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Continuous cast development ups copper rod quality

Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team May 6, 2004

Redesigning of continuous casting machine die coolers and updating and modification of the software has improved drawability and surface quality of the copper rod.

Drawability and surface quality of the copper rod are important factors when considering theoverall efficiency of a wire and cable plant.

Producing rod with the aim of minimizing or even totally removing all material-related wire breaks in the wire drawing process is the ultimate goal of all quality-conscious rod producers.

The redesigning project of the Upcast casting machine die coolers and updating and modification of the software controlling the casting machine movement are big steps towards this ambitious target.

These recent developments in the Upcast continuous casting system have shown to significantly increase both rod drawability and surface quality.

This, in turn, has allowed producers using 8mm rod from the Upcast process a more efficient utilisation of their multiwire and fine wire drawing machines.

The new die coolers and casting program have been developed by Outokumpu at its pilot facilities in Pori, Finland, and industrial scale "approval tests" have been conducted at the facilities of different UPCAST users during the year 2003 and early 2004.

For example according to Eletrocal, a cable manufacturer in Brazil, the results indicate an almost 100% increase in the casting machine graphite die life compared to the nominal specified value, and removal of all material-related wire breaks in their wire and cable plant.

Also Eletrocal achieves an absolute zero-level in any disturbances to the casting process instead of the occasional casting interruptions due to die wear experienced earlier.

After installing its Upcast system in 2000, the decrease of down-time in wire drawing due to less wire breaks and the consistent running of the casting plant has helped Eletrocal to really improve its competitiveness.

This is attrubuted to the considerable economical benefits of in-house rod production vs.

buying rod from outside and to the better rod performance in wire drawing .

The Upcast unit was originally a one-furnace system which was expanded in 2003 into a two-furnace system for higher capacity.

The results have met or exceeded expectations in other facilites as well.

The Turkish wire producer AL-CO, which installed its 16,000 TPA Upcast facility in 2001, reported an increase in drawability of "two and a half times more tons per break" in the drawing of 0.1mm wire, while all the other operation parameters remained same.

Also the other companies (in Europe and Brazi) participating in the testing campaign have noticed the same benefits and have chosen to change over to using exclusively the latest design die coolers and casting software.

These new developments are now included as standard to all new Upcast deliveries, and are also available to all existing Upcast plants.

Outokumpu Upcast is the original upward continuous casting system for oxygen-free copper and copper alloy wirerods.

Upcast technology, which was invented and developed more than three decades ago to serve Outokumpu's own production needs, is the world market leader with over 140 Upcast units delivered worldwide.