Wire drawing machine in the electronics industry
In the electronics industry, fine wire drawing machines are used to draw copper, aluminum, gold, silver and other conductive wires down to very small diameters, like below 0.5 mm.
Some key additional points about using wire drawing for thin wires in electronics:
Fine wire drawing allows producing wires with precise diameters and high purity needed for microelectronics components.
Common applications include bonding wire for integrated circuits, leads for transistors and diodes, wire for printed circuit boards, and magnet wire for coils and transformers.
Precious metals like gold, silver and platinum are often drawn into wires less than 100 microns for use in microelectronics. Their high conductivity and flexibility is useful at such small scales.
Copper is the most common base metal used for thin conductive wires. Coatings like gold, silver and palladium may be applied to enhance conductivity.
To achieve fine diameters below 100 microns, multiple wire drawing passes through progressively thinner dies is required, sometimes using intermediate soft anneals.
Fine wire drawing requires dies with very narrow bore diameters and tight tolerances on hole size and surface finish. Diamond dies or tungsten carbide dies work best.
Precise process control is needed for factors like wire tension, drawing speed, application of drawing lubricants and temperature to achieve the desired wire diameter and surface quality.
Fine diameter wires are more prone to breakage, so spooling and handling requires more care. Inspection of electrical and mechanical properties is also critical.