Abstract:
This project focuses on designing and fabricating a cleaning device to add on to Quabbin Wire and Cable’s (QWC) manufacturing line. QWC produces CAT5e ethernet cables by using tinned stranded copper wire. These wires come from an outside supplier and are received at QWC coated with a thin layer of graphite drawing lubricant. This lubricant leads to an uneven distribution of plastic insulation applied to the wire. During long wire runtimes, an excess of embedded lubricant can yield a degradation in signal clarity. Any produced ethernet cabling that is not within QWC’s strict tolerances is scrapped. To reduce waste and improve production efficiency, QWC is looking for a cleaning process to remove as much lubricant contaminant on the supplied tinned copper wire before the running wire reaches the pre-heater and extruder on their production line. Previously, QWC has used a cleaning process that comprised of two moving felt belts that ran above and below the wire; it is no longer used due to the frequent replacement of destroyed machine belts. QWC’s current solution uses felt pad squares that are clamped around the wire as it runs down the production line. This solution is impractical and requires the same high maintenance frequency to replace the felt. The maintenance is completed manually while the line is running, which adds a safety hazard as well. To improve on the cleaning process’s maintenance time intervals while still adhering to QWC’s specifications, our team came up with the solution to have the wireline running through pressurized water jets for cleaning. Our design filters and reuses the wastewater to create a closed loop that requires no maintenance while the line is running. Our maintenance requires only replacing the grease filter unit, which is in the water storage tank. This will allow for an improved service interval compared to the in place and previous solution.