Apparatus and method for extruding flat multiconductor cable.

摘要

In the manufacture of ribbon cable, a plurality of filamentous elements (72) is supplied to a wheel (50) having a circumferential surface (53) interrupted by a plurality of parallel grooves in which the elements (72) are seated over a common arc. The elements are supplied tangentially towards the wheel (50) as the wheel is rotated, and plastic is extruded from an extrusion die (1) disposed adjacent the common arc to form a ribbon cable (68) with the elements exposed where they lie in the grooves. The elements (72) are entrapped in the cable by plastic bridges (74) formed in lateral channels (56) which interrupt the grooves and permit plastic to flow around elements. An additional layer of plastic may be extruded onto the cable so produced to yield a conventional fully insulated ribbon cable.