In the cold forming of metal for the production of wires, enormous forces act on the material involved and on the drawing die. Optimum results and a high level of productivity can be achieved here by reducing the friction on the die in wire drawing. For coarse wires such as rope wire, welding wire and reinforcement wire as well as wire rods, which require initial pre-treatment, special wire drawing lubricants are used for the dry drawing process.
These are generally based on sodium soap, calcium soap or a mix of both and they provide hydro-dynamic lubrication between the tool and the wire. The dry drawing lubricants are supplied as powder in the die box. When the wire is drawn, a strongly adhering and formable lubricant layer is created on the die. It reduces the resulting friction and thereby the temperature and wear during the process as well.