Bimetallic steel--copper wire is most often used in grid systems. In the 1980s, Copperweld Steel (USA) developed a new manufacturing technology for steel--copper wire. In this approach, the bimetallic wire is obtained from steel wire and copper tape. Analogous research has been undertaken at Magnitogorsk State Technical University to-Existing technologies include surface cleaning of the initial components, wrapping the copper tape around the steel wire, welding of the tape edges, heating of the bimetallic billet, welding the components by plastic deformation in rolling, scale removal from the surface of the copper shell, and drawing of the bimetallic wire to the required dimensions. Deficiencies of current methods do not yield wire of the required quality at minimum cost. The manufacture of bimetallic wire may be characterized as three stages: I) billet production from the initial components (core, shell); II) welding of the billet components by combined plastic deformation (rolling); III) drawing to the required diameter. At the Uraltrans facility, two new manufacturing technologies for the bimetallic billet have been developed for the first stage: from steel wire and copper tape; or from steel wire and copper wire rod.
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