KMEZ introduces a new type of research to control product quality
A Czech Deltamer and a thermostat from France have already been assembled and put into operation in the Plant Central Laboratory on the section of the copper rod production division. In the near future, a sharpening wire drawing machine will be delivered from Germany and installed at the rod production division – shipment was delayed due to coronavirus restriction.
All these devices are part of a single complex designed to determine the spiral elongation of copper wire rod – an indicator by which we can judge the purity of copper and its chemical composition. The higher the spiral elongation point, the cleaner the copper cathodes from which the wire rod is made. Ideally, this figure should exceed 400 units, while each unit in this case is equal to a millimetre.
— In the technical specifications, in accordance with which KMEZ produces copper wire rod, the definition of the spiral elongation of the finished product is not provided. But such a requirement is contained in lots of European standards. Our wire rod is subject to export, so several years ago we started testing wire rod for spiral elongation once or twice a year, we ordered a test in external agency – says Yaroslav Andreev, head of the Plant Central Laboratory.
The first results, according to Yaroslav Andreev, did not completely satisfy specialists of the Russian Foil plant, but over time it was possible to raise the factor of spiral elongation up to an average of 400 units, which corresponds to European standards. As it turned out, the spiral elongation test is a very effective in the process of cathodes and wire rod quality regulation. So in order to carry out this test regularly and on our own, it was decided to purchase a full set of necessary equipment.
The test process lasts four hours. At first, wire rod with a diameter of 8 mm is drawn into a 2 mm wire on a sharpening-drawing machine. Within two hours, it is fired in a thermostat at a temperature of 200°C. Under a certain load, the wire is tightly twisted into a spiral, then, again with the load, the spiral is drawn out in a suspended state. After that, the factor of its elongation is determined on the Deltamer. Copper with a high content of impurities, as already mentioned, elongates poorly. The wire rod of the Kyshtym Copper Electrolytic Plant «stretches» well, and this is a convincing proof of its purity.
Specialists of the central plant laboratory, despite the absence of a sharpening-drawing machine, have already tried the thermostat and deltamer in practice. The wire for the first tests was prepared by the employees of the technical control department on an old analogue of a modern drawing machine. The new equipment turned out to be easy to use and accurate in measurements. It, by the way, like the entire equipment complex, was custom made for the Kyshtym Copper Electrolytic Plant, so it is truly exclusive. More than 15 million rubles were allocated for its purchase.
Central laboratory specialists Lyudmila Trapeznikova, Elena Nesterova, Elena Simonova, Yulia Nesterenko have already studied the new equipment and are ready to operate it.
— Electronics engineers of Central laboratory Denis Trapeznikov and Leonid Rudakov helped us to get acquainted with the new equipment – says senior laboratory assistant Elena Nesterova. — The principle of its operation is quite understandable, nothing new. Certainly, it is interesting to work on it, especially when you realize how important the results of a new testing for the plant.
