Wire drawing process is used for numerous purposes such as in electrical wire and TV cables. Similarly, staples and paper clips, spokes on wheels, metal handles, wire brushes etc are all made from drawn wire. A combination of a die and/or a series of dies are used to draw a wire and manufacture a number of products that rely on drawn wire.
To meet this ever growing demand for drawn wires, metal companies are heavily dependent on wire drawing machines—therefore, a high-quality wire-drawing machine has a significant role in ensuring optimum productivity and output. It should also be noted that wire drawing, although unchanged in process for many years, is an extremely cost sensitive process. So again, fine wire drawing machines come into picture as these equipment are very in tune to any productivity or efficiency advantage they can help derive.
So, what exactly is wire drawing?
Wire drawing is a metallurgical forging (changing the shape of metal) process which is used to reduce the cross section of wire by pulling it through a series of dies in a wire drawing machine. In this simple process, a coil of wire is placed at beginning of the machine on a spool holder. The end of wire must be cut or flattened to feed it through the machine. Once put inside the machine, it goes through a series of dies to achieve its final cross sectional area. The end of the machine usually has a coiler or reeler so the finished product comes out as a coil of wire at the desired cross sectional area. Sometimes, a barrel is positioned and the coiled wire is reeled directly into the barrel using a turntable.
The impact of technology on wire drawing
Preventing the machine from getting too hot has been a challenge. When the metal is in the process of changing its shape, huge amount of energy gets released and the wire has a constant tension and speed as it moves through the series of dies. This may lead to the machine getting extremely hot, something that needs be prevented. Earlier, this was done solely by mechanical means. However, new drives began to be used to operate the motors at specific levels depending on the cross-section and metal required. With technological advancement, software was introduced for winder applications. This helped keeping the material moving at the proper speed and tension and ensured a product with a perfect finishing touch. This intervention of electronic technology brought highly efficient and high-performance ac drives with powerful processors for software which helped minimise the mechanical dependency.
Are there any downsides to fine wire drawing machines?
Well! No. If these are being operated by an experienced professional, there are no such downsides if all guidelines are followed well. Those who may be new on the job should be able to handle the following possible challenges.
- Quick accelerations to a speed and deceleration to zero speed again without losing tension.
- Process may sometimes suffer because of minimal downtime.
- Due to speed, issues with the process can cause large amounts of scrap, thus leading to wastage.
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