momentarily interrupted. can be maintained in the same condition. Therefore, in contrast to the case where at least one of a pair of current-carrying electrodes is configured with a movable roller as in the prior art, damage to the material surface caused by sparks caused by momentary interruption of mechanical contact between the electrode and the material can be completely prevented. It is possible to avoid this. Furthermore, when the material 1 is guided by the guide member 14.24 in the baths of both plating stations, molten metal is always present between the material 1 and the guide member 14.24, so that the molten metal acts as a lubricant. This function also makes it possible to reduce the contact frictional resistance between the material and the guide member and effectively prevent the elongation of the material due to such resistance.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, all processing steps required for manufacturing wire conductors for electric wires and cables can be carried out completely continuously, thereby preventing variations in product quality and improving productivity. Advantages that can be significantly improved are also obtained.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but may be implemented in various forms within its scope. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the top cover 12.
The material guide member 14.24 is attached to the protrusion 13.23 provided on 22.
The top covers 12.22 are connected to the DC power supply 31, but the material guide members 14.24
Separate from the top cover 12.22 to the tank 20
It can also be installed on the side wall.

In this case, the protrusion 13.23 of the top cover 12.22 is preferably formed with a volume that allows the level of the molten metal surface in the vessels 10, 20 to be adjusted accordingly. That is, by appropriately setting the volume of the protrusion 13.23, when the protrusion 13.23 is pulled out of the molten metal when lifting the top cover 12.22, for example, the surface level of the molten metal is lowered. Material guide member 14.24 and dies 16, 17.2 in tank 10.20
Advantageously, 7 is exposed to the atmosphere. By lowering the molten metal surface level as described above,
This is because it becomes possible to easily and reliably perform the operations required to pass the material through the die and engage the guide member. In addition, when adopting such a configuration, the DC power source 31 can be connected to the guide member 14.24 via the side wall of the tank 10.20.

Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the first and second plating stations are arranged at different heights so that the die on the entrance side of the second plating station can be omitted. The plating stations can also be located on the same level if desired. In this case, diamond-like dies similar to the dies on the entrance side of the first plating station are installed on the entrance side of the second plating station, and each die is arranged so that the material is conveyed almost horizontally. It turns out.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing each step of the method for continuously manufacturing wire conductors for electric wires and cables according to the present invention, and FIG.
1 is a route map showing an example of a device suitable for carrying out the method according to the figure; FIG. ■...Material 4...First plating station 5...Annealing station 6...Second plating station 10, 20...Hot dip metal plating tank 16, 17.27...Dice 30... Conduit 31...power supply circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A continuous material of a wire conductor for electric wires and cables is sequentially plated in first and second hot-dip metal plating baths, and the material between the two plating baths is placed in an inert atmosphere. a series of filamentous conductors held below and charged between both plating baths to generate heat to the temperature required for annealing said material held under an inert atmosphere; Production method. 2. First and second plating baths for successively hot-dip metal plating the continuous material of the wire conductor for electric wires and cables, and an inert gas that forms a transfer path for the material between the two plating baths. a pipe line filled with plating baths, and a pipe for charging between the plating baths of both plating tanks in order to generate heat to the temperature required for annealing the material held in an inert atmosphere within the pipe line. 1. A continuous manufacturing device for a wire conductor, characterized by comprising a power supply circuit. 3. In the apparatus according to claim 2, the first plating tank is arranged at a higher position than the second plating tank, and the first plating tank adjacent to the upstream end of the pipe line is A die that allows the material to pass through and prevents the molten metal in the first plating tank from flowing out is arranged on the side wall, and the downstream end of the pipe line is placed closer to the surface of the molten metal in the second plating tank. characterized by opening in an area located above;
Continuous manufacturing equipment for wire conductors.