Straightening of micro wires using the direct wire heating and pulling method

In this study, we have developed a novel micro wire straightener using the direct wire heating and pulling (DWHP) method. The straightener can remove the bend of the micro wire (< 200 mu m) by heating it with the direct current, which flows through the wire in the glass chamber and simultaneously giving it the appropriate tension. A tension meter was attached to control the tension of the micro wire (tungsten). In order to avoid surface oxidization of the wire, we supplied inert gas (argon) into the glass chamber during the heating process, and examined the effect of the gas flow rate. The effects of the tension and the current applied to the micro wires (tungsten) were investigated experimentally. With Results from various experiments and parametric studies, we could obtain desired straightness (approximate to 1 mu m/1000 mu m) with a tension of 500-600 gf and an approximate electric current of 1.5A. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.