Drawing Dies

Wire drawing is a method of producing smaller metal wires by forcing the entire length of the wire or wires to be drawn through increasingly small openings in a tool made of harder material, known as a drawing disk. Wire drawing takes place in what are called drawing benches or drawing machines, equipped with one or more rotating drawing drums, on which the wire is wound as it is drawn through the drawing disk. In so-called continuous drawing, the wire is allowed to pass through several drawing disks in a single machine before being reeled up.

Special types of wire produced include genuine gold and silver wire made of fine gold or silver, and non-genuine gold and silver wire made of copper coated with gold or silver. Depending on the shape of the drawing hole, wire can be drawn into a round, square, star-shaped or other cross-section. By rotating the drawing disk during drawing, the wire is given a screw-like appearance, which is used, for example, for gold and silver wire for filigree work.