Copper wire

Copper wires.

Copper wiring has been used as an electrical conductor since the invention of the electromagnet and the telegraph, and even further since the invention of the telephone.

Uses

It has been used for power generation, power transmission, power distribution, telecommunications, electronics circuitry, and multiple types of electrical equipment; copper and its alloys have also been used to make electrical contacts.

Materials needed

• Thin Copper Rod
• Drawing Die (Metal Plate with successively smaller holes)

Instructions

Start by making one end of the copper rod thinner, by hammering on one end of the rod. Then put the thin end of the rod into the smallest hole of the drawing die that it will fit into. From there pull the rod through the die, with firm, even pressure. Ideally you would make sure the die stays in place with a vice, and pull the rod through with pliers or a wrench. This will make the rod thinner and longer. Repeat this multiple times, drawing the wire through the successively smaller holes of the die, until you reach the gauge, or thickness, that you desire.

Wire Drawing Die

When doing this it is important to be carful, especially as the wire gets thinner. If you pull too hard the wire could snap, and could potentially whip over and hit you. Wear safety glasses when drawing wire.

Dependencies

• Copper
  • Copper wire
    • Electricity
  • Scrap copper

See also

• Copper
• Copper Ore
• Copper smelting
• Electricity

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Copper_conductor, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).