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Screwdrivers: Drawn Wire, Cold-Formed Tips and Turned Handles
A screwdriver's shaft, or bar, starts as coiled steel wire drawn to size and annealed, about 1,350 °F (732 °C) for 12 hours. It is straightened and fed to a cold-forming press that cuts it to length and forms the tip and the "wings" that lock into the handle; Phillips tips have their four grooves cut in a separate operation. The bars are hardened in an in-line furnace at about 1,555 °F (846 °C), dropped into an oil quench and tempered at 450–500 °F (about 230–260 °C), then nickel-plated. Handles are usually cellulose acetate, extruded into bars, turned to shape and drilled, and the bar is pressed hydraulically into the handle.
Advanced
Factory process
Instructions
1
1
Draw and anneal the wire
Draw and anneal the wire
Draw the coiled wire to the shaft diameter and anneal it at about 1,350 °F (732 °C) for 12 hours.
Materials for this step:
Steel Wire Rod Coil1 as requiredTools needed:
Continuous Wire Drawing Machine
Annealing Oven2
2
Cold-form
Cold-form
Straighten the wire and cold-form each bar: cut to length, form the tip and the wings that key into the handle.
Tools needed:
Cold Forming Press3
3
Harden and temper
Harden and temper
Heat the bars in an in-line furnace at about 1,555 °F (846 °C), drop them into oil, then temper them at 450–500 °F.
Tools needed:
In-Line Hardening Furnace with Oil Quench
Draw-Back (Tempering) Oven4
4
Plate
Plate
Nickel-plate the bars against rust.
Materials for this step:
Nickel1 as required5
5
Make the handles
Make the handles
Extrude cellulose acetate into bars, turn the handles to shape and drill them.
Materials for this step:
Cellulose Acetate Pellets1 as requiredTools needed:
Automatic Turning Machine6
6
Assemble
Assemble
Press each bar hydraulically into its handle.
Tools needed:
Hydraulic Assembly PressMaterials
3- 1 as requiredPlaceholder
- 1 as requiredPlaceholder
- 1 as requiredPlaceholder
Tools Required
7- Placeholder
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