Apparatus for enameling wire

Claim 1

Apparatus for continuously enamelling wire comprising: wire feeding means arranged to move the wire axially of itself, heating means, an applicator positioned downstream of said heating means and comprising a closed container adapted to contain enamel including a solvent, an oven spaced apart from said applicator, said feeding means being adapted to feed said wire first through said heating means, and then successively through said applicator and said oven, said heating means being adapted to heat the wire as it passes therethrough, to a drying temperature between the temperature of the enamel at the time of its application and the temperature of polymerization of the enamel, said applicator being arranged to apply a coating of said enamel to said wire at said drying temperature as said heated wire passes through said applicator, means for ensuring that the solvent in said coating is evaporated by flow of heat from the wire to the exterior, said oven being spaced sufficiently far from said applicator to allow at least a major portion of the solvent to evaporate from the coating before the wire passes into the oven, and said oven being further adapted to polymerize the enamel in the coating as the wire passes through the oven, a fume-hood mounted between said applicator and said oven for evacuating the solvent vapor as said solvent evaporates from the enamel coating, a heat exchanger connected to said fume-hood and adapted to receive and to heat the solvent vapor coming from said fumehood, catalytic combustion means connected to said heat exchanger and adapted to receive and to burn said heated solvent vapor coming from said heat exchanger, thereby producing hot gas as a combustion product, means for passing a part of said hot gas to said heat exchanger to heat the solvent vapor, and means for passing another part of said hot gas to said oven to provide at least part of the heating in the oven.