2. Specific drawing techniques for ultra-fine wires

Compared to traditional wire drawing, the major difficulty in drawing ultra-fine wires lies in their fragility or low mechanical strength, simply due to their very small diameter. For example, a wire with a diameter of 20 µm has a breaking load of between 0.1 and 0.8 N, depending on the alloy used and the metallurgical state in which it is found. It is therefore necessary to adapt both the operating conditions and the equipment involved to this specificity. The first concerns the definition of drawing parameters such as drawing force, speed and elongation rate, while the second involves material adaptations at various levels: the drawing machine, tooling, lubrication, and post-drawing heat treatment.