Increasing the Working Speed During Wire Drawing by Ultrasonic Activation of the Die

Ultrasound applications are currently a very intense field of research, always in expansion, constantly finding new uses for them in all scientific fields. The basic process investigated in this research is that of obtaining wires by wire-drawing technology, which consists of successively passing a semi-finished wire through a sequence of dies until the desired final diameter is obtained. This plastic deformation process usually takes place at room temperature. The phenomena that can still be studied in this process and improved is that of reducing the friction between two parts that are in relative motion named also “ultrasonic lubrication”. Based on this phenomenon, technology for obtaining metal wires by wire drawing can be improved by increasing the wiredrawing speed. The article presents the design and calculation of the ultrasonic transducer used to activate the drawing die, the FEM to determine the optimal vibration frequencies and vibration modes used in activation of the die. To demonstrate the effect of reducing the coefficient of friction during wire drawing, a test stand was used in which the pulling force is achieved by a pneumatic system and the die is one of those used in a wire production factory. By ultrasonic activation of the die, an increase in the working speed was obtained. The percentage increase in the drawing speed is different, depending on the initial traction speed.