Whether it is steel ropes, cables, springs or screws – the products of the wire, cable and wire-processing industry are practically everywhere. They may look unassuming but they are indispensable when it comes to the transmission of electric power or electronic data, and they assure that mechanical systems function well. The technological and economic development of a society is closely connected with this industry and its suppliers.

Wire

Most metals are also available as wire. Wire is produced by rolling a metal rod to smaller diameters and subsequently pulling it through drawing dies with increasingly narrow openings. Rolled up as a coil or spooled onto a reel, it moves through further processing steps. As far as the volume of the processed metals is concerned, the number one position is held by iron, followed by copper and copper alloys, as well as aluminum and aluminum alloys.

However, other non-ferrous metals, precious metals and composite metals are also made into wire. By alloying, i.e. the addition of certain elements to the molten base metal, and using various heat and surface treatment processes during or after the wire production, the physical characteristics of wires and the products made thereof can be varied to a large degree. The characteristics of a wire determine the use of the products made from it.

Iron and Steel Wire

 Iron wire consists of unalloyed steel with a carbon content of less than 0.25%, steel wire, on the other hand, has a carbon content of 0.25%to 1.00%. The products made of iron or steel wire include mounting elements such as screws, nuts, nails and rivets, bent parts, screens, reinforcements, chains and cable armor, but also technical springs and the balls or pins for friction bearings.

According to the brochure “Draht zur Zukunft“ (Wired for the Future), produced by the Stahl-Informations-Zentrum (Steel Information Centre) in Düsseldorf, Germany, there are approximately 16,000 different products made of iron or steel wire. This includes the shopping carts in the supermarket, paper clips and clutch springs as well as steel ropes. The suspension cable of the Aiguille du Midi cable car at the Mont-Blanc Mountain in the French Alps is one spectacular example of the capability of wire. The suspension wire of the upper section of the line, which leads to the mountain station at 3,778 meters, crosses a difference in altitude of 1,500 meters with a free span of 2,867 meters. The cable, consisting of numerous interlaced and stranded steel wires, carries a gondola that can accommodate up to 65 passengers, yet its diameter is merely 54 millimeters.

Wire made of non-ferrous Metals

Copper and aluminum are metals that, in pure condition, possess excellent power and heat conductibility, can be processed easily and are highly resistant to corrosion. By alloying, numerous different combinations of characteristics can be produced. About 60%of the total copper production is used as conductor materials in the energy and information technology industry. Copper wire is processed into conductors, cords, cables and conductor ropes and used in high, medium and low voltage power networks and as (insulated) lacquer-coated wire for spools, electronic engines and transformers. Wires made of certain copper alloys are used as contact elements in electrical and electronic components.

The major buyers of aluminum wire include the power suppliers in the U.S., which started to use this kind of wire instead of copper wire for their power grids around 1990. Copper wires with the same electrical conductivity have a smaller diameter but nearly twice the mass. The necessity to reduce the weight and the strong increase of copper prices during the past years have resulted in the replacement of copper wires with aluminum wires, also in cars.

Depending on their characteristics, wires made of aluminum and about 40 aluminum allows are fashioned into welding rods, pivoting and bent components, clips for cold cuts, staples for tea bags, knitting needles, bicycle spokes and many other things. Aluminum metallization wire is used to add a metal layer to paper and foils or to create the holograms on the Euro banknotes.

Composite wires, e.g. bi-metal wires, consist of two or more components containing at least one metallic material and are characterized by the ensuing combination of different properties. Copper-clad aluminum wire (CCAW), for example, is meant to replace certain copper wires in vehicles. This wire is lighter in weight than copper wire, possesses better electric conductibility and strength than aluminum wire and is also easier to solder, since the oxide film typical for aluminum is non-existent. Copper-clad steel wire (CCSW) combines the high strength of steel and the excellent conductibility and corrosion resistance of copper.

Optimistic Outlook

 Since basically all areas of life rely on wire and the products made thereof while their property potential is seemingly not yet exhausted, the wire, cable and wire processing industry is constantly faced with new challenges.

To meet these challenges, it requires machinery and systems that are as low as possible in the use of energy, raw and resource materials, that produce little waste during start-up and production, that generate high production quality regardless of the skill-level of the operator and that can be adapted easily to enhanced specifications and standards.

Wire – the International Wire and Cable Trade Fair, which will be held from April 12 – 16, 2010 in Düsseldorf, Germany has a long-standing tradition as the ultimate location where all renowned cable and wire machine producers introduce their innovations. The event is the information and order platform for visitors from all over the world who want to gather information about future-oriented production concepts. Synergy effects are generated through Tube – International Tube and Pipe Trade Fair, Tube, which will be held concurrently.

Naturally, the current economic situation also influences this industry, especially since about 60%of its members supply the heavily affected automotive industry and its suppliers. Nevertheless, Heinz Rockenhäuser President of the umbrella organization of the European Wire and Cable Machine Producer Association (IWCEA*) maintains an optimistic outlook. The Managing Director of the internationally active wire and cable machine producer Maschinenfabrik Niehoff points out that the sector, because of its close connection to industry and technology, has always experienced economic fluctuations from time to time. The innovation pressure in many sectors such as the automotive industry, the upcoming modernization of the power grids in the U.S., for example, and the urgently required expansion of the infrastructure in countries such as India, China and Brazil are only a few factors that give rise to the expectation that the wire industry and its suppliers will continue to work to capacity.

In an interview to be published in the upcoming edition of the customer news publication “NIEHOFF-News”, Ronald W. Reed, the Immediate Past President of the Wire Association International (WAI) and President of the wire and cable producer Horizon Wire & Cable, describes the effects of the crisis on the wire and cable industry and emphasizes that economic challenges are always opportunities to generate progress, as well. According to Reed, such periods are the main reason for improved quality and lower prices of devices, vehicles and computers.

* IWCEA - International Wire and Cable Exhibitors Association

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