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The Book of Terms

The Book of TermsThe WJI Book of Wire & Cable Terms: an interactive experience of learning and sharing
This book, written by industry volunteers and containing more than 5,000 entries, is an asset for newcomers to wire and cable.

At the same time, it also represents an opportunity for industry veterans to give back by either updating or adding to the more than 5,000 entries. This is an honor system process. Entries/updates must be non-commercial, and any deemed not to be so will be removed. Share your expertise as part of this legacy project to help those who will follow. Purchase a printed copy here.


 

All   0-9   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Recorder

1) A device that makes a permanent record, usually visual, of varying signals. 2) An audio listening device that stores audio signals.

Recrystallization

The formation of a new, strain-free grain structure from that existing in cold worked metal, usually accomplished by heating.

Rectangular Weave

Another name for slot weave. Uses include sand screening and general chemical screening. See Weaving Wire and Woven Wire Mesh.

Rectify

For equipment, this can mean changing the electrical current from AC to DC.

Red Dip Finish

Another term for Bichromate Dipped Finish, which is the preferred term.

Red Plaque

A powdery brown-red growth sometimes found on silver-coated copper conductors and shield braids. It is fungus-like in appearance and will appear in random spots along the length of a conductor or shield. It most often occurs at the point of crossover in a shield or in the interstices of a stranded conductor. It is caused by oxygen and copper reacting in the presence of water to cause the formation of copper oxides. Proper design and material selection, or nickel-plating prior to silver plating, has largely eliminated this problem.

Red Shortness

Brittleness in steel when it is red hot.

Redraw

The drawing of wire that has already been drawn to an intermediate size, through a series of dies, to reach a desired wire size.

Redraw Wire

Wire within a limited range of sizes, for further drawing or rolling.

Reducing Atmosphere

An atmosphere that reacts with oxygen, particularly on heating, and so is used to extract oxygen from the charge in a furnace.

Reducing Joint

A joint between two lengths of cable where the conductors are not the same size.

Reduction

The ratio of the original to final cross-sectional area or the percentage decrease in cross-sectional area during wiredrawing. See Percent Reduction.

Reduction Angle

The angle of the cone that is cut into a wiredrawing die just prior to the bearing length, which is the smallest diameter in the die and gives the product its final diameter. The reduction angle is critical for controlling the physical integrity of the wire and the relative amount of residual lubricant remaining on the wire surface. It controls the product as it passes into the die. This is a critical angle that dictates the performance of the die for the proper profile.

Reduction Gear

1) The gear device used to reduce the speed between a drive motor and the driven component. Supplementary speed reductions means may also be used, such as belts and sheaves. 2) The gear assembly used to reduced the RPM level from the power source to that usable by the wiredrawing machine.

Reduction in Area

1) In wiredrawing, the difference between the original cross sectional area and the subsequent area after passing through a drawing die. 2) In a tensile test, the difference expressed as a percentage of original cross sectional area of the test specimen to the minimum cross-sectional area measured after complete separation. 3) The difference, expressed as a percentage of original area, between the original cross-sectional area and that after straining the specimen.

Reduction in Diameter

The amount that a wire diameter has been reduced by being passed through a die.

Reduction Sequence

The reduction procedure of bars generated from a continuous casting mill as the bars pass through a rolling operation.

Redundancy

The use of auxiliary items to perform the same functions for the purpose of improving reliability and safety.

Reed

A fine metal comb made from strips of steel wire fixed in a frame, which is used to keep the warp threads in position during weaving and which determines the number of threads per inch in the cloth.

Reel

Typically, this is a revolvable flanged device made of wood, metal, cardboard and/or plastic that is used as a containment or storage device with a center usually but not necessarily round) for wrapping. Reels are used for winding flexible metal wire or cable, although some reels may be stationary, with the wire wound onto it by a flying arm. There are many different types and sizes of reels due to different methods used by individual manufacturers, but essentially they all are designed to carry linearly wound materials. Specially designed reels can be used for vulcanizing, enameling, tinning and bunching processes. They are used on multi-wire machines for braiding, drawing and other follow-up manufacturing operations. There is no universal agreement as to what makes a unit a reel instead of a spool, but it is generally understood that the larger sizes for any given product are reels while the smaller sizes are spools. Because of this, a spool for a large-diameter product could be larger than a reel for a smaller-diameter product. Note: reels and spools can also be called bobbins, which are generally understood to be small spools. Bobbins or spools may also be thought of as the reels that orbit around a cable or braided product while the larger unit at the take-up end is the reel.

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