Aluminum Wire in Metallizing

By
Kevin Hunter
Shaped Wire/Solon Specialty Wire
Leggett & Platt Inc.

30000 Solon Rd, Solon OH 44139

440-248-7600
Kevin.hunter@leggett.com

Aluminum Wire is one of the primary consumables in today’s vacuum metallizing

industry for flexible packaging and other applications. Typically when problems are
encountered, the aluminum is often overlooked based on the past history and experience
that suggests the likelihood of a defect is low. However, the characteristics of the
aluminum wire do have the potential to create problems during the metallizing process.
These characteristics can also be controlled to optimize the metallizing process. The
aluminum wire has the potential to affect the uniformity of web coatings, boat life as well
as the transmission rates of the final product. A brief background on the processes
involved in producing the aluminum wire as well as the key characteristics of this wire
and their impact will be discussed.

Aluminum:

The unique combination of properties makes aluminum a very versatile material for
applications ranging from automotive to construction to electrical and most importantly
metallizing. Aluminum is light in mass yet some alloys have strengths greater than
structural steel. Other properties that make aluminum attractive include the high
corrosion resistance, barrier properties, electrical conductivity and reflectivity.

Approximately 60% of aluminum is mined with the remainder being recycled.

Aluminum is refined from bauxite ore using the Bayer Process. The ore is crushed and
mixed with sodium hydroxide and “digested” under high temperature and pressure.
Aluminum oxide is then evaporated and crystallized to remove the residues that may be
present in the ore. The aluminum oxide is then reduced using an electrolytic cell,
resulting in aluminum that can be sent to a melting furnace. The aluminum is then mixed
with desired alloys to achieve the desired final chemistry mixture and characteristics.
The aluminum is then cast into ingots for transportation and handling.

Recycled aluminum is melted in a gas fired furnace and then refined to remove
impurities. After desired refining has occurred the molten aluminum is cast into rod or
other configuration for future processing.

Aluminum is categorized by the chemical makeup or purity. Each grade is designed for
specific desired properties. These grades are designated by a four-digit code that
identifies the alloying elements:
 1xxx >99% pure
Applications: electrical / chemical
Major Impurities: Fe and Si
2xxx Alloyed with: Copper
Require heat treatment for properties (similar to mild steel)
Application
3xxx Alloyed with Manganese
Not heat treatable
Applications: high strength
4xxx Alloyed with Silicon

Application: welding / brazing

5xxx Alloyed with Magnesium
Not heat treatable
Application: high strength
6xxx Alloyed with Silicon & Magnesium
Heat treatable
Applications:
7xxx Alloyed with Zinc
Heat Treatable
Applications: very high strength/stress
8xxx Alloyed with Tin

The 1xxx series aluminum is the most common and often referred to as the 1000 series.
This is the purest of the alloys and comprised primarily/exclusively of aluminum. With
in this series the 10xx group is un-alloyed and contains natural impurity limits of various
elements. The remainder of the series is comprised of 11xx, 12xx and 13xx that have
special controls for one or more other the impurity elements. Typical grades used in the
metallizing industry include 1080, 1100, 1188, 1199 and 1350.

The other series 2000 through 8000 are highly alloyed and designed for specific
applications and properties. These are rarely used in the metallizing industry.

The impact of the chemistry (grade) on the metallizing process / product is not
necessarily clear. In general the common believe was that the higher purity our result in
a more uniform deposition layer with enhanced water vapor and oxygen barrier
properties. In 1977 a study did confirm that a 99.5% purity aluminum did outperform the
99% purity material (1>…). However, the differences in materials with purity levels
greater that 99.5% was negligible with one exception. The exception was with the 1188
grade (99.88% pure) with significantly better WVTR and OTR that other grades tested.
The exact cause for this performance difference is unclear and could be related to the
possibility of the purity actually exceeding the limits set for the grade.

Another key consideration involves the useful boat life. There is a correlation between
the aluminum purity and the useful boat life. The impurities (silicon, iron, and others)
comprise a significant component in the slag that builds up in the boats during operation.

Aluminum Wire:

Aluminum is supplied to a wire mill as rod. This raw material is typically purchased in a
3/8” (0.375”) or 9.5mm coil. The rod is a wound coil of aluminum that has either been
cast to size or rolled. During the manufacturing process of rod, each batch is assigned a
unique lot or heat number. This heat/lot of aluminum will then be processed into the
final rod state. The coils produced from a single heat/lot will have a common chemical
makeup. From heat to heat (or lot to lot), the chemical makeup of the aluminum may
vary within the ranges allowed for the particular grade.

The aluminum rod is then cold-drawn to achieve the desire final wire diameter. This is
accomplished by drawing through a series of tapered carbide or diamond dies. Each die
will reduce the wire diameter between 20% and 30% per die. Typically wire used in
metallizing will use 10-15 dies to achieve final size. Depending on the specific alloy and
desired final properties, the process may involve heat treatments either prior to drawing,
as an intermediate step or following drawing. The drawing process requires a lubricant to
allow the aluminum to be pulled through the dies. This lubricant can be either be dry or
liquid form. In the case of metalizing, this lubricant is subsequently cleaned from the
wire by a variety of methods (either in- line or during a subsequent processing step). At
the completion of the drawing process, the wire is packaged onto large spools for
handling and further processing.

Tempers:

As the wire is processed, the aluminum will undergo cold-work that results in increased
strength and hardness with an overall decrease in ductility. The “temper” of the wire is a
designation that refers to the degree processing involved. A wire drawn approximately
75% from an annealed product while keeping the temperatures below 125F is given a
designation of H-18. An annealing cycle will revert the material back to its fully soft
state and designated as an “O” temper. Processing that results in a wire with tensile
strengths half way between the “O” and H-18 temper are designated as H-14. Similarly
the tensiles between annealed and H-18 are designated from zero to eight.

With in the metallizing industry the typical tempers are H-18, H-16 and H14 with the
typical wire diameters of 0.062”, 0.072” and 0.092”. The desired temper is typically
chosen from past experience and will directly impact the operation of the metallizing
process. The harder tempers (H-18) will have a more defined/stiff cast and will payoff
into the boats in with a certain arc. The softer tempers are easier to work with but will
also tend to walk or wander before striking the boat.

During the wire production of the various tempers below H-18, the aluminum is heat
treated/annealed at predetermined steps within the process (depending on the desired
temper). This annealing process does not involve a protective atmosphere and thus
results in a slight oxide layer on the surface of the wire. Depending on the final draw
step, the amount of this layer will vary. Theoretically during the metallizing process, this
oxygen can be released and influence the barrier properties. The actual mechanics of this
are not clearly understood but previous work did find the water vapor barrier properties
were consistently better on an H-14 vs. an H-18 tempered wire.

Cleanliness & Spooling:

For wire in the metallizing industry, the typical final package involves the wire perfectly
spooled onto a plastic spool that will later be loaded into the vacuum chamber. This
process takes the wire from the large spools and re-spools the wire onto the final plastic
spools in a closely controlled process. This process involves closely controlling the
incoming wire tension, traverse, pitch as well as wire cast as the spool is wound.

The spooling and wire cleanliness are the both potential sources of problems in the
metallizing process. There are several factors involving wire cleanliness as well as
spooling that must be considered.

During the drawing process, drawing oil is used as a lubricant. The wire must be
subsequently cleaned and spooled for use in the metallizing equipment. If the wire is
over-cleaned, the surface will tend to gall/stick to itself and prevent the perfect spooling
of the wire. The spooling process is dependant on the cleaning process. The metallizing
process demands extremely clean wire as well as well as perfectly spooled wire. Thus a
balance is required to achieve a level of residual lubricant that will allow for perfect
spooling as well as minimize problems in the metallizing operation. Wire with heavy
residual lubricant will result in spitting from the boats as the oil/lubricant vaporizes.

Another potential source for oil carry through is related to possible wire surface damage
that could occur during the wire drawing process. Aluminum is a very soft metal and is
susceptible to scratching. It is possible to form a deep scratch that could entrap oil and
then be smoothed over. This would ultimately be released during the evaporation
process.

Within the spooling process, the wire is wound onto plastic spools. The geometry and
consistency of the spool can significantly impact the quality of the wind. The spool
flanges must be straight and true. If the flanges are not straight and true, the spool
interrupts the pattern of the wire lay and prevents a perfect pattern. The plastic spools
themselves are produced in an injection- molding operation. Burrs or overflows will also
displace the wire during the winding operation and prevent a perfect pattern.
In some cases, spools can be re-used within limits. The spools must first be cleaned to
remove any deposited aluminum or surface contamination that could result in
downstream problems. During the spooling operation, the flanges of the spool
experience pressure from the wire. After multiple uses, the flanges of the spools can
weaken and actually bow out. This change in geometry can result in edge gaps in the
first couple layers of wire.

During the winding process, opportunity exists that could result in a variation in wire
diameter. A change in wire diameter will also negatively impact the ability to properly
spool/wind. Several precautions are taken to minimize the chance of variation. These
often include the use of diamond dies during the drawing process as well as controls in
the re-winding operation.

The wire itself is wound onto the spool under tension to produce a tight package. The
cast of the wire is larger than the spool and will unravel if the wire is let loose. A tight
cast is possible but would require additional forces to be applied to the wire during the re-
spooling operation as well as in metallizing process. These additional forces would
increase the opportunity for diameter variation, tangling/feed difficulties as well boat
issues. With the larger cast size, it is important that the wire be kept under some back-
tension to avoid/prevent the strands becoming loose and increasing the opportunity for
tangling. Even during the metallizing process, it is important to keep some back tension
or drag on the wire/spool in the form to prevent the wire from becoming loose.

Conclusions:

Aluminum is a flexible versatile material that has a wide range of applications. Within
the metallizing industry, as with many others, controlling the variables/characteristics is
important. The selection of these characteristics can optimize the film properties.

The chosen alloy can impact the properties of the final film. As expected, the high purity
alloys perform well, while other alloys may optimize the film barrier properties. Lower
purity alloys can result in decreased boat life due to slag buildup.

Feed tube plugging can also be minimized by adjusting the wire diameter. A larger wire
diameter will reduce the opportunity of the feed tube plugging up, but can lead to issues
in the boat. Increased diameter can result in increase a change to the wire-boat
intersection point as well as increased wandering. The impact of this can be
controlled/minimized by adjusting the temper of the wire.

From a metallizer’s perspective, there are several variables that can not be controlled.
These involve chemical variation, wire cleanliness, and spooling payoff. Individually
these variables have the potential to negatively impact the metallizing process. In most
cases, these are controllable by the wire producer.

Wire cleanliness can result in a variety of issues. This will primarily manifest itself in or
at the boat during the metallizing process. An oily residue will result in spitting during
the melting process. Other contaminates can also lead to spitting, slag, as well other
coating issues.

The spooling of the wire also can have a significant impact during the metallizing
process. Improper spooled wire can result in a tangle or snag, resulting in inconsistent
coatings and requiring venting of the vacuum system to correct. Spooling issues are
typically the result of poorly spooled wire, spool quality/condition, as well as the back-
tensioning during use.

There are many characteristics of aluminum and of wire that must be controlled to ensure
a quality consistent metallized product. Ultimately these characteristics must be selected
while considering the specific equipment and application involved.

Bauxite: Bauxite is the ore that is

mined in for the production on
aluminum

Schematic of Aluminum refining:

Aluminum Alloys in Metallizing:
% by Weight
GRADE AL Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Cr Zn Be Ga V Ti Other
1199 99.99 .006 .006 .006 .002 .006 .006 .002 .003

1188 99.88 .06 .06 .005 .01 .01 .03 .0008 .03 .05 .01 .01

1100 99.0 Si+Fe = .05- .05 .10 .0008 .05

.95 .20

1350 99.5 .10 .04 .05 .01 .01 .05 .10

1080 99.8 .15 .15 .03 .02 .02 .03 .03 .05 .03 .02

Aluminum Rod Coil: The aluminum is either cast or rolled to finish size. Coils typically
weigh approximately 5000 to 7000 pounds.
Drawing Dies: The tapered draw surface is either a carbide or diamond material.
Typically each die is used to cold draw the material approximately25-30%. Multiple dies
are used in the drawing process to achieve the final wire diameter.

Plastic Spools: Spools are typically injection molded plastic. The parameters of the
spool include the arbor (hole size), flange (side), barrel (center surface) and the traverse
(distance between flanges).
Spooling of Wire: Wire is perfectly wound onto the plastic spool.

REFERENCES

Aluminum Standards and Data 2003, The Aluminum Association, Washington DC

World –Aluminum.Org, International Aluminum Institute

Nonferrous Wire Handbook, The Wire Association International, Inc., Guilford,

Connecticut.

The Effects of Boat and Wire Parameters on Boat Life and Coating Quality in Vacuum
Metallization of an OPP Web, Mitchell, R., Josephson, E., d’Ouville, T., paper presented
at SVC technical conference, 1997.