Kunshan Deli Copper orders high-performance casting and rolling plant for copper wire rod

Kunshan Deli Copper from Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China, has placed an order with SMS Meer, Germany, for the supply of a CONTIROD® plant of type CR 3700. With a pro-duction capacity of 60 tons of cast and rolled copper wire rod per hour, the plant will achieve the world's highest plant output in this sector.

On the CONTIROD^® CR 3700 Deli Copper will primarily produce ETP copper wire rod (electrolytic tough pitch) used as semi-finished product for the manufacture of electric conductors. By using new energy-efficient technologies, the CONTIROD^® CR 3700 satisfies the preconditions for an ecoplants solution. Ecoplants is the SMS Meer label for sustainable solutions offering companies economic advantages at the same time.

The scope of supply includes a shaft melting furnace, a holding furnace, a twin-belt caster, a 14-stand rolling mill with separate individual drives, a deoxidization and cooling section, a wire coiling station and an automatic tying unit.

The melting furnace is equipped with a lambda control system and improved cathode distribution. This technology minimizes natural gas consumption and increases product quality.

The preconditions for the great plant performance is created by the large cross-section of the cast ingot with the dimensions 75 x 132 millimeters, while the process technology of the twin-belt caster ensures a symmetrical casting microstructure.

The downline rolling mill with its 14 individually driven stands creates a very fine-grain microstructure in the copper wire. In this way, the product fulfills the conditions for the subsequent drawing process – in particular for the production of enameled wire and multi-fine wire.

In the cooling section, the oxide layer on the surface of the wire is first reduced by a chemical reaction with a water/alcohol solution. Afterwards, it is cooled to the desired target temperature in a second step, using water without the addition of alcohol. The two process steps taking place in succession allow a significant reduction in the alcohol consumption to be achieved.

Commissioning is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Representatives of Kunshan and SMS Meer after contract signing

Based on SMS group information