WIRE DRAWING

The term „wire drawing“ is known as continuous non-cutting reduction of cross-section with a simultaneous increase of material strength. Contrary to this, „draw-peeling“ is defined as continuous cutting reduction of cross-section by means of a closed, circular and fixed tool. Using this method, the chips which develop at the tool circumference are smashed by means of a rotating chip breaker. By removing the erroneous regions on the wire one achieves a much higher purity, a higher stability of characteristics and a higher service life of the respective final product.
An essential increase in quality and productivity is achieved by integrating resp. reducing process steps in the manufacturing process itself but also in product logistics. The application of more modern, faster and integrated methods promises a reduction of processing times. The plant described in the following meets the mentioned tendencies resp. demands and completely redefines the state-of-the-art in its market segment.
Kieselstein Group operates in the field of the production of wire drawing machines all over the world, and in the field of draw-peeling plants they are in a leading position on the world market. Meanwhile Kieselstein plant are installed in Germany, Sweden and China.
Already last year a multiple wire drawing machine with integrated draw-peeling unit has been developed and delivered to the newly built Chinese plant of an European manufacturer of enamelled wires.
The combination of new developments with the application of available assemblies has been excellently implemented by developing the wire drawing plant described in the following for company ThyssenKrupp VDM, a leading manufacturer in the world market for high performance materials.
Handling of project development and realization can be considered exemplary for the approach to such projects in the Kieselstein Group. First of all, the technological problem shall be mentioned. It has been the aim of ThyssenKrupp VDM, within the scope of building a new wire production hall at the facility in Werdohl, to optimize the entire wire production process. Integration and optimization of manufacturing steps were in the focus of the new investment just as a further quality increase and an increase in process safety in the entire production cycle by exchanging an existing draw-peeling plant. The two companies cooperated and, as main item of the plant extension, developed a machine concept which does not only provide for multiple-step drawing of special wires but also for multi-step draw-peeling. Additionally, the plant has been designed as well to be used as “pure” drawing machine. Thus, one could achieve a maximum flexibility and simultaneously an optimized productivity and quality with this novel plant concept.
An essential main innovation of the plant is the new technology on the basis of integrating two draw-peeling units into a horizontal wire drawing machine by means of the drawing capstans which are positioned via servo assisted axles. During project planning, just one of these axles had been planned. Another advantage of Kieselstein could be added here: Contrary to other machine producers, Kieselstein is in possession of an own technology development centre with own machinery, among others a plant for drawing and draw-peeling of wire. This unique possibility allows to demonstrate the capabilities of the machinery to the customer, to produce first samples, to teach the operating staff, but also – and this had been decisive for the project described – to make practical tests on the theoretical ideas on technology.
Finally, the realized concept of equipment has been developed from the test results. That concept has been added by a respective new development for wire handling in order to be able to present the customer a turn-key solution for the entire project.
The essential, new developed innovative characteristics of the plant shall be presented in the following:


- The frequency-controlled, tiltable double wire pay-off with modular wire take-up is suitable both for taking up individual wire coils and for the application of take-up reels. Such an individual unit can be retrofitted to already existing plant in the future. As there are two individual wire pay-off places which are separated from each other by respective protective devices it is possible to feed the pay-off with new material while the machine is running. This allows a maximum availability of the entire plant.
- The main machine – wire drawing machine with integrated draw-peeling unit – has been composed of modular individual machines. The integration of two complete draw-peeling units into a multiple drawing machine is a novelty in the world. The main challenge was to run such a complex unit like the draw-peeling unit not just as separate unit but in combination with a second one. Additionally, another single drawing machine has been arranged in front of these two machines in order to implement the technology developed together with the customer. Adjustment errors between the individual unit, especially in the field of control equipment, irrevocably lead to the generation of vibrations. Such things lead to surface errors which do not permit to achieve certain quality aims. This complex task could be solved by applying pneumatic sensor rolls in connection with the respective control equipment.
- The modular machine has been equipped with drawing capstans which are positioned by means of servo assisted axles. This allows to minimize setting-up times in case of a product change in connection with assuring the optimal production parameters via the control of the plant. Plant availability is further increased by up to 25 % by the integration of servo-electric forwarding devices and an automatic, hydraulic pulling-in device.
- The integration of multiple drawing and multiple continuous draw-peeling in one plant is considered a world novelty.
- All parameters of the plant can be pre-selected for each product on a central operating desk. The plant with all its components (also with the already mentioned numerically controlled servo assisted axles) can automatically move into the necessary working positions. That means the machine adapts itself to changing work tasks. This reduces the expensive setting procedure and increases the availability of the plant.
- For the machine frame, an extremely stiff and thus low vibration construction has been chosen in order to avoid vibrations. A thermally stable, vibration-reducing mineral cast has been used such as already applied in cutting machine tools.
- Due to the vibration optimized construction of the draw-peeling unit the draw-peeling tool is taken-up in a vibration damping manner and thus uncoupled from the rest of the machine.
- Constant surface temperatures on the drawing capstan are achieved by narrow-gap cooling principle. The enclosed cooling circuit avoids contaminations of the cooling water with residuals of drawing agent and so provides for a resource-saving and environmental friendly working.
- Kieselstein Group can dispose of different products for taking-up the treated material. A bending coiler has been chosen for the plant described here. This bending coiler allows to produce different wire coil diameters. The diameter can be corrected at any time during operation from the central operating desk by a numeric control of the bending roll. Consequently, down times and setting-up times can be reduced to a minimum. In addition to that, the bending roll can alternate the diameter range. Thus it is possible to perform different types of wire laying (e. g. spiral laying) which permit a maximal volume utilization.
- Thanks to the mentioned modular construction from individual segments, the plant can be extended by further drawing units or draw-peeling units at any time, even after the start of production. This provides an additional possibility to reconfigure the plant with a low expenditure in case of in-house, technological or procedural changes.
In addition to the production of manufacturing plant itself, Kieselstein Group intensively deals with the investigation and further development of the method „draw-peeling“. The existing technology representing the world's state of the art has been further developed within the scope of a research project aided by the Saxon state government with the result to be able to optimize the marginal area of the wire. Further investigations intensively deal with the transferability of this method to new fields of application and new materials. This is laying the foundations already now to allow a resource saving production in the future.
The presented plant has been developed and manufactured with a great personal commitment of the development team consisting of staff members with long experiences and young graduates. The close cooperation with development partners from the field of manufacturing and measuring technologies made it possible to complete the plant within a period of only 10 months. Kieselstein International GmbH even managed to deliver the entire plant to ThyssenKrupp VDM ahead of schedule.
After the foundation of Kieselstein GmbH in 2002, Kieselstein Group, existing since 2004, today supplies more than 600 customers in 46 countries. In 2004 the two partners Dr. eng. Stephan Kieselstein and his son Grad. eng. Jens Kieselstein founded Kieselstein International GmbH. Meanwhile this company is selling special innovative fields of technology, like the method of draw-peeling, all over the world market, while Kieselstein GmbH is selling machinery and plant mainly on the European market. The majority of standard machines is produced by Kieselstein GmbH. Kieselstein Industriesiebe und Drahtförderbänder GmbH has been founded in April 2005 and is located in Dresden, Germany. This wire processing company makes industrial screens, wire mesh and wire belt conveyors. The products are applied in the fields of the building material industry, by suppliers to the automobile industry, food producers and in architecture. Kieselstein Automatisierungstechnik GmbH which has been founded in December 2007 enriches the range of products of the group by automation and measuring technology around the product „wire“. Meanwhile, Kieselstein Group employs 54 staff members, incl. six apprentices, additional trainees and graduands. A special, extraordinary feature of Kieselstein Group is the utilization of the synergy effects resulting from all these companies.

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