TZM Wire

TZM Wire Products

Elmet is the last fully integrated US producer of molybdenum, TZM and tungsten wire with an 90-year legacy dating back to our history as part of Royal Philips where we manufactured wire and lighting filaments for Philips Lighting.

Wire is typically sold on a per kg basis as length of spools produced vary.  We manufacture and stock common sizes of our molybdenum, molybdenum potassium doped HCT wire and tungsten wires.  TZM wire is built on an order by order basis.  Elmet manufactures wire as small as 7/10,000ths of an inch.

Elmet Technologies’ wire is available in the following materials:

• Mo (molybdenum wire)  Diameter sizes range from below 0.001 inches to over 0.250 inches
• Mo-K also known as Moly HCT wire (potassium doped molybdenum wire)
• Mo-La (molybdenum lanthanum oxide doped wire)
• Mo-W also know as MB is an alloyed product of moly and tungsten (molybdenum-tungsten alloy – various compositions)
• W (tungsten)
• W-La (tungsten lanthanum oxide doped wire)
• W-K non-sag (potassium doped tungsten wire)
• Titanium Zirconium Molybdenum (TZM)

Elmet starts with the highest quality W and Mo powder and follows our ISO 9001 and AS9100 certified manufacturing processes to ensure our final product always meets our customer’s application needs. In addition, we will modify the manufacturing processes to meet specific customer application requirements.

Typical TZM Molybdenum Wire Sizes and Applications:

• TZM wire comes in Diameter Range (Inches) from .080 to .188 with finish options of Black or Cleaned.

HCT and MoLa Molybdenum Wire Applications and Properties

MB (Molybdenum-Tungsten Alloyed) Wire Applications and Properties

Dimensions and Tolerances

Wire diameters are generally expressed in terms of inches or mils (thousandths of an inch). For thin wires from 0.001 inches to 0.020 inches, the size of the wire is measured by weight per unit length. That is, the weight expressed as milligrams of a 200mm length of wire.

The standard diameter tolerance is ± 3% of the weight measurement. For mandrel applications, the tolerance is normally ± 1%.

To calculate diameter, the equation is:

D (in mils) = 0.98648 x square root(mg weight / 200mm length)

For thicker wires from 0.020 inches up to 0.250 inches in diameter, the inch or mil measurements are used. The tolerances are expressed as a percentage of the diameter. Standard tolerance is ± 1.5%.

Tensile Strength and Straightness

Tensile strength for molybdenum wire is usually expressed in grams per milligram weight of a 200-millimeter length (or) g/mg/200mm. The normal range of values is 40 to 60 grams. In general, as tensile strength increases, wire straightness decreases.  The measure of the straightness of a metal wire is obtained by cutting a ten-inch long piece of wire and allowing it to lie on a flat clean surface. The maximum deviation from a straight line along its length is the quantitative measure of its straightness. In general, as the degree of the straightness increases, tensile strength decreases.

Out of Roundness

Out of roundness of wire does not exceed 4% of the wire diameter. It is measured as follows:

Out of Roundness = (Max Diameter – Min Diameter) / Max Diameter x 100

Quality and Finish

Elmet’s wire is free of scratches, kinks, and distortions.

The surface finish of wire is the black, as drawn condition, in which drawing lubricants and oxides are retained on the surface. Wire is also available in the cleaned condition, which is achieved through firing in hydrogen or electrochemical etching.

Spooling

Wire is spooled on clean, defect-free spools. Wire with large diameters is self-coiled. Spools are level-filled without piling near flanges. Elmer ensures that the outer end of the wire is properly marked and attached securely to the spool or self-coil.