Cable Lining Process Using Plasticized Ribbon and Smoothing Die
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for sheathing cables with synthetic material ribbons result in a rough aesthetic appearance due to extra thicknesses formed by overlapping turns, which are detrimental to the smoothness of the sheath.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a plastically deformable synthetic material ribbon, where the ribbon is wound around the cable with overlapping turns and then passed through a die to eliminate excess thicknesses, maintaining a significant amount of lubricant to allow deformation and smoothing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ribbon is wound around the cable with overlapping turns to form a continuous sheath, then the sheath achieves continuity and coverage, but extra thicknesses are formed on the outer surface which are detrimental to the aesthetic appearance and smoothness
Solution Approach 1:
The ribbon is pre-conditioned with a plasticizing agent before winding, which enables the material to be plastically deformed during the winding process. This preliminary conditioning allows the ribbon to conform to the cable surface and eliminates the need for post-winding smoothing operations, as the plasticizing effect occurs in advance and prepares the material for seamless forming.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical and chemical parameters of the ribbon material are modified by introducing a plasticizing agent, which changes the material's deformability and flow characteristics. This parameter change enables the ribbon to be molded during winding, allowing overlapping turns to be pressed together and form a smooth, continuous sheath without extra thicknesses protruding from the surface.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the lubricant is eliminated from the synthetic material by heating or solvent, then the tape properties remain stable during storage and weight is reduced, but the tape becomes non-plastically deformable and cannot be smoothed
Solution Approach 1:
A plasticizing agent is introduced as an intermediary substance that temporarily modifies the ribbon material to enable plastic deformation during winding. This agent acts as a mediator between the rigid extruded ribbon and the forming process, allowing the material to be molded smoothly around the cable. After winding, the plasticizing agent evaporates or is removed, leaving the final sheath with stable properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The plasticizing treatment is applied preliminarily before the winding operation, conditioning the ribbon in advance to become plastically deformable. This preliminary action prepares the material specifically for the forming operation, and the plasticizing effect is temporary, lasting only during the winding process. After winding, the material stabilizes and retains its shaped form.
3Ease of manufacture
If the lubricant is retained in the synthetic material to enable plastic deformation, then the tape becomes plastically deformable for smoothing, but the lubricant may evaporate during storage causing air pollution and the tape weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plasticizing agent serves as a temporary intermediary that enables deformation only during the winding process. It is applied preliminarily to the ribbon, allows plastic deformation during winding, and then disappears (evaporates or is removed) after the forming operation. This temporary presence eliminates long-term storage pollution issues while still providing the necessary deformability during manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The plasticizing treatment is applied in advance and is temporary, lasting only until the winding operation is complete. After the ribbon is formed around the cable, the plasticizing agent evaporates or is removed, leaving no residual lubricant to cause pollution during storage. This preliminary, temporary action provides deformability exactly when needed without the long-term harmful effects of retained lubricant.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach produces a smooth sheath with reduced material usage and increased abrasion resistance, while maintaining stable properties and minimizing environmental pollution from lubricant evaporation.
Implementation Method 1
a tape made of a plastically deformable synthetic material and in that after the tape has been wound around the cable, the wrapped cable is passed through a die so as to eliminate excess thicknesses due to the overlapping of the turns
Implementation Method 2
The elimination of the extra thicknesses substantially amounts to crushing the tape so as to reduce its thickness by half
Implementation Method 3
A synthetic material that is sufficiently plastically deformable to allow smoothing of the sheath is thus obtained during sheathing. Within the meaning of the invention, it is considered that the lubricant has not been eliminated from the synthetic material if the wrapped tape contains at least 50% of the lubricant present during extrusion
Implementation Method 4
by wrapping the plastically deformable tape in preservation means intended to limit the evaporation of the lubricant, this tape can also retain relatively stable properties
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
AI summary
The sleeving procedure consists of winding a synthetic tape (32) of a deformable material over the cable (10) in overlapping spirals (62) and then passing it through a die (71) to smooth out the overlapping edges and form a sleeve of even thickness. The synthetic tape is produced from a polymer powder and a lubricating agent such as Isopar (RTM) produced by the Exxon Corporation, extruded and rolled into a tapee between 25 and 600 micrometres thick.