Wire feeding technology is a general term covering both cored wire production technology and cored wire application technology. The implementation process of this technology is as follows: various additives (deoxidizers, desulfurizers, inoculants, alloys, etc.) crushed to a specified particle size — which are designed to be added into molten steel or molten iron — are wrapped into cored wires of arbitrary length with thin steel strips on a cored wire machine. Then, driven by a wire feeder, the cored wire is fed at a controlled speed through the slag layer on the surface of molten steel or molten iron, reaching the bottom of the steel ladle or iron ladle.
As the outer steel sheath of the cored wire melts gradually, the additives enclosed inside will be released slowly into the molten steel or molten iron. Through the interaction between the additives and the surrounding molten metal, the goals of secondary refining are achieved, including deoxidation, desulfurization, inoculation, spheroidization, vermicularization and alloying.
With the rapid expansion of wire feeding technology across various fields, the demand for diverse alloy cored wires keeps growing. Cored wire machines with high forming speed, high automation level and automatic quantitative feeding function will become the development direction of cored wire production technology in the future. In addition, the research and development of new, highly efficient and eco-friendly cored wire powder is also one of the key drivers for the continuous advancement of wire feeding technology.
