The Wire Drawing Process
| The process
Wire drawing is a metalworking process used to reduce the diameter of a wire by pulling the wire through a single or series of drawing dies – specialised tools customised to the item they are used to create. Dating back to around the 13th century, this process is usually performed at room temperature, known as “cold drawing” although for large wires the technique can sometimes be performed at higher temperature. Cold drawing can also be carried out on bars or tubes to reduce the cross sectional area and changing the mechanical properties of steel. This technique is used in the production of bright steel bars in round, square, hexagonal and flat sections. |
Wire drawing by hand |
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Various lubricants are used during the wire drawing process |
Lubrication The dies used in the wire drawing process are kept lubricated in a variety of ways, thus not only ensuring a long die life, but also scale removal and improving the finished wire. Methods of lubrications include: wet drawing, dry drawing, metal coating and ultrasonic vibration. |
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Mechanical properties The strength-enhancing effect of wire drawing can be substantial. The highest strengths available on any steel have been recorded on small-diameter cold-drawn austenitic stainless wire. Tensile strength can be as high as 400 ksi.
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