Stainless Steel & Galvanised wire

There are nearly infinite usages for high-grade stainless steel wire. From industrial fishing boats to the local school yard’s sporting nets, such a malleable material has found purpose in tool cabinets across the globe. Coupling two ends of wire together is a process known as “swaging”. Two wires are coupled together via a swage, which is a small crimp that holds two pieces of wire together. These swages are manufactured in different sizes, for different wire diameters.

Years ago, anyone working with wire would consider the swage as the “weakest link” of the structure, whether it be 4.8 mm stainless steel wire or any other size. Swages have a history of being weaker than the wire they hold, which has been a worrisome factor for many who build structures involving wire parts. A new design has eradicated this hindrance.

Companies such as WIM in Australia have started manufacturing swages that are stronger than the wire they hold. According to building standards, any structure that is built with wire must be tested to hold 1.5 times its maximum load. When testing weight limits, many builders would look to the swage to be the first part of the structure to give way. With new swage designs, the wire is usually the first part of the structure to give way under tremendous excess force. This new design is available online, in variations that fit 1.6 to 6.4 mm stainless steel wire.

Nickel Plated Copper Swages for Up To 6.4 mm Stainless Steel Wire

Firstly, how was this extra weight threshold achieved in such a simple utility?

You would think that such a simple small metal piece wouldn’t have much room to be innovated. It took a team of engineers to design this new style of swage. When two pieces of 4 mm stainless steel wire are bound together, the metal material pinches down on each piece of wire, which prevents friction or slipping when weight is applied to the wire.

The simple design holds down on the wire in a rather sharp and undistributed manner, while the advanced nickel plated copper variation squeezes around the wire with a more efficient pressure distribution. Copper is much more malleable than nickel, and so the copper fits snug over the steel wire with smoother distribution of pressure. The nickel reinforcement allows the mechanism to be many times stronger than it would be if it were made out of only copper.

Browse our products for exciting discounts on some of the newest technologies implemented in building with wire.