Patents Assigned to BWE Limited
  • Patent number: 8281634
    Abstract: Apparatus for continuous extrusion of an aluminum sheathing on to a core cable includes a rotatable wheel formed with two identical circumferential grooves outwardly bounded by arcuate tooling discharging through radial exit apertures to an extrusion chamber positioned around a portal mandrel. A powered pay-off reel is arranged continuously to supply core cable through the mandrel while aluminum sheathing is extruded as a loose fit from extrusion chamber around the core cable. The extruded cable is discharged through cooling device to roller corrugator including a rotating frame mounted on carriage freely moveable axially of the cable and provided with a rotational drive having a roller arranged to form a continuous helical indentation in the sheathing. Pneumatic actuating cylinders positioned on the carriage provide a constant, low magnitude, tension on the portion of the sheath intermediate the extrusion chamber and roller corrugator and limit forces tending to distort the uncooled sheath.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Daniel John Hawkes
  • Patent number: 8061173
    Abstract: Extrusion mandrel assembly for continuous extrusion apparatus has a lobed, mushroom shaped, dolly formed with a central spacing stem located in the chamber adjacent a pair of discharge ports connecting respective exit apertures into an internal cavity in the chamber and a pair of shaped lobes having rear faces extending from central spacing stem, outer edge portions and front faces merging into a collar around a neck co-acting with an annular shoulder on extrusion die body to form an annular extrusion gap, with each lobe profiled so frictional surface drag on extruding material is uniform around lobed dolly. Individual paths between discharge ports and annular extrusion gap are equal in length as measured on respective surfaces of the rear faces, edge portions and front faces of profiled lobes. An extruded aluminium cylindrical tube up to 150 mm diameter and wall thickness of 1 mm to 4 mm may be formed avoiding discontinuities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Daniel John Hawkes
  • Patent number: 7980110
    Abstract: Apparatus for continuous extrusion of an aluminium sheathing free from imperfections or discontinuities onto a core cable, such as an insulated copper cable, includes a rotatable wheel formed with a pair of circumferential grooves arcuate tooling bounding radially outer portions of the respective grooves, a die body provided with divergent exit apertures discharging laterally to an extrusion chamber through 90° elbows and short divergent passages at diametrically opposed locations. An electrical induction heater includes coils of copper tubing connected to an electrical power source and to a coolant circulating device is positioned at a radially outer portion of the die body and is energizable to supply heat to the die body to maintain a uniform temperature of approximately 480° C., controlled by signals from thermocouples around the extrusion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Daniel J. Hawkes
  • Patent number: 7194885
    Abstract: Continuous extrusion apparatus includes a rotatable wheel, the rotatable wheel including a circumferential groove. Continuous extrusion apparatus includes a shoe including an arcuate tooling bounding a radially outer portion of the groove provided with an exit aperture in a die body and an abutment displaced in the direction of rotation from the exit aperture. The shoe includes a heater body assembly including an electrical induction heating coil assembly arranged to be energisable to co-act with a magnetisable element to effect electrical induction heating thereof; and an element is provided to thermally induce movement of co-acting members for one of expanding and contracting to adjust clearances between the rotatable wheel and the abutment and the shoe within requisite limits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Daniel J. Hawkes
  • Patent number: 6988389
    Abstract: Die heater body assembly for continuous extrusion apparatus includes a die block of non-magnetic material for the extrusion of copper tube and a bucket portion forming a sliding fit in a die heater body. The die heater body includes a coil of copper tubing in a ceramic support material provided with electric power and cooling water connections to heat the bucket portion by electrical induction to a temperature of approximately 700° Celsius. To concentrate the electric induction heating effect at the bucket portion low reluctance magnetic members and magnetic material end blocks direct eddy current flow toward the bucket portion. Weakening of the shoe as a consequence of provided the heating is limited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2006
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Daniel John Hawkes
  • Patent number: 6655415
    Abstract: A continuous, seamless, copper tube having a mass in excess of 500 kilograms formed by an extrusion process and at an extrusion temperature of approximately 750 degrees Celsius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventors: John Dawson, Daniel John Hawkes, Phillip A. Jones, Stephen James Laidlow
  • Patent number: 6619093
    Abstract: Continuous extrusion apparatus for the production of copper tubing having a rotatable wheel formed with a plurality of circumferential grooves registering with (as shown in FIG. 1) abutments 4 formed on a die top 2. Respective exit apertures 6 each have a cross-sectional area of between two and five times the radial cross-section of the associated groove and lead to a passage 8 smoothly diverging to connect into an extrusion die chamber 10 housing an annular extrusion die (not shown). The appartus produces an extrudate in the form of a continuous, seamless, copper tube having a mass in excess of 500 kilograms extruded at a temperature of approximately 750 degrees Celsius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventors: John Dawson, Daniel John Hawkes, Philip A. Jones, Stephen James Laidlow
  • Patent number: 5887473
    Abstract: Continuous extrusion apparatus having a rotating circumferential groove (72) carrying feedstock to a passageway formed between the groove and arcuate tooling extending into the groove has the groove formed on the central region (72) of a cylinder (2). The cylinder (2) is formed with end bosses (16, 18) which are supported in bearings (4) such that deflection arising from generating very high extrusion pressures in the passageway is minimised and stresses are distributed to the bearings (4) in a manner avoiding concentrations or the incidence of unacceptably high variations in local stress levels. The cylinder (2) is end connected to a drive shaft (24) outboard of the bearing (4) with a splined end portion (22) of the drive shaft locating in an end recess (20) in the cylinder (2). Alternatively a bolted connection may be used. A tie bolt (36) extends coaxially of the cylinder (2) and serves to apply a compressive axial loading to the cylinder to counter tension stresses arising during extrusion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1999
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Daniel John Hawkes
  • Patent number: 5836191
    Abstract: A tooling assembly for a continuous extrusion apparatus includes a die top positioned in a shoe arranged to be urged into contact with a rotating wheel having a circumferential groove. An abutment body is positioned as a sliding fit in a recess provided in the die top and is formed with a spine arranged to project into the circumferential groove and with shoulders flanking the spine arranged to co-act with the cylindrical surface of the wheel adjacent an abutment face. The abutment face lies in a plane inclined slightly to an axial plane through the wheel and the faces on the abutment body seating on faces of the recess are aligned such that forces arising during extrusion act to urge the abutment body into the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Anthony Thomas Wright
  • Patent number: 5813270
    Abstract: A die top assembly engaging with a rotating wheel (not shown) of a continuous extrusion apparatus includes a die top (22) formed with a part cylindrical face (34) coacting with the wheel cylindrical surface and is positioned in a shoe held in contact with the wheel. The die top (22), which is required to resist the very high extrusion pressure forces, is carried on a support block (30) and, at the face remote from the part cylindrical face (34), is formed with a recess (50) accommodating a die support ring (54) and spacer (52). Ports (28) registering with circumferential grooves in the rotating wheel extend from the part cylindrical face (34) to a semitoroidal channel (44) and extrudate supply chamber (46) extending around a central boss (80). A central mandrel die piece (72) is secured in position by means of a bolt (76) threaded into a blind bore (78) in the boss (80) and coacts with a cylindrical die (56) to form an extrusion orifice (86).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1998
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventor: Edward Purvis Carter
  • Patent number: 5157955
    Abstract: Continuous extrusion apparatus (FIG. 1) including a rotatable, grooved, wheel 2 is provided with a shoe 6 mounted on a pivot 7 to be rotatable between a position engaging the wheel 2 and a dis-engaged position. The shoe 6 carries a tooling cartridge 10 including an abutment block 14, an expansion block 16, a die block 18 and an exit block 20 connected together with bolts 22 and held in position by locking keys 46 and a retaining ring 50. A reciprocable ram 60 registers with the cartridge 10 when the shoe 6 is in the dis-engaged position and is operable to raise a cartridge 10 from an associated heating chamber 56 into the shoe 6 or to lower a cartridge 10 from the shoe 6 into a storage chamber (not shown). By utilizing a cartridge 10, change-over and pre-heating of sets of dies is facilitated, enabling the apparatus to be connected directly to a continuous casting furnace (not shown).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1992
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventors: Daniel J. Hawkes, Douglas E. Anderson, Phillip A. Jones
  • Patent number: 5152163
    Abstract: Apparatus for the continuous extrusion of metals in which feed is introduced into two (or more) speed apart circumferential grooves in a rotating wheel (or rotating wheels) to contact an arcuate shoe portion and abutments extending into the grooves. The feed is constrained by the abutments to flow through frusto-conical exit apertures of cone angles in the range of 5.degree.-45.degree. in the shoe portion to a chamber which may also be of the divergent frusto-conical form, and is extruded as relatively thin-walled, large-cross-section products. Mixer plates are profiled to distribute flow evenly from the apertures to around the die opening. An extrusion die body for cylindrical extrusions is located and axially centered by set screws. Where an even number of grooves are utilized, an extrusion mandrel may be secured to the shoe portion by a bolt positioned centrally of the grooves and having a passage for injection of lubricant or oxidation inhibiting fluids.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 6, 1992
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventors: Daniel J. Hawkes, Douglas E. Anderson, Phillip A. Jones
  • Patent number: 5147085
    Abstract: The machine is provided with a set of two pairs of die halves 60, 62 (FIG. 7) mounted in a framework on hydraulically actuated piston and cylinder assemblies. The die halves 60 and 62 of each pair are relatively radially reciprocable to grip or release a workpiece 102, 104 and the two pairs of die halves are relatively axially reciprocable to effect cold pressure welding together of end portions of the workpieces 102, 104. Adjoining end faces of the die halves are formed with nose portions 100 having inner anvil edges for effecting welding flash removal from the workpieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1992
    Assignee: BWE Limited
    Inventors: Daniel J. Hawkes, Leslie J. Webb, Douglas E. Anderson