Lead wire is used in many different types of applications and industries. The two most common uses of this material are in bullet wire and solder wire. Both are produced by an extrusion process.
Often solder wire is sold on a spool by weight or length, but the wire will be in one continual piece for easy feed during the soldering process. Lead wire spool products for the manufacturing of bullets is typically cut into lengths that allow for ease of handling of the wire during the bullet manufacturing process.
Extruding Lead Wire
One of the advantages of using lead is the low melting point of all lead alloys. This is ideal in the extrusion as well as the molding process. Unlike molding, extrusion isn’t a passive process but rather forces the semi-solid lead through a die to create the wire.
The basic process is the same on any scale. The lead ingots, which can also be 100% recycled aluminum pieces, are heated to just at the melting point, which will be approximately 327 degrees Celsius with some variation based on the alloy combination.
This melted material is a sealed chamber, and a piston or rod is used to exert force on the melted lead to force it forward through a die. This is a simple die that sets the diameter of the lead wire. As it is a small diameter and the lead is soft, it can be quickly cooled and wound onto a lead wire spool.
In the case of bullet wire, the extruded wire is directed through a machine that automatically slices the lengths of wire before they are wound on the lead wire spool.
The result is a uniform, even diameter of wire that is suitable for soldering, bullet manufacturing or other types of applications.
