Did you know? 

The history of wire goes back many centuries. The first step towards rationalization came in the 13th century when wire drawing was invented, and straight away used for military purposes. The coat of mail, which until then only the more well-to-do could purchase, became affordable for the simple warrior.  

Today the production and rolling of wire is an industrial process by which large quantities of very different shapes can be manufactured in a highly rationalized manner. As with many other metal forming processes, the technology is still primarily based on experience. So in most cases the production of new profile shapes is not only associated with a considerable design effort but also means protracted trials and experiments during startup.  

The starting product for shaped wire is very often round or rectangular wire. Proceeding from this geometry, the wire is turned into the required final form in a number of rolling passes. So only the starting and finishing state of the wire is known. Seeing as shaped wires very often have geometries with different radii, calculating the intermediate stages is a complex matter. In addition to the purely geometric aspect, there are other factors that play a by no means negligible role. These include the fact that the material lengthens when it is formed, and can be very difficult to force into the border regions. Large deformations produce local strain hardening, as a result of which the material can become brittle and thus fissured.