Custom Shaped Wire: From Drawing to Sample | ERQI WIRE

Every custom section starts the same way: someone sends a drawing and asks what it will cost. What happens between that email and a sample in your hand is usually four steps, and most of the delay comes from the first one.

1. Drawing review

We look at the section, the tolerance, the material and what the part has to do. A drawing that gives only the outline and no tolerance is the most common reason a quote stalls — without a tolerance there is no way to say whether the section is feasible at a sensible price.

2. Roll or die design

Non-round sections are usually formed by rolling or drawing through shaped rolls or dies. The section is broken down into passes, and the roll profile is designed so the metal flows without tearing at the corners. This is where a sharp internal corner or an impossible radius gets flagged.

3. Trial draw

A short length is drawn or rolled to check that the section comes out to size and that the surface holds up. If the corners fill or the size drifts, the roll design is adjusted before anything is committed to a full run.

4. Anneal, finish and inspect

The trial is annealed if the part needs it, finished bright or annealed, then checked against the drawing: section, tolerance, straightness and surface. That checked length is your sample.

What to send to speed it up

• A 2D drawing with tolerance on every dimension that matters
• The material, or the environment it lives in
• What the part does — that often decides the corner radius and finish
• Length, coil weight and how it will be packed

Send those four and the first reply is usually a real answer instead of a list of questions. Start from our shaped wire range or send the drawing.