US2900710A

US2900710A - Method of making colored wire

Info

Publication number: US2900710A
Application number: US557628A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leonard T Hurat; Edward P Presby
Original assignee: United States Steel Corp
Current assignee: United States Steel Corp
Priority date: 1956-01-06
Filing date: 1956-01-06
Publication date: 1959-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 1976-08-25

Description

METHOD OF MAKING COLORED WIRE Leonard T. Hurat, Cleveland, and Edward P. Presby, Garfield Heights, Ohio, assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application January 6, 1956 Serial No. 557,628 10 4 Claims. (Cl. 29-407) This invention relates to a method of making colored wire and more particularly for making steel wire which is colored for identification purposes. There are many different types of wire which is used for many purposes. When improperly identified wire is used for the wrong purpose it does not function satisfactorily. For that reason it is desired to mark the wire so that it can be identified as to grade and type. This is most commonly done by attaching a tag to the wire or painting a portion thereof. In many instances the paint comes off or the painted portion is removed before the whole coil is utilized. The tag is often lost.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide a method of coloring wire wherein the color adheres tightly to the wire.

Another object is to provide such a method in which the coloring is applied while a rod is being made into wire.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification.

In carrying out our invention scale and foreign material is removed from the rod. A base coating is then applied 35 to the rod. This may be done by dipping a coil of rod into a water solution of hydrated lime. The lime concentration is generally between 4 and 10% by weight and the number of lime dips may vary. Generally from 1 to 12 dips are used. After each dip the rod with the lime coating thereon is dried either in air or by flash baking. When air drying the lime solution should be heated to a temperature of approximately 200. Other standard base coatings such as carbonates,.phosphates, borates, silicates, titanium dioxide, chromates and magnesium oxide may be used in place of the lime. Each of the above steps are conventional in the wire drawing art. After the lime coating is dried the rod with the coating thereon is dipped into a tub containing a water solution of a water soluble dye. Any water soluble dye functions for the desired purpose. Some dyes actually used include Eosine l, Calcocid Alizarine Green CGEX, Calcomine Sky Blue FF Ex. Cone, Alizarine Cyanine Green Base, Calcophen Red Y, each of which is manufactured by American Cyanamid Company and Monastral Fast Green GWD, Pontacyl Green NV Extra, Du Pont Naphthol Green B Extra conc. 125%, each of which is manufactured by E. I. du Pont Company. The concentration of the dye in the water may vary and depends on the type of dye and the number of times the coil is to be dipped into the solution. Increasing the number of dips increases the vividness of the color on the drawn wire and also increases the coverage. Increasing the concentration of the coloring solution improves the vividness of the color. By way of example, the solution may consist of one pound of dye to 50 gallons of water. The rod is atent 0 "2,900,710 Patented Aug. 25, 1959 dried between each dip in the coloring solution, preferably by permitting it to stand in the air. To increase the speed of drying the coloring solution is maintained at a temperature between 160 and 200 F. but the solution can be applied at a lower temperature if desired. After the last dip the coil is preferably flash baked for five minutes at a temperature of 450 F. to make sure that the coatings are thoroughly dried. The rod with the lime coating and coloring thereon is then drawn into wire in multiple passes in the usual manner. A dry lubricant is used and the color intensity on the drawn wire improves as lubricants With higher titre values are used. Titre is a term used in the wire drawing art to indicate the solidifying point of the fatty acid which is reacted with a particular base to compound the lubricant. Large drafting reductions give the color a brighter luster than smaller reductions. Multiple drafting spreads the coloring thickness more evenly but also thins it out. This method of applying coating is inexpensive and fits well into the usual operations of wire drawing. The coating so produced is uniform and suitable for further wire drawing or. as a lubricating film in producing cold headed or screw stock products.

While one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. The method of making colored wire comprising providing a rod, cleaning the rod, applying a wire drawing base coating to the surface of the rod, applying a solution of a water soluble dye to the rod with the base coating thereon, drying the rod with the dye thereon, and then drawing the rod to wire of the desired diameter.

2. The method of making colored wire comprising providing a rod, cleaning the rod, applying a water solution of hydrated lime to the surface of the rod, drying the rod with the lime thereon, applying a solution of a water soluble dye to the rod with the lime thereon, drying the rod with the lime and dye thereon, and then drawing the rod to wire of the desired diameter.

3. The method of making colored wire comprising providing a coil of rod, removing scale and foreign material from the surface of the rod, dipping the coil into a water solution of hydrated lime, then drying the coils of rod, dipping the dried coil into a water solution of a water soluble dye, drying the coil of rod with the lime and dye thereon, and then drawing the rod to wire of the desired diameter.

4. The method of making colored wire comprising providing a rod, cleaning the rod, applying a wire drawing base coating of a material of the class consisting of hydrated lime, carbonates, phosphates, borates, silicates, titanium dioxide, chromates and magnesium oxide to the surface of the rod, drying the rod with the base coating thereon, applying a solution of a water soluble dye to the rod with the base coating thereon, drying the rod with the base coating and dye thereon, and then drawing the rod to wire of the desired diameter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,712,348 Howe May 7, 1929 1,932,454 Franks Oct. 31, 1933 2,546,447 Ham's Mar. 27, 1951