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Wire drawing
From 5.5 mm hot-rolled rod to 0.025 mm finished wire, with the anneal sequence that keeps it workable.
The line
| Drawing blocks | Multi-block continuous line, 13 dies |
| Roughing dies | Tungsten carbide, 5.5 mm down to 0.5 mm |
| Finishing dies | Single-crystal diamond, 0.5 mm down to 0.025 mm |
| Reduction per pass | 15% to 25% of cross-section |
| Diameter control | In-line laser micrometer, 0.001 mm resolution |
| Surface control | Eddy-current inspection, 100% coverage |
| Finishing tolerance | ±0.005 mm on finished wire |
Why the anneal sequence is the real work
Thirteen passes take a rod to a wire thinner than a human hair, but the passes are the easy part. Each one work-hardens the alloy, and an alloy drawn without the intermediate anneal arrives hard, brittle and — in a thermocouple grade — with an EMF that drifts once the customer’s furnace has cycled it. The intermediate H₂/N₂ anneal between passes is what restores the ductility, and the schedule is set per alloy rather than per diameter.
Size capability by product family
| Family | Diameter range | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Thermocouple alloy | 0.05 – 3.2 mm | Class 1 and Class 2 to IEC 60584-1 |
| Heating resistance | 0.10 – 10.0 mm | Round wire and ribbon |
| Copper-clad steel | 0.40 – 3.0 mm | Bare or tinned |
| Superalloy | 0.10 – 8.0 mm | Bright, annealed or pickled |
What is checked on the line
- Diameter, continuously, with the value recorded against the spool rather than a sample.
- Surface, by eddy current over the full length — a drawing mark that becomes a hot spot once the wire is in service is caught here.
- Spool-level continuity and resistance, so a short is found before the spool ships rather than at the customer’s strander.