Tungsten Wire Facts

What is wire?

Wire is an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), and Robert Gotobed (drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock scene, appearing on the Live at the Roxy WC2 album—a key early document of the scene—and were later central to the development of post-punk.

Tungsten Wire Types

Elmet produces two types of tungsten wire – Pure and WK (K-Al-Si doped).
Pure tungsten wire facts are produced in sizes above .020 inches in diameter. Typical usage is for straightening into rod products and for applications where there is a low alkali content requirement.
WK is wire which has been doped with trace amounts of potassium, causing the wire to exhibit an elongated interlocking grain structure with non-sag properties after recrystallization. WK tungsten wire facts are produced in sizes from less than .001 up to .250 inches in diameter and are used largely for lamp filament and wire filament applications.

What are tungsten wire facts

Tungsten is the most widely used of the refractory metals. In wire form, it is essential for the production of lighting products such as wire or filament, and other goods where its high temperature properties are of use. Among its properties are a melting point of 3410° C, a low coefficient of thermal expansion and low vapor pressure at elevated temperatures, along with good electrical and thermal conductivity.
Important applications of tungsten wire facts are for the production of coiled incandescent lamp filaments, cathode and support structures for power tubes, heating elements for high temperature furnaces and evaporation sources in metalizing processes. Thicker wire sizes, straightened, finish-ground and cut into rod pieces are widely used for glass-to-metal seal lead parts in the lighting and electronic industries.

tungsten wire facts-1

Tungsten Wire Facts-1: Dimensions and Tolerances
Tungsten wire facts of diameters are generally expressed in terms of inches or mils (thousandths of an inch). For thin tungsten wire from .00 1 inches up to .020 inches in diameter, the diameter of the tungsten wire fact is measured by weight per unit length. That is, the weight expressed in mg of a 200 mm length of wire.
The standard diameter tolerance is ± 3% of the weight measurement. Closer tolerances are available, depending upon the application for the wire product.
To calculate diameter, the equation is:
D (in mils) = .71746 x square root (mg weight/200 mm length)
For thicker wires from .020 inches up to .250 inches in diameter, the inch or mil measurements are used. The tolerances are expressed as a percentage of the diameter. Standard tolerance is ±1.5%.
Other Useful Equations:
Meters/kilogram = 102950 / (diameter in mils) 2
Mg/200 mm = 1.9427 x (dia. in mils) 2

tungsten wire facts-2

Tungsten Wire Facts-2: Tensile Strength
Tensile strength for tungsten wire facts is usually expressed in grams per milligram weight of a 200 millimeter (or) g/mg/200mm. The normal range of values is from 40 to 110 grams. In general, as tensile strength increases, wire straightness decreases.

Tungsten Wire Facts-3: Straightness
Wire may be finished in the unstraightened or as drawn condition and is controlled to Elmet's internal standards, In addition, tungsten wire facts can be straightened via mechanical or heat treating processes. Typically, the measure of the straightness of a tungsten wire fact is obtained by cutting a ten inch long piece of wire and allowing it to lie on a flat clean surface. The maximum deviation from a straight line along its length is the quantitative measure of its straightness. In general, as the degree of straightness increases, tensile strength decreases.

tungsten wire facts-3

Tungsten Wire Facts-4: Out of Roundness
Out of Roundness = (Maximum Diameter - Minimum Diameter / Maximum Diameter) x 100

Tungsten Wire Facts-5: Splits
Longitudinal cracks with a depth of more than 15% of the wire diameter are called splits. Tungsten wire fact is checked for splits with an eddy current split detector. The split level for a given length of wire is typically less than 5%.

Tungsten Wire Facts-6: Quality and Finish
Tungsten wire facts are free of scratches, kinks and distortions insofar as they are harmful to the intended end use of the product. Surface finish is supplied in the black, as drawn condition, where drawing lubricants and oxides are retained on the surface or in the cleaned condition by firing in hydrogen or electrochemical etching.

Tungsten Wire Facts-7: Spooling
Tungsten wire facts are spooled on clean, defect free spools. For very large diameters, tungsten wire is self coiled. Spools are level filled without piling near flanges. The outer end of the wire is properly marked and attached securely to the spool or self coil.

If you have any interest in tungsten wire facts, please feel free to contact us by email: sales@chinatungsten.com, sales@xiamentungsten.com or by telephone: +86 592 5129696.