Continuous extrusion apparatus and method for the production of cable having a core sheathed with aluminum based sheath with a continuous extrusion apparatus

Continuous extrusion apparatus,

• comprising:
• a) a rotatable wheel, the rotatable wheel including two identical circumferential grooves outwardly bounded by arcuate tooling discharging through radial exit apertures to an extrusion chamber positioned around a portal mandrel and a device configured to continuously supply a core through the mandrel as an aluminium based sheathing is extruded from the extrusion chamber around the core to form a cable being discharged to a roller corrugator arranged and configured to form a helical corrugation on the sheath;
• b) the roller corrugator being provided with a rotational drive device and being mounted upon a freely axially moveable carriage with an actuating device configured for and positioned on the carriage to apply a force on the sheath in a direction longitudinally of the cable to regulate tension in the sheath intermediate the extrusion chamber and the roller corrugator to a constant, low magnitude, value;
• and
• c) the speed of the rotational drive device of the roller corrugator is controlled in accordance with a signal indicative of the linear speed of the sheath combined with a signal from a transducer indicative of the position of the carriage.

Continuous extrusion apparatus, comprising:

• a) a rotatable wheel, the rotatable wheel including two identical circumferential grooves outwardly bounded by arcuate tooling discharging through radial exit apertures to an extrusion chamber positioned around a portal mandrel and a device configured to continuously supply a core through the mandrel as an aluminium based sheathing is extruded from the extrusion chamber around the core to form a cable being discharged to a roller corrugator arranged and configured to form a helical corrugation on the sheath;
• b) the roller corrugator being provided with a rotational drive device and being mounted upon a freely axially moveable carriage with an actuating device configured for and positioned on the carriage to apply a force on the sheath in a direction longitudinally of the cable to regulate tension in the sheath intermediate the extrusion chamber and the roller corrugator to a constant, low magnitude, value;
• and
• c) a pair of opposed grooved rollers is provided upstream of the roller corrugator and configured for restricting transmission upstream of any torsional forces arising from the roller corrugator.