WIRE ROD

[EIRI/EDPR/3669] J.C.: 1754

INTRODUCTION
WIRE RODS

 Fasteners, bolts, rivets, screws

 General purpose wires

 Electrode wires, industrial wires, agriculture wires

 Bush wires, chain rivet wires

 Detonator wire

 Umbrella ribs, upholstery wires, cycle spokes, needle wires, heald wires,
staple pin wire, safety pin wires

 ACSR wires, earth wires

 Tyre and hose reinforcement wires

 Pre-stressed concrete wire, springs and rope wires

 Card clothing wires

 Vineyard wires

 Ball bearing quality

 Automobile parts like screw, fasteners, bush, spline, socket, connecting rod,
shaft, gear, rivets, engine shaft, connecting rod

 Spindles, gears and so on

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WIRE ROD

Steel wire rod is a semi-finished product which is rolled from steel billet in a wire
rod mill and is used primarily for the manufacture of wire. For a steel plant it is a
finished product. The steel for wire rod is produced by all the modern steelmaking
processes, including the basic oxygen and electric furnace processes. Steel wire
rod is usually cold drawn into wire suitable for further processing such as cold
rolling, cold heading, cold upsetting, cold extrusion, cold forging, or hot forging.

Although wire rod may be produced in several regular shapes (round, square,
hexagonal, and rectangular), most of the wire rods rolled are round in cross
section. Round wire rod is usually produced in nominal diameters of 5 mm to 15
mm, advancing in increments of 0.5 mm. ISO 16124:2004 gives diameters of
round steel wire rods ranging from 5 mm to 50 mm, advancing in increments of
0.5 mm up to 20 mm and thereafter in the increments of 1 mm. As the wire rod
comes out of the rolling mill, it is formed into coils. The coils are secured either
tying with a wire or strapped with a strapping band. In each coil, wire rod is
continuous without any break. Internal diameter of a wire rod coil usually varies
in the range of 810 mm to 910 mm depending on the mill equipment. The external
diameter of the wire rod coil depends on its weight and usually it is in the range of
1100 mm to 1300 mm. The coil weight can vary from mill to mill and normally it is
in the range of 600 kg to 2.5 tons. Coil weights that exceed the capabilities of the
rolling mill sometimes can be obtained by welding two or more coils together. The
standard tolerances for wire rods are +/- 0.3 mm on the diameter for sizes up to
10 mm and +/- 4 mm for sizes 10 mm to 15 mm. The standard tolerances for out-
of-roundness are 0.48 mm for sizes up to 10 mm and 0.64 mm maximum for sizes
10 mm to 15 mm.

Wire rods are normally sold in as rolled condition

Wire rod is a hot rolled steel product classified its shape. It is a rolled alloy or
plain carbon steel product, produced from a semi mainly billet. It has a round,
rectangular or other cross-section. In case of rounds its diameter ranges from 5.5
mm to 14 mm. Wire rod is wound into coils and transported in this form. In case
the diameter is higher the product is called ‘Bar in coil’. Fig 1 shows wire rod coil.

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 Fig 1 Wire rod coil

Wire rod coil is held in a unit with at least four steel straps in the transverse
direction and transported and stored without further packaging. Before the steel
strapping is applied, the wire rod must be sufficiently compressed. The strapping
is fixed in the transverse direction with a single circumferential strap so that the
strapping does not slip and cause the coil to come apart.

Wire rod coils must be handled carefully owing to its sensitivity to mechanical
damage. Damage may be prevented by correct handling and the use of suitable
handling and slinging equipment (e.g. crossbars, C hooks, coil mandrels, webbing
slings, chain slings). Lifting or setting down the wire rod coils with excessive force
results in distortion, which is detrimental to further processing. The permissible
loading capacity of the slinging and handling equipment and the lifting capacity of
the lifting gear must also be taken into account. If the metal strapping is damaged
or broken, the wire coils loosen and may result in tangled wire rod or other
damage. Loosened wire rod coils result in problems during handling and during
unrolling prior to further processing.

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Wire rod is used for many products. It is the raw material for the wire drawing
units. Different uses of wire rod include wire ropes, springs electrodes, barbed
wires, steel reinforcement for Aluminium conductor and prestressed concrete, wire
mesh, fasteners, automobile components and hardware manufacturers. The major
usage of wire rods are described below:

1. Mild steel wire rod – Mild steel wire rod is made of steel having lower
carbon. Its carbon content is less than 0.22%. It is used for manufacturing
of various kinds of steel wires, nails and wire entanglement.

2. Spring steel wire rod – The main usage of spring steel quality wire rod is for
coil springs and stabilizer bars. There are two types of spring steels: coil
spring and torsion bar produced through hot forming and used for
automobile suspension system; and wire spring made by cold forming and
used for electronics, precision machinery and furniture. Wire rod for springs
must have high elasticity limits to prevent plastic deformation. It must also
possess defect free surface to ensure high fatigue limits and good
dimensional precision for improved operation.

3. Bearing steel quality wire rod – Bearing steel quality wire rod requires a high
degree of durability to withstand repeated loads and high speed rotations
during operation. This type of wire rods are used in a variety of industrial
machine parts, including ball bearings and ring bearings.

4. Carbon steel wire rod for cold heading quality (CHQ)– Plain carbon steel wire
rod for cold heading quality is cold headed, forged or extruded to make
bolts, nuts or screws used widely in automobile parts and industrial
machines. This quality of steel needs strict quality control since the steel is
placed under severe working conditions and used for special purposes.
Hence it should be handled with utmost care to prevent surface flaws.

5. Wire rod for core wire of covered electrodes – The wire rod slow cooling
operation and the technical specification deviation control are carried out to
guarantee rod drawability. Precise component control is required to ensure
weldability and deposit metal quality. The rods are used for general welding
electrode wire, for CO2 gas shielded arc welding wire and for submerged arc
welding wire.

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 6. High carbon steel wire rod – High carbon steel wire rod needs the micro
structure of fine pearlite to maintain its high strength and to ensure its wire
drawability. This steel is used in wire ropes, precision springs, bead wires. It
is also as reinforcement wires for prestressed concrete.

7. Wire rod for tire cord – This quality of wire rod is drawn to 0.4-0.15mm. Tire
cords are usually made from high carbon steel wire rods. Steel cord is used
to reinforce the durability of automobile tires. This type of wire rod requires
particularly clean and high strength steel.

8. Wire rod for high strength steel (HSS) – This Prestressed concrete bar type
steel is used in reinforcing the concrete in telegraph poles and piles.
Structural carbon steel containing traces of boron, or a large amount of
silicon, undergoes high frequency heat treatment to produce this quality of
wire rods. Compared with mild steel, this type of steel has higher elastic
limits and lower relaxation.

9. Free cutting carbon steel wire rod– In this type wire rod is made from free
cutting steel where free cutting elements such as P, Pb, Bi and S are added.
This steel type of wire rod is used in precision parts of automobiles and in
components of home appliances.

10. Wire rod for piano wire – These wire rods are often used for production of
high strength bead wire, Low relaxation pre stressed concrete (LRPC) steel
wire and music wire. This quality of wire rod is made from high carbon steel
with excellent filamentary drawability, high strength and fatigue resistance.

11. Alloy steel wire rod for machine structural use – Wire rods made from this
steel is mainly used for the joints of mechanical parts, such as high
strength bolts and nuts. It is also used for the delivery of driving force. It is
normally alloy steel having high strength due to the addition of alloying
elements such as chromium, nickel and molybdenum etc.

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Carbon Steel Wire Rod

Carbon steels are those steels for which no minimum content is specified or
required for chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W),
vanadium (V), cobalt (Co), niobium (Nb), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), aluminum
(Al), or any other element added to obtain a desired alloying effect. In these steels
the specified minimum copper (Cu) content does not exceed 0.40 %, the specified
maximum manganese (Mn) content does not exceed 1.65 %, and the specified
maximum silicon (Si) + Cu content does not exceed 0.60 %. In all C steels, small
quantities of certain residual elements, such as Cr, Ni, Mo, and Cu, are
unavoidably retained from raw materials. These elements are considered
incidental, although maximum limits are commonly specified for specific end uses.
C steel wire rods (Fig 1) are produced in the following different grades or
compositions.

 Low C steel wire rods having maximum C content of less than or equal to
0.15 %.

 Medium low C steel wire rods with maximum C content greater than 0.15 %
but less or equal to 0.23 %.

 Medium high C steel wire rods having maximum C content greater than
0.23 % but less or equal to 0.44 %.

 High C steel wire rods having maximum C content greater than 0.44 %.

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 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
WIRE RODS
WIRE ROD
FIG 1 WIRE ROD COIL
CARBON STEEL WIRE ROD
FIG 1 CARBON STEEL WIRE RODS
QUALITIES OF CARBON STEEL WIRE ROD
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF C STEEL WIRE ROD
GRADE OF WIRE ROD
GRADES
SPECIFICATION OF WIRE ROD
B.I.S. SPECIFICATION
MARKET SURVEY
THE DEMAND TREND FOR VARIOUS LONG STEEL PRODUCTS
IS DEPICTED BELOW:
THE DEMAND BREAK-UP OF BARS AND RODS (NON-ALLOY)
FOR 2012-13 IS DEPICTED BELOW:
THE CEO’S PERSPECTIVE OF THE COMPLEX BUSINESS UNIVERSE
PRODUCT UPGRADES
TECHNOLOGY IMPACT
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES/DEMAND DRIVERS
CHALLENGES AND RESTRAINTS
MANUFACTURERS/SUPPLIERS AND WIRE ROD
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1. REHEATING PROCESS
2. ROLLING PROCESS
ROUGHING MILL:
CUTTERS:
INTERMEDIATE MILL:
FINISHING MILL:
PLANT LAYOUT
SUPPLIERS OF RAW MATERIALS
M.S. BILLET
FURNACE OIL
DEGREASING CHEMICAL
PICKLING CHEMICALS
SUPPLIERS OF PLANT AND MACHINERIES
REHEATING FURNACE

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ANNEALING FURNACE
HEATREATMENT FURNACE
TMT BAR ROLLING COMPELETE PLANT
COOLING BED
DRILLING MACHINE
MILLING MACHINE
CNC LATHE MACHINE
BOARING MACHINE
POWER HACKSAW
GRINDING MACHINE
POWER PRESS
WELDING MACHINE
EOT CRANE
POWER TRANSFORMERS
ELECTRICAL PANEL
COOLING TOWER
EFFULENT TREATMENT PLANT
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENTS
AIR CONDITIONING EQUIPMENTS
AIR COMPRESSORS
PLATFORM WEIGHING MACHINE
MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENTS
FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENTS
SHOT BLASTING MACHINE
JIGS AND FIXTURE
SUBMERSIBLE WATER PUMP

APPENDIX – A:
1. COST OF PLANT ECONOMICS
2. LAND & BUILDING
3. PLANT AND MACHINERY
4. FIXED CAPITAL INVESTMENT
5. RAW MATERIAL
6. SALARY AND WAGES
7. UTILITIES AND OVERHEADS
8. TOTAL WORKING CAPITAL
9. COST OF PRODUCTION
10. PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS
11. BREAK EVEN POINT
12. RESOURCES OF FINANCE
13. INTEREST CHART
14. DEPRECIATION CHART
15. CASH FLOW STATEMENT
16. PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET

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 COST ESTIMATION

Plant Capacity 600 MT/Day

Land & Building (12,000 sq.mt.) Rs. 18.92 Cr
Plant & Machinery Rs. 14.58 Cr
Working Capital for 1 Month Rs. 60.37 Cr
Total Capital Investment Rs. 95.52 Cr
Rate of Return 95%
Break Even Point 21%

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