Design and Operation of New Copper Wire Drawing Plant* 



A new wire mill for the drawing of copper wire is described. The 

 speeds attained are close to the theoretical limit set by the breaking 

 strength of the wire under the centrifugal stress of winding. The No. 

 1 machine which draws from rod down to No. 16 A.W.G. and has 10 

 dies operates at 6000 ft. a minute. The No. 2 machine redraws to 

 finished sizes of No. 19 A.W.G. down to No. 30, possesses 12 dies, and 

 operates at 10,000 to 12,000 ft. a minute. With the single installation 

 at the Western Electric Company at Kearny, N. J., over 2,500,000 

 pounds of annealed wire are now delivered monthly to the insulating 

 machines for processing into lead covered cable. Part I deals with the 

 design of the machines; Part II with the wire mill installation and op- 

 eration. 



PART I— DESIGN AND OPERATION OF HIGH SPEED 



COPPER WIRE DRAWING MACHINES 



By H. BLOUNT 



Introduction 



COPPER wire is used extensively in the making of facilities for com- 

 munication purposes, the Bell Telephone System alone now using 

 over 40 billion conductor feet per year. It is essential that this wire be of 

 high quality with deviations in diameter kept to the minimum so that the 

 apparatus ^vith which it is to be used will function properly. 



A study made some years ago showed it would be economical for Western 

 Electric to manufacture its wire, with the possibility of greater production 

 by increasing the speed of drawing. The equipment provided at that time 

 operated at speeds much higher than were then in general use. 



A few years later it became evident that the speeds selected were far 



from the ultimate at which wire could be drawn, and another development 



was started to determine a practical and economical speed, resulting in 



the design, construction, and placing into operation of two sizes of wire 



drawing machines. One, which will draw rod to sizes as small as No. 16 



A.W.G., is called the No. 1 and is of 10 die capacity, designed to operate 



at 6000 ft. per minute. Figures 1, 2, and 3 show the front and rear views 



of this machine. A second machine for redrawing to finished sizes No. 19 



A.W.G., and smaller, is called the No. 2, and is of 12 die capacity, designed 



to operate at 10,000 and 12,000 ft. per minute. Figure 4 shows the front 



* Reprinted, with minor changes, from Wire and Wire Products, October 1940. This 

 paper was presented at the Wire Association Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, October 24, 

 1940, receiving Honorable Mention in Recognition of its Contribution to the Research 

 Literature of the Wire Industry during the Year 1940. 



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