Annealing Overview

At California Fine Wire Co. we provide multiple annealing options that allow us to custom tailor the metallurgy of the wire to a given application. The wire drawing process creates stresses in the wire which lead to a higher strength which may not be desirable for certain applications. During the annealing process, the wire is heated to a temperature that releases the stresses caused during cold working, making the wire more ductile. In addition to releasing stresses, annealing makes the metal very homogenous in structure. We offer reel-to-reel or strand annealing, in which the wire is heat treated as it is fed through the furnace and wound onto another reel, and batch annealing, which is performed on small volumes in a designated furnace. We are able to perform atmosphere annealing with H, N, Ar, and sometimes He.

To prevent any reactions between the surrounding atmosphere and the heated wire, annealing is performed in a pure hydrogen, oxygen, or argon atmosphere, depending on the wire material and the type of annealing being performed. We can process any volume of wire from small research quantities to bulk production, and package wire onto spools or into cut length as needed, depending on customer preference. For additional information about our custom wire annealing capabilities, see the table below or contact us directly.