PlasmaANNEALER for fine stainless steel and nickel alloy wires has been awarded “Top Products of 2014” by the editors of Wire and Cable Technology magazine. Annealing of stainless steel and nickel alloy wires has so far been done almost exclusively in the traditional tube/strand furnaces. Energy coupling in the traditional furnace is not effective enough to allow high-temperature annealing to be done at drawing or rolling speeds. Stainless steel wires have been up to now always annealed in a multi-line setup.
PlasmaANNEALER for fine wire is the first machine of its kind to enable annealing of fine austenitic stainless steel and nickel alloys wires at the speed of drawing (i.e. at up to 25m/s). Austenitic stainless steel wires with diameters from 0.5mm to 0.1mm (0.02’’ to 0.004’’) can be recrystallization annealed with plasma at the speeds of 360m/min to 1500m/min (1200ft/min-5000ft/min). A single line PlasmaANNEALER can substitute 15-30 lines in a traditional tube furnace whilst abolishing the need for expensive multi-line takeups and payoffs. PlasmaANNEALER can be used for small cross-section round, flat and shaped wires as well as for tubes, ropes and strands made of stainless steel and nickel alloys. The annealer features compact design, high energy conversion efficiency, very low gas consumption and gives the operator the ability to target mechanical properties with a great degree of accuracy. Rapid heating and reduced time of recrystallization results in fine grain size with uniform crystal structure. The PlasmaANNEALER can cold start production in few minutes and can be stopped imminently. This avoids the lengthy heating-up and cooling-down times and associated energy costs that are symptomatic for a conventional tube furnace. The installation in the layout drawing below features a line with a double-head takeup with automatic spool changeover functionality on a drawing line for stainless steel wires diameters of 0.9mm to 0.1mm (0.035’’ to 0.004’’). Automatic spool changeover allows for long continuous drawing and annealing runs and minimal operator assistance.
High-speed annealing trials can be performed at Plasmait’s facility in Austria. The annealer can process different type of materials used in applications such as: fine wire for mesh and textile, filter wire, EMS mesh wire, electronics resistance wires, heating element wires, copper clad steel and copper clad aluminium wires, as well as wires, ropes and tubes for medical, jewellery, aerospace, automotive and similar applications.
About Plasmait GmbH: Plasmait is a supplier of heat and surface treatment solutions for wire, cable, tube, strip and ribbon industry. Plasmait’s solutions are based on a patented plasma treatment process that offers advances in production efficiency, surface quality, process control and ecology. Plasmait provides heat and surface treatment solutions as individual machines or as turn-key production line deployments.
Igor Rogelj, Plasmait GmbH, UK/International: +44 7810 810 656, Austria: +43 318 252 7450, info@plasmait.com