Apparatus for producing tubular sheath-like coverings for electrodes

Apparatus for supporting a sheathing material comprising:

• a mandrel comprising a sheath feed-in section, a sheath discharge section, a plurality of sections of magnetically conductive material disposed between said feed-in and discharge sections, and a plurality of essentially magnetically non-conductive sections disposed on opposite sides of and between said magnetically conductive sections to separate said magnetically conductive sections from each other and from said feed-in and discharge sections;
• and
• a plurality of spaced magnets containing aligned circular apertures,
• said magnetically conductive sections being respectively disposed within said apertures and being centered therewithin by magnetic fields from said magnets applied uniformly around the periphery of said magnetically conductive sections;
• each magnetically conductive section forming a gap with its associated magnet sufficiently large to allow sheathing material to pass through said magnets.