How is Steel Wire Made? Steel Foundations
Wire rod is the coiled product of a rod mill with a diameter range of 0.218 to 0.813 inch (5.5 to 20.6 mm).
Most coiled wire rods are manufactured with the expectation that they are subsequently cold drawn to wire, with or without an intermediate heat treatment. The properties of the rods prior to cold drawing are utilized to make wire with the characteristics required for the final application. Some of these applications are springs, cold-headed fasteners, tire bead and tire cord, bridge cables, wire rope, nails, fencing, and welded wire mesh.
Wire rod is produced in a hot roll process, where blooms or billets are heated and then rolled to the required diameter through a series of rolling passes (generally referred to as roughing, intermediate and finishing passes).
Coiled wire rod is typically produced via a laying head process at the end of the finishing stands in the rod mill. The laying head produces a coiled product that is stacked at the end of the process.
Steel wire is then produced from the coiled wire rod to a diameter typically less than 0.5 inches (12.7 mm). Unlike the hot roll process of wire rod, steel wire is produced using a drawing process, where the coiled wire rod’s cross-section is reduced by pulling it through a single, or series of, drawing die(s). Drawing is usually performed at room temperature, thus classified as a cold working process, but it may be performed at elevated temperatures for large wires to reduce the required forces.
