The diagram illustrates the industrial process used to produce wire from iron ore through a sequence of heating, shaping and cooling stages.
Overall, the production involves several steps beginning with the combination of raw materials and ending with the cooling of the metal to form wire. The process requires extremely high temperatures and includes stages such as moulding and mechanical shaping before the final product is obtained.
At the first stage, coking coal is mixed with iron ore and the materials are heated in a blast furnace at a temperature of around 1300°C. This produces reduced coal, which is subsequently transferred to an arc furnace where it is exposed to a higher temperature of approximately 1800°C. After this, lime is added to the heated substance before it enters another furnace operating at the same temperature. The molten material is then directed into a vat.
In the following stages, the liquid metal is poured into moulds in order to give it a preliminary form. The semi-formed metal is then subjected to pressing and shaping processes. After passing through metal pipes, the material is cooled, resulting in the production of wire as the final output.