Wire rod is made of billet steel; therefore wire rod is categorized as bar product, to distinguish it from the hot and cold rolled coil made of slab steel. Wire rods are usually classified according to the content of the carbon, which are wire rods with low, medium, or high carbons. In addition, wire rods are also classified based on their applications.
Low and medium wire rods have carbon contentof less than 0.25. This kind of steel is commonly used for wire, nails, wire mesh, and as basic material for welded fabrication (window or door lattices, fences, and bars).
Specific application such as layered electrode wire for welding purpose requires a very tight control in terms of alloy content as preferred by customers.
Other applications require higher pull strength. These applications require high carbon content (usually more than 0.40) with the addition of a number of alloys, such as Nb, V, and Cr to produce bar steels with better pull strength and formability. High carbon wire rods are generally used for spring beds, bicycle (motorcycle) wheel trellis, umbrella frames, and other constructions.
Wire rod applications include:
- Wire, Nail, and Mesh
- Bolt and Screw
- Spring Bed, Spoke, etc.
- Electrode Wire
