Wet-Drawn Wire

For steel products, the term refers to wire drawn with a liquid lubricant, usually with a light viscosity oil but often with a water-base fluid. One of the main objectives is to obtain a bright polished finish. Such wire may not necessarily be wet drawn from the “soft” condition to finished size. According to the tensile requirements in the finished wire, the gap that may exist between the size at which the wire is heat-treated and the size at which wet drawing can commence has to be bridged by dry drawing. Any soap or similar deposits on the wire must then be removed during the preparations before the final wet drawing. For nonferrous products, almost all wires are drawn wet starting with rod breakdown to the smallest fine wire, most aluminum is drawn with an oil while others are drawn with water base fluids.