Welcome to this article where we will delve into the essential and common stages of cable manufacturing. To begin with, let's clarify two terms: wire and cable.
The primary objective of the first step is to obtain metal wires (typically copper or aluminum) that conform to the AWG (American Wire Gauge). The method involves pulling the copper or aluminum rod through a series of synthetic diamond dies on a draw bench, which gradually decrease in size. This process is carried out with a lubricating and cooling system to prolong the dies' lifespan and prevent the wire from overheating.
Step 2: Annealing
The drawing process involves exerting significant pressure on the metal rod to create a thinner wire. Consequently, the resulting wire is extremely brittle and prone to fracturing if bent. As flexibility is crucial for the finished wire, this step focuses on softening or annealing the wire.
Annealing is achieved by heating the wire to its recrystallization temperature for a specific duration. The key aspect here is to prevent oxidation of the wire.
Step 3: Twisting and Stranding
As mentioned earlier, multiple wires are often stranded together. This is because stranded wire offers better flexibility and electrical performance compared to a single wire with an equivalent cross-sectional area.
In this step, two or more wires of the same gauge are twisted or stranded together, utilizing a proprietary formula to determine the twist length.
Step 4: Extrusion
The wire, now soft and flexible, passes through an extruder where a coating of plastic or other insulating material is applied.
Materials are introduced into the rear portion of the extruder and propelled forward while being heated to a molten state. Upon exiting the extruder, the coated wire traverses another cooling system and is wound onto reels.
Step 5: Cabling
The fundamental component of the cable is now prepared. The subsequent phase involves assembling the cable based on its intended applications. This procedure is conducted at a cabling station.
For everyday use involving electrical and electronic cables, we simply need to bundle one or more wire strands, optionally with an interference-preventing layer, and enclose them within a protective jacket. To ensure optimal shaping, fillers are often used to maintain the cable's rounded form.
For power cables and other cables destined for burial underground, additional protective measures are necessary:
And that concludes our discussion for today. If you desire further insights into cable manufacturing, please don't hesitate to reach out to us or leave a comment. We're eagerly anticipating your feedback.
12 April, 2022
Electrical cables are the main means of transmitting the electricity we use in our homes and industries and they are familiar to all of us. However, many people wonder how can electrical cable is made: what material are they made of and what is the manufacturing process?
In this article we are going to answer your questions and try to show you, through our explanatory videos, what is the manufacturing process of electrical cables.
What is an electrical cable made of?The technology required for an electrical cable to provide service for many years, without incident, involves complex manufacturing processes that require highly qualified personnel.
What metals are used to manufacture electrical cables?Electrical cables are mainly made of copper. This is the best conductor of electricity, although there are also types of cables that use aluminium or other types of materials of different qualities depending on the use and type of cable in question.
With competitive price and timely delivery, SUNUA sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
How are power cables made?By means of an illustrative video, our Top Cable technician explains how an electrical cable is manufactured, from the initial drawing, through the choice of insulation, followed by the phase wiring, the auxiliary protection, the outer sheath and ending with quality control.
Plus other steps such as shipping and aspects of the manufacturing process that ensure it is sustainable and environmentally responsible.
How is an electrical cable manufactured? Graphical diagram of the manufacture of an electrical Medium Voltage cableThe manufacturing process of a Medium Voltage cable is divided into seven stages: incoming feed, polymer feed, triple extrusion, thickness control, cross-linking, cooling and collection.
Driver input coils are supplied uninterruptedly, via an input accumulator, ensuring continuous, shutdown-free operation.
The feeding of the polymers is done entirely through a clean and closed circuit (clean room), ensuring the purity of the materials from the supply packaging to the machine hopper.
Extrusion is carried out through a triple layer extrusion head, allowing perfect contact between the semiconductors, insulation and the total absence of foreign elements between them.
The thickness of each extruded layer is continuously monitored by an X-ray measuring head. This ensures both standardised thicknesses and perfect concentricity of the layers.
The cross-linking of the insulation and semiconductors is carried out in a nitrogen atmosphere, to eliminate the risk of water absorption, through nine independent temperature zones that allow the cross-linking progression to be perfectly adjusted to the characteristics of each material.
In this case, the final part of the catenary tube is dedicated to the controlled cooling of the cable already cross-linked. In this way, it is possible to guarantee an optimum temperature at the exit of the tube and during subsequent spooling.
The collection of the insulated cable is carried out on double winders with an automatic distributor, by means of an auxiliary pull track, which ensures perfect spooling, loop by loop and free of excessive tension.
Electrical cable manufacturing processYou can visualise the manufacturing process of a medium voltage cable in the following video.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit cable compound manufacturers.