QED Wire Lines Inc
Stand: 12 C47
QED specialises in equipment for in-line heat-treating, cleaning and coating of steel wire. Its furnaces are custom built for multi-strand annealing, stress relieving, patenting and tempering processes. With patented flow technology, the fluid systems integrate cleaning efficiency with high wire speeds. The liquid metal furnaces apply heavy and commercial coatings of zinc, aluminium and Galfan®.
The company is supplying new process lines with remote monitoring and control of the equipment's key functions. Networked control panels are further enhanced with software and hardware for communicating directly with the internal network. Siemens-based PLCs work in unison with Ixon routers for seamless LAN integration.
The equipment package includes a cloud-based command centre offering solutions such as live production dashboards, real-time messaging alerts and access to equipment from anywhere in the world.
All temperatures and pressures are graphed for easy visualisation of the process trends. Alarms are logged along with the time and date of the incident. This data is critical for product quality assurance and standards compliance such as ISO 9001.
As an upgrade to existing high-speed zinc and Galfan process lines, QED AutoCoat™ utilises independent measurement and fine-tune control to achieve consistent and uniform coating weight application with a precision of ±10g/m2. Data acquisition and networking with remote monitoring are provided using the latest Siemens PLC hardware.
The measurement of galvanised coatings on steel wire is achieved via robust sensors that communicate with a Siemens PLC control panel in real time. The sensors relay current coat weight data that is instantly compared to a user-set target. The system then regulates a closed PID loop, controlling output pressure to individual nitrogen nozzles.
With a bed of fine aluminium oxide particles and precise air and gas control, QED's fluidbed furnaces are claimed to offer an environmentally friendly heat-treating solution in an energy-efficient package. The fluidbed's rapid heat transfer results in shorter furnace length and more compact and easier-to-operate process lines.
QED's latest wire cleaning equipment is a dual-stage pre-cleaner with ultrasonic transducers. The laser-cut stainless steel tank incorporates new temperature and level control features. Wires exit the cleaning section into a triple water rinse with four-stage suction wiping.
The HighTurbulence™ pickling system optimises fluid flow to break down the static boundary layer surrounding the wires and rapidly remove scale. With multiple cascading stages, the system lowers acid consumption and minimises waste treatment requirements.