A wire drawing machine reduces the cross-section of metal wire by pulling it through a shaped die, using a rotating drum, called a block, that coils the wire around its tapered surface and draws it steadily through the die; continuous machines chain several such blocks and dies together, each turning at a different speed to match the wires changing length and speed as it thins. Drawing dies are made from tool steel, tungsten carbide or diamond, with the hardest, single-crystal diamond dies used for the finest wire, and each die carries at least two different internal angles to guide the wire smoothly through the reduction. The machine mechanized what had long been a manual craft of pulling wire through hand dies, making uniform wire available in the volumes needed by the electrical, cable and fastener industries.
Facts
SignificanceWire drawing was practiced in England from the medieval period for goods such as wool cards and pins, important enough that Edward IV banned their import in 1463; the first mechanized wire mill in Great Britain opened at Tintern around 1568. 1 FAQs
What are wire drawing dies made of?
Tool steel tungsten carbide or diamond; single crystal diamond for the finest wire.
Drawing dies are typically made of tool steel, tungsten carbide or diamond, with tungsten carbide and manufactured diamond the most common. For drawing very fine wire, a single crystal diamond die is used.
Connections
Associated With
Copper, Materials Copper is drawn into electrical wire on wire-drawing machines.
Sources
1. Wire (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, Tintern wire mill sentence
The first wire mill in Great Britain was established at Tintern in about 1568 by the founders of the Company of Mineral and Battery Works, who had a monopoly on this.
History section, medieval wire trade sentence
Wire was drawn in England from the medieval period. The wire was used to make wool cards and pins, manufactured goods whose import was prohibited by Edward IV in 1463.
View the Source Wire drawing (Wikipedia)
In Group: Metal Casting and Forming Processes, LeadQuote, In Group: Metal Casting and Forming Processes, Lead
Wire drawing is a metalworking process used to reduce the cross-section of a wire by pulling the wire through one or more dies.
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