Creel Tension Control System for Steel Radial Tires

With the advent of steel wire as a cord material used in the construction of steel radial tires as a product improvement replacement for previously utilized materials such as fiberglass, polyester, nylon, and rayon, greater tensions are required to be maintained on the wire prior to entry into the calender. This higher tension and the inherent handling characteristics of wire necessitates more precision and subsequently more sophisticated methods of tension control for wire-strand let-offs in the manufacturing process. Various devices are discussed together with related tension sensing and control techniques used to handle up to 1600 strands of wire, which form a single wire sheet, before entering the calender nip rolls.