Metal deforming – With cleaning – descaling – or lubrication of work or product – Mechanical cleaning
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-29
2001-04-17
Crane, Daniel C. (Department: 3725)
Metal deforming
With cleaning, descaling, or lubrication of work or product
Mechanical cleaning
C072S042000, C072S282000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216507
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a continuous in-line treatment process for wire drawing. More specifically, the invention relates to a continuous in-line dry brush treatment process for removing an oxide film from stainless steel rod or wire prior to drawing, continuous coating procedure for applying of lubricant carrier, and a post drawing brushing stage for removing residual drawing compounds comprising carrier coating and lubricant from the drawn wire.
2. Related Art
Conventional means for descaling rod or wire, or removing oxide from stainless steel wire, before drawing, typically include either passing the wire through a “pickling” tank containing acid, or, in the case of non-stainless steel, either passing the wire through a “pickling” tank containing acid, or mechanically descaling the wire by bending it or blasting it with abrasive particles. The wire is then coated with a lubricant and drawn. Once the wire is drawn, excess lubricant coating and any scale is removed from the wire according to conventional degreasing processes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,416 to Sudoh et al. is directed to a dry type continuous wire drawing process. Under this process, a steel wire to be drawn is mechanically descaled, coated with a lubricant and drawn through a drawing die. Mechanical descaling is achieved by passing the wire through a shot blaster, wherein shot particles are directed at the wire to remove any oxide film therefrom. Alternatively, a roll bender may be used to repeatedly bend and elongate the wire so that the scale layer is fissured and can be peeled off.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,206 to Russo discloses a continuous wire drawing process in which a mechanical descaler bending of the stock is used to remove scale from alloy steel wire prior to drawing and a buffer unit is used to remove carrier and lubricant by buffing with a plurality of buffer wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,701 to Abrams et al. discloses a method for treating metal in connection with cold reduction operations using abrasive blast cleaning units for directing abrasive media against the upper and lower surfaces of a piece of metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,335,196 to Pecsok discloses a method for removing scale from metal sheets by passing a sheet through (1) a water spray to loosen the scale, then (2) a pair of breaker rolls that flex the sheet to aid in breaking up the scale into particles, then (3) a brushing station to lift and pick off the scale particles.
These conventional pickling and degreasing methods create hazardous conditions and can have an extremely detrimental impact on the environment and require high investment and process costs. In addition, mechanical descaling involving bending such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,335,196 to Pecsok is inapplicable to stainless steel wire because the thin layer of oxide film that forms on stainless steel wire is ductile and therefore cannot be removed by such mechanical descaling processes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a continuous in-line dry brush treatment process for cleaning rod or wire, in particular stainless steel wire rod, prior to drawing and for removing residual drawing compounds, comprising coating and lubricant, from the drawn wire after drawing, which eliminates the hazardous waste and negative environmental impact associated with conventional liquid-based methods and is less expensive than such methods.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a continuous in-line dry brush stock cleaning and continuous coating of lubricant treatment system for carrying out the invention process, and specifically to provide inlet and outlet brush stations and an efficient continuous coating bath for use in carrying out the process.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide drawn stainless steel wire products prepared according to the continuous in-line dry brush treatment process of this invention.
According to the present invention, these objectives are achieved through the use of a continuous treatment system for cleaning the coating the wire or wire rod stock by first providing wire brushes having carefully defined parameters of construction and materials for the pre- and post-treatment of drawn wire rod. Specifically, an inlet brush station is employed to remove the thin oxide film from stainless steel wire and to clean and activate the surface of the wire in preparation for the application of a lubricant carrier coating prior to drawing. This pre-coating and pre-drawing dry brush step eliminates the need for conventional chemical pickling methods and their attendant environmental hazards, and is surprisingly less costly (as to both investment and operation) than such prior methods.
The wire is then continuously coated with a lubricant carrier coating in a shallow bath, and dried to achieve a smooth coating, further coated with a lubricant, and drawn through a conventional drawing machine, using a lubricant such as calcium stearate. Preferably, the coated wire is dried by being passed through a dryer to dry the lubricant carrier coating, passed through a cooler to cool the wire, and the lubricant is applied immediately prior to being passed through rotating and pressure dies, which preferably are used to enhance the drawing function. Next, the stainless drawn wire is passed through first and second outlet brush stations, where any residual drawing compounds (carrier coating plus lubricant) are removed from the wire preferably using a modified, less abrasive brush arrangement. This post-drawing brushing step reduces, and preferably eliminates the need for conventional degreasing methods and their attendant environmental hazards, and is, again, surprisingly less costly than such prior art methods.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2335196 (1943-11-01), Pecsok
patent: 2966425 (1960-12-01), Fucinari
patent: 3320701 (1967-05-01), Abrams et al.
patent: 4099399 (1978-07-01), Berry
patent: 4286449 (1981-09-01), Spreafico
patent: 4329861 (1982-05-01), Griffiths
patent: 4545227 (1985-10-01), Sudoh
patent: 4553416 (1985-11-01), Sudoh
patent: 5201206 (1993-04-01), Russo
patent: 212441 (1993-08-01), None
patent: 608576 (1978-05-01), None
Groening Manfred
Radix Karl-Heinrich
Wiedenbruch Heinz-Juergen
Crane Daniel C.
Ergste Westig South Carolina Inc.
Magidoff Barry G.
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