Method and device for continuous production of glass-sheathed metal wires
AssigneeCommissariat a l'Energie Atomique
InventorsSylvie Deprot, Olivier Acher, Frederic Bertin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The device and process allow for continuous processing of metal wire sheathed in glass (10) of considerable length. Normally a feed pipe (15) containing all the necessary metal, itself placed into a glass tube (20), so as to continuously supply a bead (14) to the lower part of the glass tube (20). Heat from a first inductor (23) around the glass tube (20) and a second inductor (24) under the glass tube (20) allow to maintain a bead (14) at a stable temperature and in a continuous manner and to obtain the continuous drawing process of a metal wire sheathed in glass (10).
Claims8
Continuous processing of metal wire sheathed in glass (10), consisting in:
- inserting metal into a glass tube, which is movable;
- heating the metal until it melts inside the glass tube (20), at its lower part, so as to create a proceeding bead (14) at the lower part (21) of the glass tube (20) so as to soften it;
- and
- drawing in a continuous manner the assembly comprising molten metal surrounded in glass, which came from the lower part (21) of the glass tube (20), whilst slowly lowering the glass tube (20) partially melted at the level of his lower part (21), as it is consumed through the drawing of the obtained sheathed wire, characterised in that a heat resistant feed pipe (15) is used, which is immovable in respect to the glass tube (20) and has an external diameter less than the internal diameter of the glass tube (20), being totally inert as regards the metal mass (12) and not softening at the operating temperature, being placed inside the glass tube (20), filled with all of the metal needed to process a large quantity of metal wire sheathed in glass (10) and bored with a nozzle (13) at its lower part, this nozzle (13) being at a set minor distance from the lower part (21) of the glass tube (20), in contact with the proceeding bead (14), thus allowing the formation of the proceeding bead (14) and the continuous supply of the latter, so that the dimensions of this proceeding bead (14) remain substantially constant during the drawing of the wire, and in that means of applying negative pressure on the feed pipe (15) are used to retain the metal mass (12) in the tube, then to release and regulate the negative pressure so as to provoke the start of the flowing of the molten metal via the nozzle (13) and to control the continuous flow of the metal mass (12) throughout the drawing.
Device for continuous processing of a metal wire sheathed in glass (10), mainly comprising:
- a glass tube (20) closed at its lower part (21), of set diameter;
- and
- means of heating (23) to melt a metal mass (12) placed inside the glass tube (20) and to maintain a proceeding bead (14) in a liquid state softening the lower part (21) of the glass tube (20), characterised in that it comprises a feed pipe placed inside the proceeding pipe (15) containing the metal mass (12), of an external diameter less than the internal diameter of the glass tube (20) that does not soften at the melting temperature of the metal to be melted, this feed pipe (15) with a nozzle (13) at its lower part, being placed inside the glass tube so as to place its nozzle (13) very close to the lower part (21) of the glass tube;
- means of moving the glass tube (20) to make it progressively descend as it is consumed through the drawing of the wire;
- and
- means of applying negative pressure to the feed pipe (15) to create and manage a negative pressure on the inside of the latter, so as to regulate and control the flow of the molten part of the metal mass (12).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.